Student Is Ready

Here’s an article by Keith Varnum that I thought you would enjoy.

To find out more about Keith, please go to:
http://www.thedream.com

One of the most prolific clichés in our culture is:

“Well, you know, if it sounds too good to be true, then it is!”

Yes, I know. I know why this precaution is so popular. I know why
we let people get away with such a limiting pronouncement–over and
over again! I know why we buy into such a dead end deal.

We’re scared. Or is it “scarred?”

It’s both.

We’re scared that we’ll be hurt … again. We’re afraid that if we
trust again, let ourselves get hopeful and excited again, we’ll be
let down again. Disappointed, deceived, betrayed ….again!

And we’re scared of this doom because we’ve been scarred. Wounded
by life’s disappointing adventures. False starts. Misleading
appearances. Mistaken identities.

We feel cheated, conned, duped, tricked, taken in by life’s bogus
promises. “I don’t want to get all jacked up, just to be let down
one more time!”

Hey, I understand. Totally. I lived half my life this way. After
the umpteenth deception, I felt I needed to protect myself from any
further damage.

And it worked … with a price. A high price!

Catch 22

There’s only one tiny little problem with this surefire safe
approach to life’s ups and downs. This strategy is a
self-fulfilling prophesy. A self-creating conundrum. It’s a certain
path to zero growth. Zero cash. Zero love. Zero fun.

When we safeguard ourselves against pain by lowering our
expectations, refusing to hope, turning our back to possibility,
and denying our dreams … we die.

Slowly at first. Surely at length.

Catch 23

“Well, you know, if it sounds too good to be true, then it is!”

Yes, our heart can’t be touched by life’s pain. But nor can we be
touched by life’s joy.

We’re shielded from life’s harsh twists of fate. But in the
process, we’re missing life’s tender turns of fortune.

Catch 24

“It’s too good to be true” is a good pain-proof vest. But it’s also
pleasure-proof armor.

Catch a Shooting Star

OK, so this counterproductive approach isn’t the best strategy to
avoid being hurt.

So how else can we navigate through life’s pranks and pitfalls
without being devastated?

Bare our soul to every person? Dive heartlong into every
experience? Lay ourselves open to the slings and arrows of every
encounter?

Not exactly … but you get the idea!

Science Class to the Rescue

One of the most helpful Life Tools I ever found, I picked up in
high school biology class. Really. … Yes! I learned about a
semi-permeable membrane!

Say what? A semi-permanent no brain? Well, yes, but that’s another
solution for another article.

A semi-permeable membrane is a barrier that allows passage of some
substances through it, but prohibits the passing of others. It’s
also called a selectively permeable membrane.

Even as a wacked out teenager, I immediately recognized this device
as a cool thing! Like, man, a filter that only allows what we want
to come through.

The Good News

The Good news is that each of us has such a useful selective filter
already built in! Our discriminating guard at the door is … our
intuition!

If consulted, your intuition will sort the good from not-so-good.
The nourishing from the non-nourishing. The energy-giving from the
energy-draining … People. Groups. Activities. Foods. Thoughts.
Beliefs.

Your intuition is like a really good friend who will tell you the
truth you don’t want to hear at the moment. Your inner guide will
reveal the facts about the new opportunities knocking at your door.
It protects you from taking impulsive, kneejerk action on
unconscious illusions, denials and wishful thinking.

And intuition will lead you in the right direction to the Promised
Land–your dreams, your true destiny.

A Tricky Business

A dicey business … this search for the righteous path to happiness.
But your intuition is up for the challenge! Your inner wisdom has
seen it all and knows the tricks of the Mind.

For example, intuition knows that if it sounds too good to be true,
then it is too good to be true … inside the box! … inside the world
you’re conditioned to perceive and operate.

Your inner friend will remind us that the reason a fresh idea
sounds outlandish is because the idea lies outside of your normally
trod territory!

Intuition knows that if an idea sounds too good to be true, then
the idea can be simply outside you box, your explored terrain.

An idea that sounds too good to be true is often only an idea that
hasn’t yet been explored by you!

The idea may be outside the realm of your experience, but it may
already be a practical reality for other people!

And even if this idea is new to everyone on earth, it may still be
valid and enriching. After all, every great leap of discovery by
humanity began as an idea that sounded too good to be true!

So, the next time your limited mind whispers to you, “Oh, that’s
too good to be true,” thank it for the warning. … And then check in
with your truly informed friend, your intuition!

Keith Varnum
http://www.thedream.com