Hello again,

Hope everyone is doing well in light of the continued shelter in place orders due to the Coronavirus.

Minute of Transparency: Does Transcend Human need a theme song? If so, I’m liking: Human by Jon Bellion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk5jkxOtFiY

Today’s Topic: Transcend Human Initiators. Things that push you out of your comfort zone, make you pick your head up and start to Transcend Human

1. Ten Transcend Human Initiators

2. Keep an open mind

3. Follow your conscience

// 1 TEN TRANSCEND HUMAN INITIATORS

1. Age: “At some point in your life you reach a place where you’ve sen enough, experienced enough to know that there is more to life.” 

2. Family: “Family is one of those things that grows us up, and forces us to deal with our selfishness. Putting us in the perfect position to think about things higher than ourselves.”

3. Wisdom: “Using our intellect, and lifelong learnings to show us that the there is a higher purpose to our lives.”

4. Crisis: “After experiencing crisis level events in life, you become open to thoughts about purpose and meaning.”

5. Death: “Death forces us to see how fragile life is and how important it is to Transcend Human before we waste any more of the time we’ve been given.”

6. Addiction: “People who reach rock bottom have nowhere to go but up. Those released from an addiction will tell you how lucky they feel to be free.”

7. Irony: “Ironic situations where you become the very thing you detest can help move you to a state of understanding and grace.”

8. Intuition: “We need to listen to our intuitions and act on them in order to reach our full potential.”

9. Longing: “Having everything the world tells you is important, but still feeling empty can initiate the desire to Transcend Human.”  

10. The Earth/Nature: “The beauty and complexity of nature, the unraveling of the Earth, and the speeding up of time can open us up to the possibility that there is more to life.”

// 2 KEEP AN OPEN MIND

It’s strange to me how bogged down we can become in life, how distracted we can get, and how focused we can be on the simple, mundane, “worldly” things that make up our day. 

When there are so many things just sitting there - ready to slap us in the face and say, “Wake up!” “What are you doing?!” “Don’t you see how much more there is to life?!” 

Unfortunately - we often receive that slap, and think about it for a few minutes, maybe even change some things about ourselves for a while, but eventually return to living the way we did before.

And this is why Transcend Human tells us: Keep an open mind!

We MUST be open to the world around us - less distracted by the things that are vying for our attention. And when faced with situations like the 10 things above, tune in, ask questions, feel all the feels and respond vs. just sweeping it aside and moving on.

// 3 FOLLOW YOUR CONSCIENCE

To the Christians listening, you’ll recognize this concept called the “conscience.” And though the word “conscience” can’t only be claimed by Christians, we do have a very specific definition for it - one that is spiritual in nature - directly tied to something bigger than ourselves.

But in order to understand the “conscience” we must view it in the context of Controversy Theory, which suggests:

• Every day we experience promptings that are tied directly back to the battle that exist between God and Satan. And these promptings come in two forms:

  1. Temptation: From Satan - trying to distract, lie, convince, fool, scare, shame, put you down, and lead you into dangerous behaviors

  2. Conscience: From God - helping you see the right thing to do, stay on track, avoid pitfalls, maintain integrity, live up to your potential, and not fall for the temptations Satan throws our way

So let’s land the plane...

This week, I want to encourage you to do the following:

1. Look for things in your life that are slapping you in the face:

   • Are there things that are trying to get your attention?

   • Asking you stop or slow down?

   • Do these seem like Transcend Human Initiators?

   • And if so, are you being open to them?

2. Keep an open mind:

   • Are you willing to sit in that tension and ask more questions?

   • Are you willing to take the steps necessary to keep learning more about yourself?

3. And finally, listen to your conscience:

   • Have you been tempted a lot lately?

   • Do you feel like you’re always struggling to do the right thing?

   • Maybe this week you just need to get a Q-tip, clean out your ears a bit and start listening for that little voice that’s in there - your conscience

   • And when you start to hear it again, decide to do what it tells you to do

   • I know - easier said than done - but it’s all part of the human condition. We all experience it, and the sooner we realize it the sooner we can start fighting back

Thanks for choosing to be with us today - I’m sure there are a thousand other things you could have done instead - but hopefully being here today was uplifting and helpful to you. 

Next time we’re going to dive into something that I’ve struggled with - and I think might be a systemic issue in this country… I’m calling it “The Safety & Security Trap."

If that sounds interesting to you - join us next time.

Until then, have a great week and keep Transcending Human!