Below is a rotating list of 5 core concepts of Biblical Life Coaching.
You are invited to check back from time to time to learn about new concepts.
Concept #1
Spiritual Cosmology
A song I once heard says, "This life is a dream. It will be over in the blink of an eye. Remember who you are. Remember what you are." Keeping in mind what this life is really all about and what this world is really all about is one of the most powerful tools we have to hold onto our balance and perspective, and to help us through both the difficult times and the good times. I call this, "Being cognizant of the Spiritual Cosmology". This world is just an illusion – albeit an important one – to paraphrase Albert Einstein. Time and space are just carefully constructed projections of our consciousness, which allow our eternal souls to have a physical experience in the "playing field" of this temporal world. Keeping in mind that the Real (with a big "R") world is the eternal world of the spirit, where space and time do not exist and where only love, unity and eternal connection exist, helps us to understand what is true and what is illusory in this world. This, in turn, helps us realize why we are here on this earth: to move more and more towards the eternal values of love, unity and connection, and to move more and more away from the false illusions of pride, the desire to control others, excessive materialism and gratuitous violence. I always like to tell people, especially the younger generation, "This life is actually a massive multi-player role-playing video game." (MMORPG, to use the lingo of the kids.) "The physical universe is the playing field of the video game, and our physical bodies are the characters, or avatars, within the video game. Think of your soul as standing outside the video game console, moving the joystick. When you play a video game, it is easy to get completely lost in the game for hours – sometimes to the point of forgetting to eat and drink – and chase after points, gold and silver, which have great value inside the game but which are worthless once you flip off the computer switch and walk away. Don't become so completely absorbed in the game as to forget that you are actually the person standing at the console playing the game, not the character inside the game!" Likewise in this world: it is easy to chase after things which have no value in the eternal world of the spirit, only to wake up from this dream at the end of our stay on this earth to find out that we have wasted far too much time chasing after those things which cannot be transferred with us to the eternal world of the spirit in which we now abide, forever. Keeping in mind this Spiritual Cosmology helps us focus on that which is truly important in our lives, such as family, close friends, fulfilling our mission and dreams, helping others, and enjoying many of the beautiful things which Yehowah has placed within this physical world, which are a reflection of his love and wisdom. Find out more.
Concept #2
The Universe Moves at the Rate of 1 Second per Second
Forget about multitasking, I am very against it. Life has a rhythm, the world has a pace, the universe has a timing to it. Take notice of your breath, when you are relaxed: it is neither too fast nor too slow. It is in perfect pace with the underlying drum-beat of the universe. In fact, our breath (while relaxed) taps out the pace of the universe. This is precisely why so many meditative traditions call for focusing on the breath in order to achieve a meditative state. The problem is, people tend to fall away from this fundamental pace of the universe. Either they go too slow or, more likely in this modern age of double espresso shots and smartphones, they go too fast, believing that working long, frenetic hours, taking few breaks or vacations and constantly multitasking are the tickets to success and self-fulfillment. In fact, the only way to reach one's destiny and maximize one's potential on this earth – the true definition of getting far in life – is to move in line with the pace of the universe. Let me use an example from my personal life. As a skydiver, I am constantly placed in a high-energy, fast paced, adrenaline-laden environment. Decisions often need to be made quickly, sometimes instantaneously. One might think that this requires extreme multitasking and a frenetic pace of thinking and acting. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. As any experienced skydiver will certainly testify, it is essential to remain steady and centered at all times – it is important to remain in pace with the universe. While moving too slowly has its obvious consequences, moving too fast is just as, if not more, dangerous. Doing so can lead to distracted thinking or skipping critical steps (such as thorough checks of one's gear before each jump.) Therefore, the motto among wise skydivers is "move fast slowly". As I always like to say, "The rate of speed of the universe is one second per second." If the skydiver, about to jump from the open door of an airplane, must move at such a pace, then how much more so that we too should be moving through our days, our nights and our lives at the "rate of speed" of one second per second. Doing so puts us in balance with ourselves, with the universe and with Yehowah. More correctly stated, it brings all three into perfect harmony with each other. That is the very definition of living at our highest potential. Find out more.
Concept #3
Order from Chaos
The fundamental activity that Yehowah undertook in the creation of the universe was the molding of Order our of Chaos. This was not done instantaneously, it was done over the course of six days. Each day, the raw lump of clay was molded a bit more into the final creation, which was the earth in its perfected state. In Genesis 1, after each molding "session", Yehowah proclaims the day's work as "good". This is a deep analogy to our own lives. We must each think of ourselves as sculptors, and our lives' work as clay (an analogy that is used many times in the Tanach). Just as Yehowah did during the six days of creation, each day, we must take the lump of clay and form it into the finished product which is our lives – we must, each day, create a bit more order out of chaos, good out of the amorality of nothingness. This is our job, our mission, and our destiny in this life, and when we do this, each day, like Yehowah, we can look back at the bit we have accomplished each day, and the cumulative efforts over the months, years and our lifetimes, and declare it as "good". Find out more.
Concept #4
The Ten to Ten Rule
Each of us deserves a break from the trials, problems and tribulations of day-to-day life. Not only is it what our bodies deserve, it’s what our souls deserve; and it’s necessary for us to allow both to be refreshed in order to carry out our daily tasks in the short time that Yehowah has given each of us on this earth. Unfortunately, the modern world teaches us that we have to be "on duty" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Not only does this sap our very humanity from us, making us feel like beasts of burden, but, ironically, it renders us less effective in accomplishing the very goals we seek so desperately to accomplish by working incessantly. (Sadly, some people have been doing this for so long that they have forgotten what it feels like to be a human being, a child of Yehowah.) In the East, people still understand the concept of "ying-yang", of "sun-moon", of "compressed energy and rarefied energy", of "primary, male energy and reflective, female energy" – of day and night. Both contribute to the whole of the person and both are necessary components of the full, self-actualizing human being. Therefore, I teach my students to follow the "Ten to Ten Rule": From 10pm until 10am, you are not allowed to worry about anything, or do any work or tasks, aside from pleasurable, self-enriching activities, period. No exceptions. (Except for family emergencies, God forbid.) Following the Ten to Ten Rule is what you deserve as a human being and as a child of Yehowah. Think of it as your basic right as a human being. At 10pm, let your physical body begin the process of temporarily returning to the earth from which it came – culminating in lying down in bed for the night – and let your eternal soul begin the process of returning to the world of the spirit, from whence it came – as exemplified by dreaming. Both will have plenty of opportunity to reunite the following morning and take care of the worldly tasks that need to be accomplished. Ironically, I have found that people tend to worry most about things at night, sometimes laying in bed for hours obsessing over fears which the darkness of the night has magnified. Ironically, nighttime is when we have the least ability to deal with the very problems we worry about: we’re exhausted, everything’s closed, everybody’s asleep, etc. This is a classic case of spinning one’s wheels – using an inordinate amount of energy to accomplish little. It is a gross misuse of our limited energy and resources, because not only does it accomplish nothing, but it also drains our energy for the following day which, when applied correctly, could actually begin to chip away at some of the problems we are so worried about. So do the smart thing, and give yourself a well-deserved break and your fundamental right as a human being: whatever was today, was (it’s over now), and whatever will be tomorrow, will be – but declare yourself "off duty" between 10pm and 10am. Follow the Ten to Ten Rule. Find out more.
Concept #5
Looking for the Garden of Eden
I think, as far back as I can remember, I have been looking for the Garden of Eden. No, I don't mean that I flew to Iraq and started poking around the stones in the desert. What I mean is that I have always been looking for something which gives me that sense of oneness and connection we all seek. In high school, it was getting good grades – obsessively – with the goal of getting into a top college. While an interesting experience, college was far from the Garden of Eden. After college, seduced by the idea that sun, surf and a nice car would be my ticket to salvation, I ran off to California. That lasted for about 10 days before I came running back home with my tail between my legs. Over the years, I have tried many things and traveled to many places, each time thinking that the "entrance to the Garden" might be there. But I've still never found it. Then one day I realized! The answer is right there in Genesis 3:24: "After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." We can't get back to the Garden because when Yehowah threw Adam and Eve out, he blocked the entrance, never to be opened again until the End of Days. This doesn't mean that we should stop trying to find paradise, but it does mean that we can relax and accept the reality of the current situation of humanity, and what that means for us: we will always have a nagging feeling of emptiness and longing in our hearts and souls, we will always have to deal with injustice and evil around us, we will always have to accept that the world is not in a perfected state at this point in time, and that it's probably not going to be for some time. Some people call this "radical acceptance of one's current situation," and far from being debilitating or immobilizing, when used correctly, it is very empowering. First of all, it is a form of release into the loving and protective arms of Yehowah. At the same time, from this loving and protective place, it galvanizes us into using our minds, hearts and hands – the unique gifts which Yehowah has given to all of us – to craft the world into a better place, little by little and day by day. Far from forcing us to give up on the hopes and dreams of an era when the world is filled with love and unity, acceptance of our current situation – counterintuitively – allows us to hold onto those very hopes by causing us to confront and then improve our current siutation. Furthermore, very importantly, it permits us to realize that the nagging feelings of emptiness and depression that we all experience at times are completely natural and normal, given the current imperfect state of the world. This helps us drop the negative judgments against and unrealistic expectations for ourselves, and instead focus on what can be accomplished, by identifying the problems and challenges at hand and then incrementally, day by day, working to alleviate them and make the world, and our lives, a better place. Find out more.