Have you ever thought you read a book, only to browse through it at a bookstore and realize you never did? This is what happened to me when I spotted "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Originally published in 1952, this book is surprisingly contemporary. Dr. Peale mentions the prevalent fear the public had of "terrorists ruining our country." This was the time of the "red scare" during the Eisenhower years. The economy was weak. People were losing their life savings as well as their businesses. Sound familiar?
Dr. Peale was a very insightful man. He had a knack of looking into people's hearts to see the disfunction in their thinking and beliefs and leading them to a remedy to their problems. With a strong foundation of faith, anyone could take the action necessary to lead a prosperous and happy life. People he came across who were agitated, argumentative, and disliked were people who in actuality had little or no self confidence, thrived on discord and chaos, and lost their ability to believe in anything.
We all invent and tell ourselves stories about ourselves constantly. He taught that if people could tell themselves better stories, they could find the power within themselves to overcome any difficulty. Even in the 1950's, people were stressing over deadlines, rushing to get things done. In order to make more time for work, they sacrificed time for themselves. They forgot how to relax, to "Be still and know that I AM God." He admits that there were times when he was suppose to be on vacation, that people had to tell him to stop working. A friend who happened to be at the same Florida hotel once told him to put his mail down and to come sit with him and feel the sun on his face. We all get into that "emergency" mode from time to time. Unfortunately, we get so focused on the task before us, that we can't find the resolution. I remember several times when I went to bed exhausted and frustrated. After some sleep, I bolted upright with the elusive answer! Ureka! The mind works best when relaxed. Relaxation gives Divine Inspiration a chance to enter and give us the answer.
One of my favorite of Dr. Peale's many anecdotes involves a man who taught the art of trapeze. After considerable discussion and demonstrations of holds and movements on the ground, along with some flexibility and strength training, it was time for the students to take to the air, so to speak. One young man looked up at where he was expected to go and froze. The compassionate instructor asked him if he was scared. The young man shook his head yes. He was so terrified he couldn't speak. The instructor put his arm on the young man's shoulder and said, "Son it's really easy. All you have to do is throw your heart over that bar up there, and the rest of you will follow." Consider the power of what he said. "All you have to do is throw your heart over the bar, and the rest of you will follow."
Metaphysically, the heart is the chakra wherein resides the threefold flame. It is the comingling of body, mind, and soul. It is the seat of life, pumping power and life throughout your being. When you put your heart into something, you are giving it your lifeforce, your soul. The soul is that part of our makeup that comes from the Divine. It returns to the Divine source when it leaves the body at the end of life. Putting the Divine into an endeavor guarantees a happy outcome. The Divine cannot cause unhappiness; only our ego can do that.
So find an endeavor that you feel that you have to do because it calls to you from the very core of your being. This is the bar over which you will throw your heart. It is where your passion waits.
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