ESSAY: Seven Ways To Invite The Extraordinary Life

[Guest guest]

Seven Ways To Invite The Extraordinary Life

by Guy Finley

 

In each of us lives a perpetual promise. Mostly this unseen promise is

fulfilled in us by accident - as when we stumble upon some splendid

scene in nature set there as if just for our eyes, or when we are able

to take part in a magical moment of music or relationship with another.

And for some, the embers of this promise of the Extraordinary are

inflamed in too brief moments of grace brought on in prayer or meditation.

 

However we experience these moments of the Extraordinary, we are at once

thrilled and rebuffed by them. The thrill is our recognition that what

moves us must secretly dwell within us, else why our interior resonance?

The rebuff we feel is the blow of realizing somewhere we settled for the

" ordinary " life, and are reminded it needn't be that way.

 

The following " 7 Simple Exercises to Invite the Extraordinary Life " will

help you do the special inner work it takes to realize this Promise of

Spirit hidden within you. As best you understand how, strive to practice

its invisible intention. You will soon see how your new and higher

purpose in life serves to help you fulfill this very Promise.

 

1. LET NAGGING QUESTIONS GO UNANSWERED: In stressful moments, listen to

what life is trying to tell you about you instead of searching anxiously

for familiar answers to make life feel " right " again. All fearful,

doubt-filled moments are secret reflections of what we have yet to

understand about life and ourselves, not life's rejection of us or our

wish for happiness. Learn what it means to go quiet whenever there is a

riot in you. Don't take part in the search for power to repair what you

fear is coming (psychologically) undone. This stillness born of

conscious self-sacrifice invites the Extraordinary to enter, answer, and

heal all aches.

 

2. DON'T MAKE THE RESCUE CALL: In times of anxiety and fear, we almost

always call upon someone or something to help us get through our stress.

This dependency on others for strength not only weakens our soul, but

also steals from it the possibility of the Extraordinary visiting it to

deliver two major lessons: first, the crucial lesson that fear is a lie.

With this revelation comes the realization that the same frightened self

that seeks rescue secretly confirms its condition as being real with

each of its plaintive calls for help. Refusing to rescue ourselves from

inner states that scare us invites the Extraordinary that shows us that

no such scared self exists that needs saving.

 

3. TAKE THE HARD WAY: Rut and routine are two sides of the same sad

street. Repetitive patterns are the well-worn pavement that the

spiritually asleep self needs to mechanically walk along so it can keep

talking us to death with its empty promises of extraordinary times " just

ahead. " We can learn to do much better than to settle for being betrayed

in this way, but it takes inner work! Instead of caving in to demands of

those slipshod parts of ourselves always looking for the " easy way " out

- whatever the case may be - we must choose in favor of the " hard " way.

This choice eventually shows us the only thing really hard on us is our

unenlightened nature that wants us to believe getting around something

is the same as rising above it.

 

4. DO THE THING YOU FEAR DOING: There is a correct time and place for

thinking through practical plans in the ordinary scheme of life's

events. But nothing that is founded in thought can serve to reveal the

unthinkable plans the Extraordinary holds in store for anyone willing to

leap into the moment without a parachute. Never mind those old fears of

falling. Just jump! Being willing to risk failing is a prerequisite for

fearless living. If you will take the leap into what you are afraid of

doing, the Extraordinary will prove to you that Its unshakable Ground is

everywhere beneath you at all times. Nothing compares with this

discovery because, once realized, there's nowhere to go but up!

 

5. TAKE TIME OUT FROM YOURSELF EVERY DAY: Unseen by the self that walks

upon it, thought is a treadmill powered by the movement of our

yesterdays as they produce our tomorrows. This is the real meaning of

" doing time. " The Extraordinary is Timeless. Its domain is Now. If we

wish to share Its Life, we must find ways to enter into Its world. Here

is a good way to begin this work: Every day, as often as can be

remembered, we need to deliberately break out of that self-confining

cage called " self-consideration. " Even if we can only collect ourselves

to meditate, pray or ponder a Higher Idea for a few seconds at a time,

we must do it anyway. These small windows - opened by our work to

remember the Extraordinary - are Its passage into our life.

 

6. OPEN YOURSELF TO LIFE: Dare to see and experience yourself as you are

without giving names to what presents itself before your watchful inner

eyes. Allow the meaning of whatever states you see coming up in you to

reveal their actual make-up to you, without interrupting their upwelling

by explaining to yourself why you see what you see there in you. Have no

intention toward these thoughts and feelings other than to be open to

them and, in doing so, to permit them their uninterrupted passage

through you. Why open up to life in this way? For one thing, this gives

negative states the back door they need to depart. For another, the

Extraordinary is very possessive. It will not enter any zone marked " occupied. "

 

7. MAKE NO CAMPSITES: The Extraordinary visits individuals, not groups

or organizations. It strengthens the soul willing to be alone for its

sake. Keep your distance from people who insist you believe as they do,

who hope to convince you that the reality they have satisfied themselves

with should satisfy you as well. These deceivers want only to keep you

in their unreal camp. Never mind who is walking with you and who isn't.

Be wary of any campsite -inner or outer - with its bright " welcome weary

traveler " sign. Most of these campers desire your company so that in

their endless gabbing to you they can forget they are going nowhere.

Walk on! Your persistence is an open invitation to the Extraordinary to

join you on your Journey Home. §

 

-*-

 

Guy Finley is the best-selling author of a half dozen books on self

transformation. His works, which have sold over a million copies and

have been translated into seven languages, are recommended by doctors,

ministers, and industry leaders. For information about Guy Finley's

books, booklets, tapes, and helpful on-going study groups call (541)

476-1200 or visit www.guyfinley.com

 

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