The Courage to Live Consciously by Steve Pavlina (6)

Embrace the Daring Adventure

Before you embark on any path ask the question, does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it and then you must choose another path. The trouble is that nobody asks the question. And when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart the path is ready to kill him.
- Carlos Castaneda

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
- Kahlil Gibran

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
- Dale Carnegie

As you develop a sense of your true purpose in life, you may begin to feel an uneasy disconnect between your current life situation and the one you envision moving towards. These two worlds may seem so different to you that you cannot mentally conceive of how to build a bridge between them. How can you balance the practical reality of taking care of your third-dimensional obligations like earning money to pay your bills and taxes, pleasing your boss, raising your family, and maintaining social relationships with people who can't even relate to what you're experiencing vs. the new vision of yourself you desperately want to move towards. A whole host of new fears may crop up related to this seemingly impossible shift. How will you support yourself? What will become of your relationships? Are you just deluding yourself?

The best advice I can give you here is to forget about trying to build a bridge. Focus instead on independently beginning the process of manifesting the new vision of yourself from scratch, as if it were a totally separate thread in your life. If this creates a temporary incongruence in your life, just do it anyway. For example, suppose you currently work as a divorce attorney, but your courage tells you that you must eventually abandon such adversarial work. You envision yourself passionately teaching couples how to heal their broken relationships. But you can't even fathom yourself as a trial lawyer trying to speak about healthy relationships, and on top of that problem, you can't see any way to make a decent living in this new career, at least not quickly. There's just too big a disconnect between this new vision and practical reality. So instead of trying to bridge this gap, just begin building your new vision completely from scratch in whatever time you have, even if it's only an hour or two each week. Keep doing your regular work as an attorney, but in your spare time, start posting anonymously on relationship message boards to give couples advice on how to heal their relationships. Use the oratory skills you developed as an attorney to begin speaking to small groups about healing relationships. Perhaps create a new web site, and start writing and posting articles about your new passion. You don't have to hide the fact that you're an attorney, but don't worry about bridging these two worlds. Live in paradox. Just start developing the new you, and allow the old one to continue in parallel for a while.

What will happen is that you'll develop skill in your new undertaking, and you'll eventually be able to support yourself from it, even if you can't see how to do so right away. You may not be able to see a way to support yourself in your new vision right now, and that's fine. Just begin it anyway, doing it for free, without any concern of how to turn it into a new full-time career. Patiently wait for clarity; you will eventually find a way to make it work. Then when the time is right, you'll be able to peacefully let go of the old career and focus all your energy on the new one. At some point you'll be able to commit fully to your new self. Your passion for your new work will eventually overwhelm your fear of letting go of your old source of stability. So instead of trying to transform your old career into your new one, just start the process of building your new one, and let your old one gradually fade. Even if you can only invest an hour a week in your new undertaking, you will probably discover that this hour is more fulfilling to you than all the other hours put together, and that passion will drive you to find a way to gradually grow this presence until it fills up most of your days. The most important thing is to begin now by introducing your new vision of yourself to your daily life, even if you can only initially do so in a small way.

No matter how difficult it may seem, make the choice to live consciously. Do not succumb to that half-conscious realm of fear-based thinking, filling your life with distractions to avoid facing what you feel in those silent spaces between your thoughts. Either exercise your human endowment of courage and progressively build the strength to face your deepest, darkest fears to live as the powerful being you truly are, or admit that your fears are too much for you, and embrace life as a mouse. But make this choice consciously and with full awareness of its consequences. If you are going to allow fear to win the battle for your life, then proclaim it the victor and forfeit the match. If you simply avoid living consciously and courageously, then that is equivalent to giving up on life itself, where your continued existence becomes little more than a waiting period before physical death - the nothing as opposed to the daring adventure.

Don't die without embracing the daring adventure your life is meant to be. You may go broke. You may experience failure and rejection repeatedly. You may endure multiple dysfunctional relationships. But these are all milestones along the path of a life lived courageously. They are your private victories, carving a deeper space within you to be filled with an abundance of joy, happiness, and fulfillment. So go ahead and feel the fear - then summon the courage to follow your dreams anyway. That is strength undefeatable.

Steve Pavlina is the creator of StevePavlina.com and writes and speaks on personal development topics. This article is Copyright 2004 by Steve Pavlina. To send feedback or request reprint permission, please contact Steve.

The Courage to Live Consciously by Steve Pavlina (6)

Embrace [Im'breIs] (совершите) the Daring Adventure

Before you embark [Im'bRk] (ступите) on any path ask the question, does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it and then you must choose another path. The trouble is that nobody asks the question. And when a man finally ['faInqlI] (наконец) realizes that he has taken a path without a heart the path is ready to kill him.
- Carlos Castaneda

The deeper that sorrow carves [kRvz] (врезается) into your being (существо, душу), the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven ['Avn] (печи)? And is not the lute [lHt] (лютня) that soothes ['sHDIz] (успокаивает) your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed ['hPlqud] (вырезано) with knives [naIvz] (ножами) ?
- Kahlil Gibran

Inaction [In'xkSqn] (бездействие) breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer ['kPNkq] (покорить) fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
- Dale Carnegie

As you develop a sense of your true purpose in life, you may begin to feel an uneasy [An'JzI] (неуютную) disconnect ['dIskq'nekt] (отчужденность) between your current life situation and the one you envision [In'vIZqn] (представляете себе) moving towards. These two worlds may seem so different to you that you cannot mentally ['mentqlI] (умом) conceive [kqn'sJv] (постичь) of how to build a bridge between them. How can you balance the practical reality [rJ'xlItI] (реальность) of taking care of your third-dimensional [dI'menSqnl] (-мерные) obligations ["PblI'geIS(q)nz] (обязанности) like earning money to pay your bills and taxes, pleasing ['plJzIN] (угождать) your boss, raising your family, and maintaining social relationships [rI'leISqnSIps] (отношения) with people who can't even relate [rI'leIt] (понять) to what you're experiencing vs. ['vE:sqs] (в сравнении с) the new vision ['vIZqn] (видением) of yourself you desperately ['despqrqtli] (отчаянно) want to move towards. A whole host (масса) of new fears may crop up (возникнуть) related to this seemingly ['sJmINlI] (на первый взгляд) impossible [Im'pPsqbl] (невозможной) shift [SIft] (перемены). How will you support yourself? What will become of your relationships [rI'leISqnSIps] (отношениями с людьми) ? Are you just deluding [dI'lHdIN] (обманываете) yourself?

The best advice I can give you here is to forget about trying to build a bridge. Focus ['fqukqs] (сконцентрируйтесь) instead on independently ["IndI'pendqntli] (самостоятельно) beginning the process of manifesting ['mxnIfestIN] (проявления) the new vision ['vIZqn] (видения) of yourself from scratch [skrxC] (с нуля) , as if it were a totally ['tqutli] (совершенно) separate thread in your life. If this creates [krJ'eIts] (создаст) a temporary ['tempqrqrI] (временную) incongruence [In'kPngruqns] (рассогласованность) in your life, just do it anyway ['enIweI ] (несмотря на это). For example, suppose you currently work as a divorce [dI'vLs] (по разводам) attorney [q'tE:nI ] (адвокат), but your courage tells you that you must eventually [I'venCqlI] (со временем) abandon [q'bxndqn ] (бросить) such adversarial ["xdvE:'seqriql] () work. You envision [In'vIZqn] (представляете) yourself passionately ['pxSqnqtli] (страстно) teaching couples how to heal [hJl] (исцелить) their broken relationships [rI'leISqnSIps] (отношения). But you can't even fathom ['fxDqm] (представить) yourself as a trial ['traIql] (судебный) lawyer trying to speak about healthy relationships [rI'leISqnSIps] (отношениях), and on top of that problem, you can't see any way to make a decent ['dJsnt] (достойный) living in this new career [kq'rIq] (карьере), at least not quickly ['kwIklI] (быстро). There's just too big a disconnect ['dIskq'nekt] (разрыв) between this new vision ['vIZqn] (видением) and practical reality [rJ'xlItI] (реальностью). So instead of trying to bridge this gap [gxp] (разрыв), just begin building your new vision ['vIZqn] (видение) completely [kqm'plJtlI] (совершенно) from scratch [skrxC] (нуля) in whatever time you have, even if it's only an hour or two each week. Keep doing your regular work as an attorney [q'tE:nI ] (адвокат), but in your spare [speq] (свободное) time, start posting ['pqustIN] (публиковать сообщения) anonymously [q'nPnImqsli] (анонимно) on relationship [rI'leISqnSIp] (любовных отношениях) message boards to give couples advice on how to heal [hJl] (исцелить) their relationships. Use the oratory ['PrqtqrI] (ораторские) skills you developed as an attorney [q'tE:nI ] (адвокат) to begin speaking to small groups about healing ['hJlIN] (исцелении) relationships. Perhaps create [krJ'eIt] (создайте) a new web site [saIt] , and start writing and posting ['pqustIN] (публиковать) articles about your new passion ['pxSqn] (страсти). You don't have to hide the fact that you're an attorney [q'tE:nI ] (адвокат), but don't worry about bridging ['brIGIN] (соединять) these two worlds. Live in paradox ['pxrqdPks]. Just start developing the new you, and allow the old one to continue in parallel for a while.

What will happen is that you'll develop skill in your new undertaking ["Andq'teIkIN] (начинании), and you'll eventually [I'venCqlI] (в конечном итоге) be able to support yourself from it, even if you can't see how to do so right away. You may not be able to see a way to support yourself in your new vision ['vIZqn] (видении) right now, and that's fine. Just begin it anyway ['enIweI ] (несмотря на это), doing it for free, without any concern of how to turn it into a new full-time career [kq'rIq] (карьеру). Patiently ['peIS(q)ntli] (терпеливо) wait for clarity ['klxrItI] (ясности); you will eventually [I'venCqlI] (в конце концов) find a way to make it work. Then when the time is right, you'll be able to peacefully ['pJsfqli] (спокойно) let go of (откажитесь от) the old career and focus ['fqukqs] (сконцентрировать) all your energy ['enqGI] on the new one. At some point you'll be able to commit [kq'mIt] (отдаться) fully ['fulI] (полностью) to your new self [self] ("я"). Your passion ['pxSqn] (страсть) for your new work will eventually [I'venCqlI] (в конечном итоге) overwhelm ["quvq'welm] (сокрушит) your fear of letting go of (остаться без) your old source [sLs] (источника) of stability [stq'bIlItI] (стабильности). So instead of trying to transform [trxns'fLm] (превратить) your old career into your new one, just start the process of building your new one, and let your old one gradually ['grxdjuqlI] (постепенно) fade [feId] (исчезнуть). Even if you can only invest [In'vest] (уделять) an hour a week in your new undertaking ["Andq'teIkIN] (начинанию), you will probably ['prPbqblI] (вероятно) discover that this hour is more fulfilling to you than all the other hours put together, and that passion ['pxSqn] (страсть) will drive you to find a way to gradually ['grxdjuqlI] (постепенно) grow this presence until it fills up most of your days. The most important thing is to begin now by introducing your new vision ['vIZqn] (видение) of yourself to your daily ['deIlI] (ежедневную) life, even if you can only initially [I'nISqlI] (в начале) do so in a small way.

No matter how difficult it may seem, make the choice to live consciously ['kPnSqsli] (сознательно). Do not succumb [sq'kAm] (уступайте) to that half-conscious realm [relm] (царству) of fear-based thinking, filling your life with distractions [dIs'trakS(q)nz] (тем, что отвлекает внимание) to avoid facing what you feel in those silent spaces between your thoughts. Either exercise your human endowment [In'daumqnt] (дар) of courage and progressively [prqu'gresIvli] (постепенно) build the strength to face your deepest, darkest fears to live as the powerful being you truly ['trHlI] (на самом деле) are, or admit that your fears are too much for you, and embrace [Im'breIs] (выбирайте) life as a mouse. But make this choice consciously ['kPnSqsli] (сознательно) and with full awareness [q'weqnIs] (полностью отдавая себе отчет) of its consequences ['kPnsIkwqnsIz] (последствиях). If you are going to allow fear to win the battle for your life, then proclaim [prq'kleIm] (объявите) it the victor ['vIktq] (победитель) and forfeit ['fLfIt] (проиграйте) the match. If you simply ['sImplI] (просто) avoid living consciously ['kPnSqsli] (сознательно) and courageously [kq'reIGqsli] (смело) , then that is equivalent [I'kwIvqlqnt] to giving up on (предательству) life itself, where your continued existence becomes little more than a waiting period before physical death - the nothing as opposed to the daring adventure.

Don't die without embracing [Im'breIsIN] (не совершив) the daring adventure your life is meant to be. You may go broke (остаться без гроша). You may experience failure and rejection [rI'GekSqn] (неприятие) repeatedly [rI'pJtIdlI] (многократно). You may endure [In'djuq] (испытать) multiple ['mAltIpl] (множество) dysfunctional ["dIs'fANkSqn(q)l] () relationships [rI'leISqnSIps] (любовных отношений). But these are all milestones ['maIlstqunz] (вехи) along the path of a life lived courageously [kq'reIGqsli] (смело). They are your private victories, carving ['kRvIN] (вырезающие) a deeper space within you to be filled with an abundance [q'bAndqns ] (большим количеством) of joy, happiness, and fulfillment [ful'fIlmqnt] (самореализации). So go ahead and feel the fear - then summon ['sAmqn] (призовите) the courage to follow your dreams anyway ['enIweI ] (несмотря на страх). That is strength undefeatable ["AndI'fJtqbl] (неодолимая).

Steve Pavlina is the creator [krJ'eItq] (создатель) of StevePavlina.com and writes and speaks on personal development [dI'velqpmqnt] (развитии) topics ['tPpIks] (темы). This article is Copyright 2004 by Steve Pavlina. To send feedback ['fJdbxk] (отзывы) or request reprint ['rJ'prInt] (переиздание) permission, please contact Steve.

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