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Best-selling self-realization author
Playing the Game of Life
There is nothing wrong with being a successful human being. In fact, the purpose of your life is to win. But what if, in your quest for this victory, you were accidentally drawn into a compelling game in which, unknown to you, it was impossible to win no matter how well you performed or religiously followed the “rules?” Where, instead of finding the freedom to run as you wish, you found yourself moving more and more mechanically through your days? And, to make matters worse, each passing day leaves you feeling more frustrated than fulfilled because of an ever-increasing pressure to win!
Plus, whenever you looked around to see how the other players were doing, it was obvious they were just as disappointed with the game as you. No one was really winning anything!
Is there a new way to win?
Then one day, to your great shock and amazement, you discover that along with everyone else out there on the playing field, you had been tricked into taking part in a crazy game in which the rules you were taught to play by allowed you to score, but never to stop running! You could compete, but never achieve any meaningful or lasting victory.
This metaphor provides us with an uncompromising glimpse into our own present life-position. Maybe there is a way to win, after all!
The possibility of life “off the field. ”
For the first time we begin to understand why, in spite of our best efforts to come out on top, we are so often thrown for a loss in our relationships and everyday affairs. When these defeats pile up, life seems more of a punishment than a pleasure. We want to give up and walk away. But we can't. The rules we've been taught – and that we play by – don't cover or even acknowledge the possibility of life off of the field. We feel stuck.
And so, little by little, just like the slow but steady drop in temperature that chills you without your knowing it, giving up just happens. We stop caring about the lasting things that make life good and noble, and start hoping for those little moments that make life on the field seem tolerable.
You can win in a brand- new way!
Listen. Don't give up. You don't have to. You can win in a brand new way. How? Just let go!
Let go of all the familiar but useless rules of rigor that tell you life would be meaningless without running around in some kind of conflict. Stop referring to your own well worn but useless wish that your life will get better the longer you play. It won't – unless we believe that feeling exhausted is the same as being exalted. This is why we must start seeing the facts.
Walking away from what is false is the same as walking toward what is True.
Yes, let go. Walk away. Nothing can stop you. Believe me, this is your first in a long series of real winning actions. Never mind what direction to take. It doesn't matter, not in the slightest. Why? Because walking away from what is false is the same as heading towards what is true. It may not seem so at the outset, but for the first time in your life the rules of life will be working for you.
Here is how it works: Letting go of what holds you down is how you cooperate with going up. You see, your True Nature is high. And this is your new destination. But you don't choose it. No. You allow yourself to rise. This may feel awkward, even frightening at first, but in time you will recognize it as your natural need.
Learn to cooperate with the real rules of life, with truthful principles, and let them lift you. That is their job. Once we stop choosing to lose, winning in life takes place effortlessly. It is that simple.
Choose in favor of Your True Self
Let the three following Higher Hints help you to choose in favor of your True Self.
• Asking to see more about a painful situation is the same as asking how you can let it go.
• Learning to listen to any feelings that cast doubt on your need to suffer is choosing in favor of your True Self.
• Honestly revealing your self to yourself is choosing in favor of your True Self.
Guy Finley is an internationally renowned spiritual teacher and best-selling self-help author. He is the Founder and Director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit center for transcendent self-study located in Merlin, Oregon. He also hosts the Foundation’s Wisdom School - an online self-discovery program for seekers of higher self-knowledge. Guy offers 2 free talks on GoToWebinar, open to the public every week. Each talk is followed by a Question-and-Answer session with the audience. These talks are free to anyone who wants to join in. To register visit www.guyfinley.org/online.
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