When mechanics get together, I suppose they ask each other how their cars are running. When parents get together they ask how the kids are doing. When business people get together they ask how sales are going. Yesterday, when I was out skydiving, I noticed when skydivers get together they ask if you’ve had any reserve rides lately. That means “have you had to use your reserve chute?” if your primary parachute didn’t work.
I was ready to go for a skydive by myself and there was another guy going on the plane by himself, so we decided to jump together and do some maneuvers in the air. As we were talking he asked if I’d had any reserve rides lately. I said no, and I never intend to.
He looked at me like I was crazy. I thought I was being very sane. He said “You know, things happen.”
Ask yourself, “Am I 100% accountable and responsible for my life, or not? You generate everything that happens in your life, knowingly or unknowingly. The true expression of New Age consciousness is being willing to say “I am the reason my life is the way it is, good or bad.”
I asked if he had a reserve ride lately and he said “Yes, last week.” So I asked how it happened. He said it was probably his fault — in hindsight he realized he hadn’t packed his chute correctly.
There are two ways of finding out how your parachute will work.
One way is to stuff it in the pack, jump out of the plane, and see what happens.
If you were to interview people at Safeway, you would find most people feel the reason things happen is because of events outside of them, outside of their control. It is other people, circumstances, parents and… you know, things happen.
The other way of finding out how your parachute will work is to pay attention, to pack it very carefully, so you know it’s going to work because everything is in the right place.
Ask yourself, “Am I 100% accountable and responsible for my life, or not? You generate everything that happens in your life, knowingly or unknowingly. The true expression of the “new” consciousness is being willing to say “I am the reason my life is the way it is, good or bad.”
The art of spiritual awakening is looking within yourself to find the causes of your experience. When something happens, ask “What is it in me that caused this?” Don’t browbeat yourself or be a critical judge. Use the experience to increase your awareness. When you have a great success, ask again, “What is it in me that allows me to be successful?” Find out and build on it.
Nothing just happens. Everything has a cause — everything — and the cause is inside of you.
