Living an Inspired Life Read online

  By contrast, highly motivated people have a kind of ego determination driving them over obstacles and toward goals—nothing gets in their way. Now, most of us have been taught that this is an admirable trait; in fact, when we’re not accomplishing and demonstrating drive and ambition, we’ve been told to “get motivated!” Lectures, books, videos, and audio recordings abound that preach that all we have to do is dedicate ourselves to an idea with actions designed to make it a reality. This is a beneficial approach for a different level of accomplishment—but what we’re exploring in these pages is what leads us to precisely what we’re meant to be and do . . . our ultimate calling.

  If motivation is grabbing an idea and carrying it through to an acceptable conclusion, then inspiration is the reverse. When we’re in the grip of inspiration, an idea has taken hold of us from the invisible reality of Spirit. Something that seems to come from afar, where we allow ourselves to be moved by a force that’s more powerful than our ego and all of its illusions, is inspiration. And being in-Spirit is the place where we connect to the invisible reality that ultimately directs us toward our calling. Often we can identify these inspired times by their insistence, and because they seem not to make sense while at the same time they keep appearing in our consciousness.

  If we ignore inspiration’s powerful attraction, the result is personal discomfort or a sense of disconnection from ourselves. For any number of reasons, we might be resistant when we feel called to create, perform, visit a foreign place, meet someone, express ourselves, help another, or be a part of a cause. Inspiration is a calling to proceed even though we’re unsure of goals or achievements—it may even insist that we go in the direction of uncharted territory.

  Throughout various stages of life, inspiration is the thought or idea reconnecting us to the energy we were part of prior to becoming a microscopic particle. I call this “surrendering to our destiny and allowing ourselves to hear the call.” At this point we can differentiate between the demands of our ego and those of the ego-dominated people and institutions that deflect us from the call of inspiration. As we move more deeply into Spirit, we cease to be guided by the ego demands of others or ourselves. We surrender to the always-present force that urges us to be in this blissful state of inspiration. We’re guided by our ultimate calling, which is truly our life purpose.

  A Force Beyond Even Our Own Life

  The invisible reality, where all physical life originates, is more powerful and significant than the tiny parenthesis in eternity that we call “life,” or what comes between birth and death. The spiritual dimension of the invisible reality calls to us in this material world of beginnings and endings. This spiritual essence is our Source, which is magnificent and stupendous compared to our earthly self. When we’re inspired (as I refer to it in this book), we’re connected to this force that’s greater in every respect than our physical being. It was in-Spirit that our purpose was laid out, and it’s in-Spirit where our magnificence is absolute and irrefutable. Before merging into form, we were a part of God, with all the inherent qualities of a Creator who sends forth abundance, creativity, love, peace, joy, and well-being.

  When we feel what Arthur Miller apparently did, we acknowledge and rejoin that more expansive energy field running through us, and we invite this Source to participate in our daily life. We suspend our ego identification and warm to the idea of trusting the energy that created us. We choose to live in-Spirit, entrusting ourselves to something greater than our life as a physical being. When we listen and allow it to, Spirit guides us; when we fail to listen—or allow our ego to get in the way and run the show—we’re going to be uninspired. It’s that simple.

  Later in this book there are specific suggestions for communing with and connecting to this part of ourselves. First, I’d like to share some of the personal experiences I’ve had when I’ve been in-Spirit.

  My Experience with Being in-Spirit

  When I’m in-Spirit, I have a feeling of contentment, but more than this, I experience joy. I’m able to receive the vibrational energies of my Source—call them voices, messages, silent reminders, invisible suggestions, or what have you, but they’re vibrations of energy that I’m able to align with as I get myself out of the way. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world’s great geniuses, once remarked: “When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer—say, traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep—it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and how they come, I know not, nor can I force them.”

  We don’t have to be a genius to know what Mozart speaks of—the same force in a different way is flowing through you and me right now. I’ve learned to remove resistance to the free flow of this spiritual energy by reminding myself to align with it, or to be in-Spirit in my thoughts and expectations.

  Spirit doesn’t dwell on the impossibility of anything—that is, it doesn’t focus on not being able to create, on things not working out, on expecting the worst, or on being stuck in place. When I’m in-Spirit, I want my present moment and thoughts to align perfectly with what I desire. I want to offer an experience of inspiration to my audience, so I don’t give a speech thinking, I’ll probably disappoint them. I choose to know that if I stumble or forget something in the middle of my talk, the inspiration to get me through it will be there. The results are exhilarating feelings of inspiration.

  When I sit down to write, my desire is to invite Spirit to express through me, and I encourage ideas to flow freely. Like Mozart, I’m connected, as it were, to my Source in-Spirit, thinking and expecting to be the instrument of my spiritual Source. Ideas flow, and whatever assistance I need just shows up. And like Mozart, I can’t describe how the ideas come, and I can’t force them. Staying in-Spirit seems to be the secret to this feeling of being inspired.

  I also find that inspiration flows in other areas of my life when my primary mission is like what Michael Berg so beautifully describes in Becoming Like God: Kabbalah and Our Ultimate Destiny: “. . . just as every being is God’s business, every being becomes our business as well.” That is, being inspired necessitates the willingness to suspend ego and enter a space where I want to share who I am and what I have in a completely unlimited fashion.

  At a recent lecture, for instance, a woman named Rolina De Silva approached me at the break to ask if I’d visit her teenage daughter, Alison, in The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Alison had been hospitalized for many, many months due to a rare disease that’s characterized by a breakdown of the lymphatic system. Her intestines had been perforated, so she was unable to process proteins and fats . . . and her prognosis was dismal at best.

  As I sat with Alison on my third visit with her, I held her hand and noticed that a scab was forming on the top of her hand from a minor injury brought about by an intravenous injection. Something came over me in that moment, and I looked into the girl’s eyes and reminded her that the scab was a gift to her. It indicated that the essence of well-being (our Source) was working within her. I reminded her that all she had to do was to summon that same well-being to her abdomen. “You’re already connected to Spirit,” I almost shouted, “otherwise you wouldn’t be growing a scab over that cut on your hand!”

  When I spoke with Rolina 14 months later, I asked if she remembered that day in the hospital when I held Alison’s hand and felt inspired by the scab. Rolina replied that that day was a new beginning for her daughter, as something inside of her opened. Always before she’d had a blank look on her face, yet she gave off an air of intolerance about the entire process. When the girl realized that she was indeed connected to Spirit, evinced by the presence of the scab forming on her hand, she changed her attitude completely.

  Today Alison is back home and actually doing work to raise money for that same hospital where she spent so many months as a critical-care patient. (If you ever see me speaking on television or in person, you’ll notice a little angel pin that I wear
, which was given to me by Alison as a thank-you gift. To me, this pin is a symbol of the angel that guided me that day to speak to Alison as I did.)

  I know in my heart that when we remember we’re always connected to this Source and that we can summon the well-being of God, it is then that we’re said to be inspired. Whether the outcome is miraculous, as was Alison’s, or our physical reconnection to our Source is completed through the death of our body, we live out our moment in-Spirit. It’s important to understand that each and every one of us represents God or Spirit revealing Itself here on our planet.

  Also, keep in mind that our creative force is a forthcoming energy. I find that when I emulate it, the result is inspiration flowing through my life, and I’m living a life that is my ultimate calling. If I feel called to something higher and then do nothing about it, I’ll generally find myself experiencing discontentment and disappointment. But when I act upon that calling by being in vibrational harmony with it, and by being willing to share it with as many people as possible, I feel inspired.

  When I donate books to a prison or a library, for example, I feel my ultimate calling being fulfilled by my actions. And just this morning I received a thank-you call from a woman who’d asked me for an endorsement for her work. I’d taken the time to respond with an appraisal of how her spiritual practice of healing hypnosis had benefited me and what I thought it could do for others. She said, “Your words were the greatest Christmas gift I ever received.” So why am I still inspired by this? Because I left the world of ego and entered the world of expressing Spirit to benefit another person.

  These experiences of being in-Spirit are available to all of us—I’ve simply used some personal vignettes here to illustrate ways to discover the calling for each of us. I’ve felt called to help others, and my life has taken me in that direction.

  In What Direction Are You Moving?

  Being in-Spirit is a direction we take, rather than a destination to be reached. Living our life in-Spirit requires us to determine that direction, and we do so by noticing our thoughts and behaviors. Thoughts that are in-Spirit reflect a vibrational alignment moving us toward our ultimate calling—and, obviously, this is the direction we want to take. Once we begin to observe our thoughts, we realize that there are many times we’re going in the opposite direction. When we catch ourselves, with conscious effort we can make a U-turn with new thoughts. For example, blaming something we call “evil” is thinking in the wrong direction. When we see things in our world that we label evil, what we’re really seeing are people moving away from their Source, not individuals in the grip of an evil power.

  In our world there are many activities that seem to be motivated by evil, but we must be careful not to assign power to a force that doesn’t exist. There are only people moving away from Source with behavior that contradicts the creative energy that’s within them. When we have thoughts that reflect hatred, judgment, and exclusion, we’re moving away from our Source. When those nonspiritual thoughts explode in the painful form of terrorist activities, for instance, we call them evil. While the pejorative labels that we use may alleviate our feelings of anger and helplessness, they don’t help us be in-Spirit. It’s imperative for all who seek an inspired life to assess the direction of their thoughts and behaviors in terms of going toward, or away from, Spirit. Condemning behavior as an evil force is thinking that takes us away from living in-Spirit.

  To become inspired on a daily basis, we must be able to quickly identify any thoughts that are moving us away from our Source, and then shift the direction. We need to bring love to the presence of hatred, as Saint Francis advised. When we’re consumed with thoughts we’ve labeled as evil, we need to notice that we’re headed in the wrong direction. It’s difficult to comprehend because we’re accustomed to blaming our problems on external forces such as evil or hate, but we know better. We can make that U-turn by using the same energy within us that has us traveling away from God.

  Evil, hatred, fear, and even illness soften with love and kindness when we’re in-Spirit. When we make that U-turn, we make an alignment correction and move back into the space of Spirit in our thoughts and actions.

  Some Suggestions for Putting the Ideas in This Chapter to Work for You

  — Commit to at least one daily experience where you share something of yourself with no expectation of being acknowledged or thanked. For example, before I begin my daily routine of exercise, meditation, or writing, I go to my desk and choose my gift for that day. Sometimes it’s just a phone call to a stranger who’s written to me, or perhaps I order flowers or send a book or present to someone who has helped me in a local store. On one occasion I wrote to the president of the university I graduated from to start a scholarship fund, on another day I took a calender to the yard man, on another I sent a check to Habitat for Humanity, and on another I sent three rolls of postage stamps to my son who’d just started his own business. It doesn’t matter if this activity is big or small—it’s a way to begin the day in-Spirit.

  — Become conscious of all thoughts that aren’t aligned with your Source. The moment you catch yourself excluding someone or having a judgmental thought, say the words “in-Spirit” to yourself. Then make a silent effort to shift that thought to match up with Source energy.

  — In the morning before you’re fully awake, and again as you’re going to sleep, take one or two minutes of what I call “quiet time with God.” Be in a state of appreciation and say aloud, “I want to feel good.”

  — My life is bigger than I am. Remind yourself of this statement. Print it out and post it strategically in your home, car, or workplace. The “I” is your ego identification. Your life is Spirit flowing through you unhindered by ego—it’s what you showed up here to actualize—and is infinite. The “I” that identifies you is a fleeting snippet.

  — Dedicate your life to something that reflects an awareness of your Divinity. You are greatness personified, a resident genius, and a creative master—regardless of anyone’s opinion. Make a silent dedication to encourage and express your Divine nature.

  A Course in Miracles quotes Jesus as saying: “If you want to be like me I will help you, knowing that we are alike. If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind.” Being inspired is truly being like your Source. If you’re not, then your Source is politely waiting for you to do something as simple as change your mind.

  CHAPTER 2

  YOUR LIFE BEFORE YOUR BIRTH INTO A BODY

  “All bodies emerge from the Soul and return to it. The visible emerges from the invisible, is controlled by it, and returns to it.”

  — LAO RUSSELL

  QUANTUM PHYSICISTS TELL US that particles don’t create more particles; rather, they’re said to proceed from what are described as “waves of energy.” And physicists and metaphysicists agree that, in a physical sense, life as we know it springs from an invisibleness that we often call Spirit. I’m sure that it comes as no surprise to you that the invisible world of Spirit from which all physical particles originate isn’t explainable or verifiable. Words can’t define with precision what’s inherently clear to us at moments of knowing.

  This is clearly a purposeful Universe, with an intelligence supporting its creation and continuing evolution—and we’re pieces of that intelligence by virtue of having emerged from it. Consider, for example, that scientific analysis of even a droplet of blood reveals all of the characteristics in our entire body’s supply. The percentage of iron in that droplet is proportionately the same as in that which flows through our entire body—so it’s easy to agree that the drop of blood is identical to the source from which it was removed.

  Now think about what happens to that droplet of blood when it remains in the state of separation: It can’t fortify or heal us, and it can’t circulate freely. Disconnected from its source long enough, it will simply dry up, decay, and disintegrate, even though it contains all of the physical properties necessary to survive that its original source does.

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sp; I believe that our transition from spiritual Source to physical beings made up of particles is similar to that bit of blood in that we contain all of the same properties as our Source—but unlike that droplet, we’re never completely separated from our Source. I know that there are no accidents in a Universe directed by a Source energy that creates endless real magic in the form of Its creations. I know that we agreed to move from the world of Spirit into the world of particles and form, to come forth at the exact time that we did, and to leave when we’ve agreed to do so. I also know that we decided to bring joyful perfection to this world, and to share that God-like energy with everyone we encounter here on Earth. It’s our nature to do so!

  Ancient mystical traditions teach that our planet exists as a vehicle to share the Creator’s universal love, beauty, and abundance. When we leave Spirit, we don’t necessarily have to separate from our original nature, but that’s what seems to happen. Becoming inspired requires our being curious about, and attentive to, feelings that emerge to help us reconnect with our original self.

  Inspiration flowing through us is a messenger from the realm of our nonphysical self, from where we were before we entered this visible world of form. We have the ability to return to that formlessness right now, in our body, without experiencing physical death.

  This is largely a mental excursion, which requires us to think in ways that we imagine the All-Creating Energy, or God, thinks. What must it have been like just before we made the transition from Spirit to form? In the infinite oneness that we were (and still are), something took place to allow that aforementioned wave of energy to manifest into a tiny subatomic particle, and then to a quark, an electron, an atom, a molecule, and ultimately a cell that comprised all that we needed for the physical manifestation of our body and all of its pursuits, accomplishments, acquisitions, and physical properties.