Being a Spiritual Trash Collector
Does the negativity of others have you grouchy?
So I found myself sitting in my truck between appointments, trying to get some work done, and this dude pulls right beside me, opens his car door and throws a big bag of trash right on the stinking ground……and I’m in an empty parking lot!
Talk about getting me fired up! You can ask my wife, I really only have 2 pet peeves: one is discretely popping your gum, and the other is LITTERING. I mean, who did the dude think was going to pick it up.....little trash pixies or something? Anyway, I’ve heard that it’s not good to spend more than a moment or two focusing on the problem, so let’s talk about a solution.
In reality, most of us don’t have the audacity of this guy. We care enough about our surroundings to at least throw our own trash away. And some of us may even take time to clean up the trash left by others….and that’s the lesson in this for me today.
Being a Spiritual Trash Collector
Everywhere we go we witness people dumping their spiritual litter on the world. Strangers being rude to one another…..friends talking about one another behind their backs…..and family members holding grudges for extended periods of time. All caught in a vicious cycle of being offended and being the offender…….each negative act spiritually polluting the world.
The great news is that sometimes it’s just as possible to clean up the spiritual messes of others as it is for me to walk over and pick up that guy’s bag of trash. We certainly cannot remove the consequences of sin from an individual’s life….that’s between them and God. But we can sometimes remove, or at least diminish, the consequences of their actions on the rest of the world. Let’s take time to let our light shine when we witness (or participate) in such things. We can do this by sending our love, giving forgiveness, serving others, and just through understanding that we are interconnected with them and God. These simple acts will eradicate spiritual pollution from our presence.
Time to go pick up some trash.
What is Air Fasting and How Can It Bring Gratitude For Life?
What the heck is Air Fasting?
Air fasting is a means of increasing our gratitude for the most fundamental blessings of life and recognizing the abundance that flows freely from God. This is accomplished by a forced recognition our most basic human need..….Air. We can go for weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without air; yet it is the most abundant resource we have. It fills the space around us and fills our lungs with the oxygen needed to sustain life.
Air fasting is a simple concept…..so simple you may dismiss it as foolish. But if done in a prayerful and meditative state, it will bring a high level of gratitude for life and a deeper connection with God.
How is Air Fasting Done?
First take several deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Feel the air flow in and out. Then take one last breath and hold it as long as possible. Pay close attention to your body’s response…..be the observer. Notice how your body transitions from a state of comfort, to an awareness of your need to breath, to full starvation of air. When you finally gasp for air you’ll take several quick involuntary breaths. After a few seconds when you regain composure, take several long deep breaths. With each breath reflect on the abundance with which God has blessed you. Feel the cool fresh air flow in and out and feel its life sustaining force replenish your body. Feel God in every breath and thank Him for every blessing in your life.
God is our Air
Air fasting brings to the for-front of our consciousness the degree to which we rely on resources we cannot provide, and forces us to be cognizant of the Provider. Furthermore, it demonstrates how our physical need for air represents our spiritual need for God. We gasp for spiritual breath after only moments of being without God…..and many are in a perpetual state of gasping. Let’s take time to be grateful. Let’s take time to acknowledge even our most fundamental blessings. As we recognize the hand of God in these most basic blessings we will live in a state of peace and gratitude and abundance will continue to flow into our lives.
Zen Master or Rugged Capitalist: Fusing the Dichotomy
Where art thou wise Yoda, in our time of Need?
Is it possible to pour your heart and soul into something without building an identity around it?
Is it possible to fully embrace the economic reality of our society without being “of the world”?
Three questions that have been on my mind lately, and I know the answer to each…is Yes.
Reconciling the Spiritual with the Physical
We are simultaneously faced with two opposing realities: we are both eternal beings AND temporary forms. Furthermore, it seems as though we are forced to focus our attention on either that which we need to sustain life but won’t last (the physical), or what we need to be happy, but won’t sustain life (the eternal).
Therefore, you find many people who fully embrace one end of the spectrum and neglect the other: on one side, a Buddhist monk who has relinquished all connection to the physical world; a pragmatic entrepreneur who disregards all things metaphysical on the other. Both are fully embracing life, but in my opinion both are incomplete. It's in finding the balance between the spiritual and physical, in splitting the Gordian knot down the center, that we find happiness in this life and success in both realms. But what could possibly motivate an individual to strive for something with all their being while simultaneously remaining in a state of inner peace regardless of the results?
Finding Meaning and Motivation in Life’s Higher Purpose
The essence of accomplishing this is finding a higher purpose for our existence, in something far greater than our self. This higher purpose, life mission, God’s plan for us, or whatever we wish to call it, instills within us a burning desire and passion for life, but also disconnects us from the results of our efforts. We have transcended the realm of the physical where results are manifested and we have now entered the eternal where we are no longer defined by the fruit of our labor, but by the mission itself.
What’s interesting is that this mission always centers on serving others and serving God, in which there is no difference. In Matthew 25:40, a mantra for my life, Jesus plainly states, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my bretheren you have done it unto me.”
Melding Mission and Money
This all sounds all fine and good, but we all know we can’t make a living helping the homeless or working at a food bank. So how do we incorporate our mission into our careers? In my opinion, your career, where you live, or any other aspect of your life situation is completely irrelevant to fulfilling your life’s mission. All that matters is that you give everything you have to fulfilling the measure of your creation, God will take care of the rest….He really will!
This is the essence of Christ’s teaching in Matthew 6:
“….Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth……But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also……Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on…….But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So we can see that it’s through living these spiritual principles that we can find happiness in this life as well as the next. If we are passionate about embracing our eternal nature, God throws the physical in. If we make the temporal things of the world primary in our lives, we lose them both.
We look to Christ for the perfect example of life on earth. Not only did He transcend His physical nature, but He did it for us as well.
There are many examples of those who have achieved a high level of self mastery, but He is more than an example. We look to Him for our salvation. As the One who made it possible for us to be one with the Father and to transcend this world….giving us the ability to fuse the dichotomy between our spiritual and physical natures. To be able to strive without connection to results; to have ambition without an identity crisis; to live this life with hope and the knowledge that Love transcends all of the temporary circumstances we may find ourselves blessed to experience.
So imagine yourself living this principle…in full surrender of yourself and fully engaged in doing the will of the Father; giving your heart to fulfilling your life’s mission.
What can add or detract from your happiness?....nothing in this world.
Thanks for being here today.
Thoughts, comments, questions?
Man’s Role During Birth: From Scared Spectator to Soul Mate
The climax of a most spritual experience!
When my wife went into labor with our first son Grayson I immediately went into freak-out mode. I remember trying over and over to put my socks on so I could go to the hospital. But for some reason I couldn’t get them on. Then I realized I was trying to put my underwear on my feet! All I knew is that I was supposed to get to the hospital asap and time those contractions. “Are you having one?...Are you having one now?...Is it over yet?” I kept asking. I’m surprised my wife Chrissy didn’t clock me in the head. During labor I was absolutely clueless. I didn’t know what was going on, my wife was in severe discomfort, and I felt completely out of control.
The fact is that I was out of control. I know and accept that now. And I get a good laugh at myself when I compare my role in the birth of our first child to that of our fifth child Daniel who was born only five days ago.
Daniel’s birth couldn’t have been more different. Anxiety was replaced with serenity; confusion with connection; and underwear with socks. But how did I get from point A to B? The fact is that the birth of each of our children Grayson (11), Seth (7), Isaac (4), Lily (2), and now Daniel brought me to a new level of consciousness regarding my role in the birthing process. I clearly played a different role with each of my children. In reflecting on each of these roles, I can see how they can each be compared to various roles associated with a game of football. Hey, even though this article is about birthing, I can still think like a dude!
First and 10 centimeters
First Child Grayson: I was the spectator
I watched the game from the stands; in fact it was like the first football game I had ever seen because I didn’t really understand what was going on. I just sat there and cheered when everyone else did.
Second Child Seth: I Worked On the Chain Crew
You know the guys who stand on the sidelines holding the orange sticks, that was me. I was as close as one could possibly get to game without actually being involved. I was there mentally, emotionally, and spiritually but didn’t really take an active role in the process.
Third Child Isaac: Assistant Coach
I knew the playbook inside and out and was able to make an impact on the outcome of the game, but still wasn’t as connected to the quarterback (my wife) as either of us would have liked.
Fourth Child Lily: 2nd String Offensive Tackle
I was definitely on the field contributing and the outcome was spectacular. Through this birth, Chrissy and I found a connection on another level and it changed our relationship forever. However, we both agreed that although I played an extremely supportive role, she spent the majority of her labor in her own space. Witnessing this alone was miraculous; watching someone transcend the pangs of physical pain with the hope and excitement of bringing a new life into the world.
Fifth Child Daniel: Starting Center
If you’re familiar with football then you know that the center and quarterback have to function as one entity in order to allow a smooth and seamless transition of the ball from one to the other. In the game of football, this is as close as I can get to what Chrissy and I experienced with the birth of Daniel.
Before Daniel was born Chrissy expressed her desire for us to remain connected through the entire birth process. I knew what she wanted, and I knew that the only obstacle to making our goal a reality was me. If I’m being honest, I had always been a little jealous of those guys who were brave enough to blatantly disregard other’s perception of them and become fully engaged with their spouse during the birth of their children. I had not previously done so because I was scared. Scared of what? I’m asking myself that question right now as I write this. Scared that I would look silly; scared that I would make a mistake; scared that I wouldn’t fully connect with my wife if I did try…I think deep down these are all reasons. However, there was no fear 5 days ago. It was magical, it was intimate, and it was absolutely miraculous. We stayed connected through the entire process and we shared the experience as though we were one person. I had no idea such a thing was possible, but now I know that it is.
Here are 3 Things I’ve Learned Since the birth of Our first Child:
1. Be Present
Don’t think about who’s in the room, food, sports, or what you’re doing later. Focus on NOW! You don’t get many of these moments, and the only way to fully experience this is to live it while it happens. Take a moment to observe the room, your wife, your breathing, her breathing, everything that’s happening now. Being present will be a tremendous help to the entire process. When someone we care about deeply loses a loved one, there is nothing we can say or do that can make any difference at all except being present for them. Our love and presence is all we really have to give. Isn’t it interesting that our presence alone can make a huge difference when a life comes into this world as well?
2. Relinquish Control
You’re mate is the all-time quarterback in this game, and God is calling the plays. You cannot control the situation. It takes us guys a while to get used to that. A successful birth requires a setting of no resistance because it’s a natural process. Standing over a flower will not make it blossom, and being in a state of non-acceptance will not make a positive difference in the birth of your child. Full acceptance, however, does invite serenity and can make a profound impact on your spouse and the setting in general…plus it just feels better.
3. Make her Feel Beautiful, Because She is
Motherhood is a divine calling and birthing can bring out the divinity in a woman. You can help her embrace that divinity by supporting her physically, emotionally, and spiritually throughout the process. Messaging, kissing, holding, encouraging, engaging, breathing together, connecting, these are all things a man can do to support his wife on all levels.
I need to take a moment to thank God, my wonderful wife Chrissy, and our amazing midwife Nancy for this wonderful experience we’ve shared together and will never forget. Chrissy and I are changed forever and I’m totally exited to see what the future holds for our family. As people we can change, we can evolve to higher levels of consciousness, and we can use grand events in our lives to help take us to the next level. But regardless of what happens, I think I'll leave the quarterbacking to my wife:)
Please feel free to share your thoughts and feelings below. Thanks!
5 Keys to Discovering Our Natural State of Happiness
Here’s a bold statement for you:
Regardless of what you achieve, how much stuff you accumulate, or how well people regard you, you will never obtain happiness in this life.
Sound pessimistic? Quite the contrary…..this may be the most optimistic thing you’ve read in quite a while.
You see, to obtain happiness implies that it is something that exists outside of our self. The reality is that happiness already exists within us and is very much part of our natural state of being. In fact, the only place happiness can be found is inside of ourselves. This happiness can be discovered, uncovered, or exposed, but it cannot be obtained because it’s impossible to obtain that which you already have. To see the world in this way is transformational. Let’s take a closer look….shall we?
Here are 5 Keys to Discovering our Natural State of Happiness
1. You Don’t need a Reason to be Happy
In his book “The Power of Intention” Wayne Dyer makes a wonderful point about babies. He states that despite the fact that they are bald, chubby, and toothless they continue to be in a natural state of happiness. They crawl around, eat everything they get their hands on, poop in their pants, and just laugh and smile. Their only concern is growing, expanding, and being blissful. What can we learn from them?
We do not need a reason to be happy!
Happiness is our natural state. Each of us is born with this great treasure, and when we are new to the world its luster consumes our attention. However, as we become accustomed to living in the world, we cover our treasure with layer upon layer of silt and sediment until it becomes buried beneath the surface of our being. And sadly enough, most of us forget we ever had it. Take a moment to observe a baby. Watch as the radiance of their treasure shines and remember that you were once also in that natural state of being, without the need of any reason to be happy.
2. Nothing You Achieve can ever Make You Happy
The irony of our lives is that it’s just as we pat down the final layer of earth that conceals our treasure that we begin a life of treasure hunting. Many people spend their entire lives seeking that which they already have. Happiness cannot be found in things. We know this intellectually, but take a moment to reflect on just how often, even on a subconscious level, we expect to acquire some degree of happiness from a source outside of ourselves. The same is true of our achievements or the accolades we receive from others. How many times have you thought you’ve finally unearthed your buried treasure only to discover a hollow chest void of any real value?
I often look for a pen or pencil for minutes only to discover that it’s behind my ear. I always get a good chuckle when I realize what I’ve done. I could not see it because wherever I turned my head, it turned with me and remained just out of sight. The same is true with our treasure of happiness. It will always remain out of sight so long as we seek it outside of ourselves. If I had only taken a moment to pause and reflect on the situation I would have felt the pen behind my ear and my insane quest would have ended. Let’s pause and reflect on the inanity of our lives. Are we on a quest destined for disappointment?
3. Your Failures cannot Make Your Unhappy
The great news is that if we cannot find happiness outside of ourselves, then the inverse must also be true: Unhappiness cannot originate from outside of ourselves either.
This one perspective alone is liberating. If we fail financially, if we lose the respect important people, if a project falls apart, if someone we depend on lets us down…..these things do not obligate us to be unhappy. In fact, they are completely powerless to do so. These are only layers of silt. We need to keep our broom handy and constantly sweep these happiness distracters off of our shining treasure.
4. Problems are an Illusion
What is a problem? The common answer is that it is something that goes wrong in our lives. The reality is that a problem is nothing more than a thought. Where do thoughts exist? Who creates thoughts?
They only exist in our brain and we are the one that create them.
So the question is: Why make it into a problem? Does defining it as so help anything?
The problem with problems is that we build identities around them and they influence the way we see the world. We when we create problems we become victims. This means we are no longer responsible for our lives.
So what am I saying? To pretend problems don’t exist? To pretend that everything’s peachy when it’s not?
That’s not what I’m saying at all. When something in our lives doesn’t go the way we want, we have several choices:
1. To take action in order to reach a resolution
2. Accept what has happened
3. Label it as a problem and begin an inner dialogue how much it stinks!
We all do #3 but what good does it do? None, we don’t need it and are much more effective without it!
How is this relevant to happiness? If you are focused on your problems what are you not focused on?
It is impossible to be in a natural state of happiness and be consumed by problems at the same time. However, it is possible to have things go wrong in your life and remain in happiness if you do not label them as problems. They are an illusion.
5. Remember the Source of Our Happiness
We are not the makers of our treasure. We did not place it inside ourselves. God is the source of all happiness. The reason that happiness resides within us is because He resides within us. Babies are so blissful because they remain in close connection with Him. To the degree that we can remove the layers of silt and dirt that lie between us and Him we will discover the happiness that he has already blessed us with in this life.
As we go forth over the following days let’s set a goal to reflect on our natural state of happiness. As we begin to get caught up in the things of the world, let’s remember that they can neither add nor detract from our true selves. As things happen that are contrary to our will, let’s deal with them in the best possible way without making them into problems. If we do this we will be in closer to God and it will have a direct influence on our happiness and the happiness of others.
Thanks for your time. Thoughts and Comments welcome as always.
The 3 Most Difficult Things for Human Beings to Master- Videos
It has been said that the three most difficult things for any person to do are.......well we won't go there yet.
But let's just say that as difficult as what's in the video below is to accomplish, it didn't make the top three:
And as wicked cool as the dude in the video below is, his skills don't even register on the difficulty scale of the human feats we're talking about:
This looks a little tougher, but still not one of the three most difficult tasks for a person to master.
Ok, enough teasing! As difficult to master as the above human achievements are, their difficulty pales in comparison with the following 3 Human Accomplishments:
1. To Give Love in Response to Hate
2. Standing up for those who are not present.
3. Admitting when you have made a mistake or when you need to change.
Think of how you apply (or don't apply) these core behaviors in your life:
- Do you respond with kindness when someone won't let you merge lanes in traffic?
- Do you defend a friend or loved one when someone dogs them in their absence?
- Do you live in a state of constant self-assessment; willing to make any adjustments to bring your intentions in alignment with God's?
If you can answer "Yes" to any of those questions then congratulations, you've done something more difficult than breaking the world bench press record, beat-boxing on a national level, and balancing the weight of your entire body on the tip of your index finger!
The most amazing aspect of this is that the power to accomplish any of these three tasks lies within every single person on this planet. You do not have to have superior genetics to respond with love, you do not have to have super human strength to stand up for your friends, and you do not have to be an enlightened spiritual guru to make the necessary changes in your life.
The ability to master any of these three tasks is as simple as making a decision; a decision to do it. God has endowed each of us with a free will; the ability to chose for ourselves what we are to do in this life. It is in the mastering of this will, in the mastering of ourselves, that we can give all we really have to offer God. I'm sure He appreciates good beat-boxing like anyone else, but something tells me He'd rather we focus on smiling at the guy who just cut us off in traffic.
What say ye? Comments welcome as always:)
3 Essential Steps to Making a ‘High-Speed’ Connection with God
What forces stress the connection between you and God?
Have you ever been stuck using a computer with dial-up internet after being spoiled by a lightning fast high-speed connection?
Talk about a trial of patience!
What’s really frustrating is that sometimes my connection with God seems to be stuck on ‘dial-up’....and frankly, sometimes my spiritual internet seems to be down all together.
What can we do on these ‘dial-up’ days? The following are 3 steps to help establish a 'high-speed' connection with God.
3 Steps to making a Better Connection with God:
Step 1: Close the ‘Programs’ of the Mind
Think of our mind as a computer. What happens to a computer when too many programs run at once? We’ve all had it happen…..it crashes right? The same is true with the programs of our mind. They serve a purpose, but when these programs, or thoughts, are running they inhibit our ability to connect with God.
It’s time to click the red “X” at the top-right of the screen and close those suckers out!
- that song stuck in the back of your head……gone!
- the things on today’s ‘to-do’ list…..see ya!
- what happened on the TV show last night…..bye-bye!
But How do we Quiet the Mind?
Be the school master:
Did you ever have an experience in school where you were fully engaged in conversation with a buddy during a lesson and you look up to find the teacher and the rest of the class staring at you? What did you do? Probably exactly what I did…..you shut up! Be the teacher of your mind. But don’t scold the students (your thoughts) when they are out of line. In fact, don’t even judge them….simply observe. That teacher staring at me directly in the face had more of an impact than anything else she could have said or done. This first step is essential because a conscious connection with God can only occur through the spirit, not the mind which we’ve grown to rely on so heavily.
Step Two: Click the Spiritual “Connect” Button
Now that we’ve closed the ‘programs’ of the mind, it’s time to make the connection.
I love the account of Elijah the prophet in 1 Kings 19: 11-12 as he withdraws into the wilderness to commune with God:
“….And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. “
Notice that it was only after the noise was quieted that Elijah made the connection with God.
Think of the brilliant words used to describe the communication of God to Elijah: “still small voice”
His connection with God came through stillness. Our spiritual “Connect” button is this stillness, which is the space between the wind, earthquakes, and fires of our lives. To make conscious connection with God we must discover this tranquil place despite the distractions of life…and go into it. It is in this stillness that we commune with God and how we “Connect” with Him.
What is truly fascinating about this connection is that we do not have to go to a mountain retreat like Elijah to make this connection. I wrote about an experience I had in a recent blog post that occurred during what would have otherwise been a stressful situation. A connection with God can literally occur any time or anywhere.
Step Three: Focus on the Connection
One of the biggest mistakes I make when connecting with God is to focus on the ‘data’ that I’m ‘uploading’ to God rather than on the connection.
The spiritual upload I’m talking about here is what I’m saying to God….the actual language I use during a prayer. The problem is that I sometimes spit out words with absolutely no meaning. Have you ever heard someone accidently bless the food in a night-time prayer….my kids do it all the time, and I’ve caught myself about to do it as well. To focus on the words of a prayer, or better stated, to feel that the words ARE the substance of the prayer is all wrong! The substance of the prayer or meditation is the connection with God, not the language we may use. If we are truly in unison with Him, our deepest and most heart-felt feelings will emerge as a natural result of the connection.
As we move forward with our lives, let’s focus on quieting our mind and listening to the still small voice. I have found that my life is so much easier when I have a conscious connection with our loving Heavenly Father. My toughest days are definitely the ones where I'm on spiritual dial-up.
Comments welcome as always!
3 Lies We tell Ourselves Every Day…..and Why Most People Believe Them!
Do you have a need for drama in your life?
We have all been lied to at some point in our lives. Not a pleasant experience….to be deceived.
As it turns out, we all lie to ourselves every single day….and the crazy thing is that most of us buy it!
Regardless of whether we believe these lies originate internally from the mind, or externally from some evil force, the reality is that there is something that manifests itself within us that attempts to place blinders on our spiritual eyes and keep us from seeing our divine nature. This ego, which is what we’ll call it for now, creates perpetual noise within our mind to distract us from feeling close to God. Think of ourselves as a stereo system with God being the only true frequency in existence. The ego emits false radio signals in the form of lies and deceit to prevent us from tuning into God.
Here are 3 Lies My Ego Tells me Every Single Day:
Lie #1: My Life is a Soap Opera
Could you imagine a soap opera without some form of intense drama……..someone being offended, cheated on, abused, etc? The viewers would ask, ‘why the heck am I watching this, it’s just as boring as my life?’ The writers of soap operas are just like our ego……their purpose is to create drama out of thin air.
Why do we create drama in our lives?
Drama fulfills the egos need to be separate from everyone and everything else. For example, think of how we feel when we are offended by someone: isolated, misunderstood, alone, etc. And what follows but more isolation in the form of resentment and anger that persists into the future. The ego is getting what it wants: to feel special. To survive, it has to be different, alone, and distinguished from all other forms. Although these feelings may seem satisfying in some strange way, they ultimately lead to suffering.
Seeing Our Life vs Our Life Situation
The key to ending life’s drama is found in our perspective…..an eternal perspective. To rid ourselves of self-inflicted drama we must have the ability to differentiate between our life, or our divine nature, and our life situation which is simply our circumstances. Many people are incapable of distinguishing between the two and therefore build a self-identity around their problems. But here’s the thing: we are not our problems. Problems are temporary, we are eternal. Problems are on the surface, but the essence of who we are is much deeper. To confuse the two would be like defining the ocean by the waves and ripples on the surface. The wonders of the ocean were only discovered when mankind was daring enough to dive into its depths; we then realized that it was more dynamic and abundant than the dry land we considered our home. The same is true with our lives. The ego would have us focus on the dramatic waves of our life situation, however just as with the ocean, the disturbance only occurs on the surface……there are miles of stillness beneath.
Lie #2: I Will Be Happier Tomorrow, Next Month, or Next Year
Here’s the thing: it’s impossible to find true joy in the future. I like to use the buffet analogy (I think of everything in terms of food.)
Here’s how my brain works when I’m at a buffet:
The first thing I do upon arrival is plan my first plate. But when fixing said plate, I’m in a hurry to sit down and begin the feast. But as soon as I sit down to eat, I begin thinking about the composition of the second plate…..and so on. Three empty plates later I find myself stuffed full of food I never focused on eating! Is this not the definition of insanity?
Many of us Lead Entire Lives of this Insanity
If all of our focus is consumed by the future, we are never fully present and therefore miss life! Our ego would have us wait for happiness in the form of the coming weekend, next month’s vacation, or when the house is paid off in ten years, so we can never find true happiness now….which is the only place it actually is.
Have you ever actually taken time to smell the roses?
I don’t mean figuratively, I mean literally taken several minutes to do nothing but admire the appearance and fragrance of a rose. This is the meaning of the cliché right? I did this the other day. As I sat in my kitchen in awe of a beautiful red rose, I had no problems, I had no thoughts of finding happiness right around the next corner…..I had everything I needed in that moment. I can have it now, and so can you.
Lie #3: I am Defined by My Accomplishments
My ego would have me believe that my value as a person is determined by external factors. Some of these metrics of “success” include large scale things such as the success of my business, my work in the community, how my children do in life, the accolades and recognition I accumulate, and so on. The ego would also have me believe that small things such having an idea accepted or winning an argument also adds or detracts from my value as a person.
Lies…..all lies!
The ego understands that the more value we place on our true divine nature, the closer we become to God. So the ego does all it can to turn our attention to external sources of value. It would have us build our identity around our accomplishments instead of around our true nature. Deep down we all know that true peace and joy cannot be obtained through external sources, it can only be found through a conscious connection with God who created and sustains us.
How do we Stop the Lies?
We can’t! But that’s alright, because they don’t need to stop. We simply have to stop believing them.
Here’s how:
1. The first step is to understand that you are being lied to on a daily basis. That there is such a thing as the ego and it does lie to you.
2. The second step is to recognize the lies of the ego as they are being told to you.
3. The third step is to simply observe the ego as it interacts with you in your life. Do not judge it, do not become angry with it….simply watch it. Even smile at it, accept that it is there. To do so forces awareness of it, and by so doing, it becomes impossible to confuse yourself with it. Just as shining light into a dark room eliminates darkness, so too does shining the light of our awareness on the darkness of the ego cause it to shrink.
4. Maintain conscious connection with God through prayer and meditation.
I’m finding that a greater understanding of my ego gives me a deeper perspective on life. As I go through my daily routines I find that although I sometimes allow myself to be deceived, many times I see the ego coming a mile away and chuckle at the insane thoughts it tries to place in my mind. As I do this I become closer to God.
What say you?
What if Life is a Song?: Composing the Melody of Our Divine Purpose
If we take time to relax and listen, we will bring ourselves into harmony with God.
I was riding down the road this morning listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer and he made a wonderful observation about living life to the fullest. He said, “Don’t die with your music still in you.”
What a wonderful admonition. As I pondered this, I began thinking about how our life is like a song, and how important it is that the music of our lives is in harmony with the will of God.
Here are 5 Ways to Compose the Music of a Fulfilling Life:
1. Be in Tune
I’m a novice guitar player, but at the young age of 12 I quickly learned that it didn’t matter how well I played the instrument if it was out of tune. The same is true with us. Our natural gifts and abilities cannot be fully utilized if we are not in tune with the Source from which those gifts emanate. One of the most wonderful blessings of this life is that we have the ability to do spiritual ‘tuning’. We can tweak the keys of our spiritual instruments and bring them into harmony with the Almighty. He has even provided a spiritual tuning fork in the form of the Holy Spirit that makes it clear to us when we are off key and require adjustment. Just as the concert musician tunes the instrument before a performance, so too is being in tune with God the most fundamental step one can take toward living a fulfilling life.
2. Choose the right instrument
We all have natural strengths and weaknesses. Regardless of how hard I tried, I could never learn to play the flute on a professional level. I’m a bulky, large framed guy and I’m simply to dang awkward to play an instrument that requires such finesse. If I wanted to become a concert musician I would need to find and instrument that was more compatible with my natural abilities like a stand-up bass, or even a tuba….heaven forbid! It’s easy to look out at others, see their success, and attempt to emulate them. However, this is not necessarily God’s plan. Imagine a symphony orchestra with only flutists…that doesn’t sound too appealing. It's the congruency of all of the instruments in the orchestra that creates the moving influence on the listener. Let’s make the effort to insure we are wielding the instrument God intends us to play.
3. Don’t try to Play Solo
God does not intend you to be a solo artist. If you feel otherwise, take a moment to consider what we take with us when we leave this life. We come in with nothing and we leave with nothing….no-thing. We leave our ‘stuff’ and our accomplishments behind. All we can take with us is what we have learned and the relationships that we’ve established. In fact, it’s been my experience that the greatest blessings of this life occur when they are shared with others. Center stage is over-rated. Regardless of our talent and ambition, let’s make sure to share the best things this life has to offer with others.
4. Practice until your Spiritual Fingers bleed
I remember when I first began playing guitar how incredibly sore my fingers were. I can still remember the pain in my left hand as I forced myself to pick up the guitar and continue to practice despite the fact that my finger tips were on fire. Spiritually, we are the same. It is very difficult to begin to change our lives for the better. Initially, it causes acute pain. But as we continue to pick up our instrument and practice, our spiritual muscles begin to memorize the movements, our emotional fingers adapt and become tougher, and playing the true song of our life becomes second nature. I remember the first time I picked the guitar up and simply played a song without even thinking about it. At that point I knew it had become habit and the long painful practice was paying off. Let’s work to achieve this on a spiritual level; to get to a point where following God is such a part of our nature that we are not able to discern His will from our own.
5. Write you Own Music
The song of your life does not belong on Top 40 radio. Music created for the ‘main stream’ audience is stripped of originality and creativity. The same applies to the song of our lives. Our Heavenly Father would have us compose music that is uniquely our own. In fact, I would say that it’s impossible for two people who are genuinely following God to create the same song. This is how unique and special we are! To live our lives focused on the acceptance of others, or in other words writing a song based on the reactions of the audience, simply strips us of our divine purpose. Digging deep and finding this purpose will ultimately mean finding God, and through this, others will inevitably be touched. "Seek the world and all is lost, seek God and you have the world thrown in", as C.S. Lewis puts it.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all composing a song in this life. To bring our lives into harmony with God is to compose a melody that will bring peace and joy into our life as well as the lives of others.
I’ll have to admit, I’m actually metal head at heart. I’m wondering into what genre of music my life’s song would belong: classical, jazz, classic rock, r and b? How about you?
Please feel free to comment below.
