Consider the story of the disciple who went to his guru one day and asked,
“Master, how do I achieve enlightenment?” The wise old guru directed
the disciple to the bank of the Ganges River and had him kneel with
his head over the water. Then the guru
put his hand on the young man’s neck and pushed his head below the surface
of the water. After a minute and a half the young disciple was frantic. He
pulled and heaved and flailed his arms, but the grip was like iron. He could
not get his head back out of the water. After two minutes, when it seemed as
though his lungs would burst, the grip was released.
The young man’s head
jerked out of the water and he took great gulps of air into his tortured lungs.
The guru smiled. “Tell me,” he gently asked, “ what was your greatest
desire just then?”
“To breathe,” the young disciple stated emphatically.
“Ah,” the guru said. “When you desire enlightenment to that degree, it shall be yours.”
Desire
This is where I, and most everyone falls short.
D.E.B. Desire, Expectation, Belief.
For you to overcome all obstacles, particularly the ones we erect within our own subconscious minds, you must DESIRE something to such a near fanatical degree that you simply can not live without it. Your life is incomplete and you cannot and moreover will not go on as is without it.
For most of us the only time we come to that degree of desire is when we fall deeply in love. Suddenly we go from merely enjoying someone's company to be willing to 'climb any mountian, swim any ocean' to 'walk ten thousand miles' even to die for them just to have that person in our lives.
But why can't we have that kind of passion for those other things we really want in our lives?
Well, we can. However we need to develop it ourselves.
First you need to be crystal clear on your goals and why you want them. If you need help with goal setting review this.
Second, don't worry about how. God/the universe will take care of the How, you just need to be clear in what you want and why.
There are different techniques that can help to develop a burning desire but whichever one or ones you choose to use, you need to consistantly use it until it becomes a habitualized pattern. Something you do as unthinkingly as having your morning cup of coffee. You feel something is wrong when you miss it.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore in not an act but a habit." - Aristotle
The Carrot and Stick
You can make a list of how achieving the goal will benefit you, your family, friends and society in general. Make it as extensive as you can. Choose the top 5 can put them on a note card. Then make a list of all the negatives that will happen if you don't make that change. Choose the top 5 and put them on the note card.
Review that note card daily. Put it somewhere conspicuous so you see it all the time.
Visualize
Spend 5 minutes everyday seeing your life as if you have already accomplished your goal. Really put yourself in that reality. See it, hear it, smell it, feel it in your mind. Be enrapured with joy. You're subconscious mind cannot distinguish between reality and something intensely imagined (ever wake up be momentarily uncertain if it was a dream or reality or thing you did something but then realized you only dreamt it?). If you continuously envision it, your subconscious will accept it and guide you there.
NLP
Neuro-Linguishtic Programing. Like visualization taken a step further. Envision your currently reality then see in your mind your desired reality smashing through that image. Just shattering it to thousands of pieces. Make your current reality dull, muted, even black and white while your envisioned reality is bright, colourful and vibrant with energy and feeling. Hold that image of your new reality in your mind for a minute then repeat 3-5 times. This is a proven way to reprogram your subconcious mind.
Intend it
Expect it to happen. Fake it until you make it. Put yourself in the mindset that it's a sure deal that that reality is going to happen. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Doesn't matter what's happening in the present, that's merely the storm before the calm. That future is already yours, it's set in stone, you have simply yet to arrive to it's shores.
Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (NIV)
As my pastor friend says 'If your going to pray for rain, you better be walking with an umbrella.'
I'll be expounding more or Expectation and Belief in future posts.
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