Living an Inspired Life Read online

  Basically, we have two choices for meeting any problem that seems to be blocking us from the bliss of inspiration. The first choice is the way of frailty, in which we assure ourselves that we’re weak and incapable. Frustration, grief, fears, and tears are the hallmarks of this choice, wherein we attempt to cure a wrong with another wrong. The frailty method multiplies tensions by focusing on what’s missing, and often invites the advice of others in an attempt to resolve our inner tension and lack of inspiration.

  The second choice is to go within and know that at our core, beyond all physical and mental factors, there resides the Spirit that’s always connected to God. Any problem, and I emphasize any problem, represents our inability to consciously connect to our Source in the moment. With a conscious connection, we don’t seek the advice of others, we seek information—so our decisions are made between ourselves and our Creator. We frequently have quiet interchanges with God, and we know and trust that spiritual guidance is available as an alignment of energy.

  When we feel uninspired, we recognize that we need to make a vibrational adjustment that puts our thoughts and behaviors back in alignment with the desire to be inspired. Then when this realignment takes place, we can laugh at the folly of seeking something outside of ourselves (such as an activity or a job) to inspire us. By simply realigning and harmonizing with Spirit, we let inspiration blossom in the field of harmony.

  Listening to the Voice of God

  When we make the decision to become a being of sharing, and practice keeping our thoughts harmonized with Spirit energy on a daily basis, our purpose will not only find us, it will chase after us wherever we go. Since we’ve become aligned with our Creator, we won’t be able to escape it. You see, when we live as much of life as possible in God-realization, nothing can go wrong. What and who we need will surface, and we’ll notice that we can’t escape feeling that something much greater than our individual life is at work within and around us.

  Our number one relationship must be to this creative energy of God. When we go to our Source, we activate the energy that reconnects us to our purpose—inspiration then shows up right before our eyes, even when we may have stopped thinking about it. Our purpose manifests in many ways and won’t be limited to a career slot; in fact, it’s often something that requires us to leave a particular kind of employment to pursue something we’d never considered.

  We must trust that inspiration is already here—it only eludes us because we’ve disconnected in some way from the Spirit that was and always will be our essence. I recently received a letter from a woman in Kansas that illustrates this message perfectly. Just out of the blue, she felt compelled to do something that she’d never contemplated before, and voilà!—she was inspired and remains so today. With Gail’s permission, here is her letter, which has been edited for clarity. (For more on Japa, which is a form of meditation, please see my book Getting in the Gap.)

  Dear Wayne,

  Thank you so much for your presentations and tapes. You are frequently my traveling companion as I drive in my job. I just wanted to add my testimony to the power of Japa.

  I was an on-and-off meditator but realized how much more smoothly my days went when I was “on” it. I visited Kenya, Africa, in June of 2002 and met an eight-year-old orphan girl there. As I sat on the ground, she crawled into my lap, and a voice said, “Take her home.” I physically turned around, but no one was there. Again the voice said, “Take her home.” I asked my 18-year-old daughter (who was with me on the trip) what she thought about my adopting this beautiful child. With the quickness of a sprinter, she replied, “Go for it.”

  When we returned to the States a week later, I realized that if I didn’t follow through with this adoption, I’d always regret it. Regret seemed much larger than the task of adopting! I began doing Japa each morning, and through a series of miracles, that special little girl was able to come to this country. I named her Nellie, and she has been a blessing to me and my other children.

  Nellie’s adoption was part two of God’s plan. Part one had unfolded a couple of years before, when I felt guided to sponsor a series of workshops for which I profited $10,000 with very little time or work. And guess what the final cost of adopting Nellie was? The first time I heard the voice, I chose to disregard it and/or think it through, making lists of pros and cons. But I could not rest until I proceeded with the workshops. That’s how I explained to my family that I needed to proceed with adopting Nellie—obedience had brought abundance into our lives, and now it was time to share that abundance. Nellie has brought the abundance of love and forgiveness into our home. She is truly a treasure.

  Thank you for sharing your gift of this wonderful meditation. It changed my life and the life of a little girl.

  Sincerely,

  Gail Beale

  Topeka, Kansas

  Gail used her meditation practice to stay connected to her Creator and to be open to having her purpose in life find her—and when a small orphaned child in Kenya crawled into her lap, purpose did indeed find her. Gail calls this “God’s plan,” but she’s actually a piece of God. She came from God, so she must be like what she came from. Hence, God’s plan is her plan, and vice versa. In her meditation practice, Gail heard a voice—that voice belonged to her highest self, the part that never left Spirit, is always inspired, and can be heard when allowed to come through. It’s a voice that lives in each and every one of us, too.

  Ask, and It Will Be Given

  It may sound too simplistic, but the ancient biblical advice to “ask, and it will be given” carries a great message for us as we attempt to find our way to an inspired life. I interpret to ask as being identical to allowing the guidance of our Source to flow back to us. Recall that allowing is an absence of resistance, which means that we’re in the process of reconnecting to the vibrational energy of Spirit, not making a plea to a disconnected being residing outside of us. When we’re in harmony with Spirit, we’re just like God, so our desires are the same. In this state, we’re asking our highest self to get back into balance and allow our desires to be in this spiritual proportion.

  The greater our desire, the more horsepower we’ll apply to its fulfillment. This is what true asking is: a plea for the assistance to put into practice that which matches up with our desires. The more intense our desires, the greater the measure of love going into our asking and our labor will be—and coming in contact with love is the very essence of Spirit and inspiration. Weak desire will attract doubt and weakness, which will cause us to experience monotony and drudgery in our efforts. With monotony, we’ll give up, but with love, we’ll be available to abundant hope.

  For example, I find it impossible to think in boring terms when it comes to my writing. My desire is so intense that I feel love for what I’m doing and joyful when I even pass by my writing space. I get a warm feeling throughout my body because my desire to convey these ideas and express what I’m learning each day is so intense that it matches up with the spiritual energy of the Source of All Creation. When I ask, it’s for the intensity of my desire to be matched up with my spiritual Source so that I can accomplish that desire. Obviously when I’m asking for guidance, my thoughts or queries go out to my spirit, which then matches up with the Divine Source.

  The quality that stands out among those who feel inspired is one of an intense, burning desire—it goes beyond talent and ability as a measure of success. We need to ask this highest part of ourselves to align with Source, and for the intensity of our desire to be so great that our love for who we are and what we do precludes the possibility of any boredom, tedium, or weariness. In this manner, our inspired vision will be forthcoming.

  Creating and Holding on to Our Vision

  The desire to find our way to inspiration involves creating a vision of living in-Spirit 100 percent of the time. Even if we don’t have a clue what we should be doing or what our mission is, we need to practice creating this vision anyway. Our inner picture has to be based on our intention to feel good,
which is of course synonymous with feeling God.

  If we make this an inner mantra: I intend to feel good, we can picture ourselves experiencing joy regardless of what’s going on around us. We can remind ourselves that whatever we desire is on its way, in amounts greater than ever imagined. If we keep this vision uppermost in mind, then before long, the All-Creating Source will conspire to bring our vision into our physical life. Most important, we’ll begin to act on our vision and receive Divine guidance.

  Here’s a Lao Russell quote that I hold close to my heart:

  Whatever work you perform with deep desire, God will work with you by doing exactly as much for you as you do to manifest Him. The farmers, or gardeners, or foresters know this. They know that a little work given by them brings but little work done by Nature. The giving and regiving are always equal. The more service you give to Nature, the more Nature will work with you in her regivings.

  It all begins and ends with our willingness to hold a desire in our inner vision despite what we see around us now. The inner picture is what we’ll ultimately have to act upon, so we want to be very careful about what we create and hold for ourselves. If we see ourselves as limited, unworthy, weak, timid, or sickly, then we’ll act on these inner portraits. For example, I was touched by Ram Dass’s description of wondering what it would feel like to be old and infirm in his book Still Here. He held that thought and almost immediately experienced a stroke, requiring his need for continuous care by others. “Thinking old” attracted the element of old that he so feared.

  The truth is that we react to the vision we create and hold—and so do all of the cells in our body. So it’s vitally important to hold a clear vision of ourselves as deserving of feeling inspired, knowing that it’s our ultimate calling, and choosing to be in-Spirit even when everything around us suggests otherwise. We need to opt to be a being of sharing, living as close to God-realization as is possible. The ancient Persian poet Rumi states this so perfectly with the following lines:

  The garden of the world has no limits except in your mind.

  Its presence is more beautiful than the stars, with more clarity

  than the polished mirror of your heart.

  Clear your mind of limits, and move into Spirit, Whose presence, as Rumi tells us, is “more beautiful than the stars.”

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

  — Practice sharing anonymously. The goal is to be at one with the Creator, and It isn’t looking for credit, a reward, or even a thank-you. The more you practice being a sharing person rather than one who continually wonders, What’s in it for me? the more flows back to you when you least expect it. You don’t have to make deals with God in which you perform acts of sharing in exchange for special favors—just work at becoming a being of sharing with no expectation of receiving anything in return. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how inspired you’ll feel.

  — Give yourself the time and quiet space to enter into dialogue with your Source. Be willing to ask the questions that you need to feel guided by Spirit—the answers you seek will come rushing toward you when you’re in authentic communication. I’ve found that very early in the morning is such a powerful time for me that I call it my “being-with-God time.” Every morning when I awake, I lie in bed and say, “I’m going to spend a few quiet moments with God and ask for guidance for this day,” and I always hear instructions to begin by sharing something with someone. I treasure those 10 or 15 minutes of being with my Source as I start the day in gratitude for being alive, healthy, and able to help others.

  — Keep an open mind about what it takes to feel inspired. It may not necessarily mean a change of career; it might simply involve writing your equivalent of Mr. Holland’s Opus, helping orphaned children, purchasing a horse for riding and competing, or buying a piece of vacant property and planning a vacation getaway spot. However, it is entirely possible that a change in job and location is beckoning you, so stay open and allow it to find you. Regardless, you should always stay connected to Spirit and trust the messages you receive.

  — Remember this simple truth: The answer to how is yes. You may never know exactly how you’re going to accomplish the feeling of inspiration, but by saying yes! to life and all that calls you, the how will take care of itself.

  — Remove inner references and visions of what you don’t want. Instead of thinking, I will not attract sickness into my world, affirm, I attract health into my world and I will never allow my brain to atrophy; I will stay active throughout all of my life. Know that you are connected to a continual stream of well-being, and let this knowing guide you in all of your visions for inspiration.

  Here’s a question that Ralph Waldo Emerson posed, which I’d like you to ponder before turning to the next section: “We are very near to greatness: one step and we are safe; can we not take the leap?”

  One step. Surely you can take one step for your own inspired greatness. . . .

  PART II

  THE FUNDAMENTALS OF INSPIRATION

  “The philosophy of six thousand years has not searched the chambers and magazines of the soul.

  “In its experiments there has always remained, in the last analysis, a residuum it could not resolve. Man is a stream whose source is hidden. Our being is descending into us from we know not whence. . . .

  “I am constrained every moment to acknowledge a higher origin for events than the will I call mine.”

  — RALPH WALDO EMERSON

  from “Essay IX: The Over-Soul”

  CHAPTER 6

  ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES FOR FINDING YOUR WAY TO AN INSPIRED LIFE

  “Well, every man has a religion; has something in heaven or earth which he will give up everything lse for—something which absorbs him—which may be regarded by others as being useless—yet it is his dream, it is his lodestar, it is his master. That, whatever it is, seized upon me, made me its servant, slave—induced me to set aside the other ambitions—a trail of glory in the heavens, which I followed, followed with a full heart. . . . When once I am convinced, I never let go . . .”

  — WALT WHITMAN

  THIS CHAPTER PRESENTS SIX PRINCIPLES that are important to observe as we seek an inspired life—they’re a blueprint to refer to as we reconstruct a life in-Spirit. I’m listing them in no particular order of importance because I believe that they’re equally essential.

  Principle #1: Be Independent of the Good Opinion of Others

  In order to live in-Spirit, we must adopt Arthur Miller’s trust that the Source is always working within us, or Walt Whitman’s belief that our ultimate calling “may be regarded by others as being useless—yet it is [our] dream, it is [our] lodestar.” In other words, inspiration must be our master, even though following it might disappoint others.

  When inspiration makes its presence known, we must pay attention if our priority is to be who or what we were meant to be. William Shakespeare’s famous query, “To be or not to be: that is the question,” symbolizes the urgent choices that we have to make—that is, do we become what we came here to be, or do we ignore that calling? In this oft-quoted soliloquy, Hamlet delves deeper by wondering, “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them? . . .” Suffering the consequences of living according to someone else’s wishes doesn’t make any sense; rather, we need to oppose the external opinions that try to force us to be what we’re not intended to be.

  There are many well-meaning people in our lives who have ideas about what we should or shouldn’t be doing . . . relatives tend to be specialists in this area! If we let them guide us with advice that isn’t congruent with our inner calling, we’ll suffer the anguish—the “slings and arrows”—of an uninspired life. Each of us can feel what we’re being called to be; when we listen, we can hear our own impatient voices coaxing us to listen and complete the assignments we brought with us from the world of Spirit. But when we all
ow the opinions and dictates of others to determine what we’re going to be, we lose sight of our objective to live an inspired life.

  We need to determine for ourselves how much we’ve allowed others to decide issues such as what we do, where we live, with whom we live, and even how we’re treated. We must know that absolutely no one else truly knows and feels what we’re here to accomplish, so we must give ourselves permission to hear our inner guidance and ignore the pressure from others. Regardless of how absurd our inner calling might seem, it’s authentically ours and doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. The willingness to listen and act on our inspiration, independent of the opinions of others, is imperative.

  Principle #2: Be Willing to Accept the Disapproval of Others

  Logically following the last principle, this one notes that we’re going to incur the disfavor of many people when we follow our inclinations to be in-Spirit and live the life we came here to live. This isn’t a selfish or cynical attitude: When we begin to follow our ultimate calling, there will be a lot of resistance. In fact, the purpose of the “slings and arrows” sent our way is to get us to change our mind and be “reasonable,” which translates to “Do it my way!”