The Living Fully Challenge

12 Months to a Fully-Lived Life

Month #10

If you’ve completed last month’s assignments, you should now possess a very clean and tidy “house” with more space than before. Your life should be pretty good in order! Congratulations.

While you always can find more messes to clean up and more spaces that can be emptied of unwanted and unnecessary items, your housecleaning should be complete at this point. You may want to schedule “housecleaning” exercises on a regular basis, but for now, put away you’re cleaning utensils.

Additionally, you should have cleaned up your family relationships. If you've done what last month’s exercises required, you’ve been diligent and brave and approached each issue with a family member head on and found a way to improve those relationships in some manner. Since making space in your life also entailed cleaning up emotional and psychological “stuff” you accumulated, you should feel an emotional spaciousness you haven’t previously experienced as well.

Seen from another perspective, at this point you should have a “life closet” stripped of all the old “clothes” that no longer fit or suit your life style or the “you” you are now or want to be in the future. Your clothes are no longer packed in together so tightly that you can’t see them or stacked so high you can’t reach them. You’ve mended the clothes that were torn or damaged but worth keeping. And you’ve successfully created room for something new.

Now it’s time to bring in the new clothes. Despite the fact that most of us do, indeed, fear the “new” and want things to stay the same, it’s the new that’s exciting and keeps us alive. Plus, you don’t need to feel frightened; you know how to move through fear. In this case, the new thing you’re going to create isn’t scary at all. In fact, it’s something very close to your heart and soul. It’s your soul’s desire.

So, what are you waiting for? There’s no time like the present to create a present for yourself. What’s the present? All those things you want to create in your life! Now you have room for them!

The Two Basic Monthly Assignments

Just as in past months, continue by, first, completing daily the two basic assignments. They continue to form the foundation of your living-fully practice.

Basic Assignment #1:

Take some deep breaths several times every day. The breath is the source of life. God breathed life into us. As we breathe in, we continue breathing in God’s exhale, and as we exhale God inhales. It’s a continuous circular breath from Creator to the created. Plus, without the breath, we die. Each breath gives our body what it needs to continue living. And the fact that we breathe without even thinking about it represents a miracle. So, breathe deeply and consciously as often as possibly, because the breath enlivens you! If you have a watch that beeps on the hour, I suggest you set it to do so, and each hour take a minimum of 10 deep, slow, conscious breaths.

Basic Assignment #2:

Each night before you fall asleep try to acknowledge at least one thing about your life and the way you lived it that day that you really appreciated or enjoyed. If you can't find at least one thing you appreciated or enjoyed, than commit to doing something different the next day - to doing one thing you can acknowledge the next night - something that puts a smile on your face - before you fall asleep. The reason for this exercise seems self-explanatory: If you aren’t doing anything that you can acknowledge as being enjoyable or that you sincerely appreciate, you aren’t living fully.

Assignment for Month #10

As you know, each month’s assignment is comprised of two exercises you will use for 30 days to help you live more fully. The first one will involve one area of your life. The second one will be applied to 12 general areas of your daily life – finance, romantic relationship, free time/fun, health/exercise, work/career, spiritual practice/relationship with God, friendship, relationship with self, relationship with family, continuing education, charity and care of the Earth, and commitments/responsibilities.

Exercise A

This month’s Exercise A takes us into the area of continuing education, and it is very simple: Devote at least one hour per week for the next four weeks to intellectual pursuits. Find a class to take that interests you. This could be a course that relates to your work or to an outside interest you possess. Maybe you want to study some aspect of your religion or learn how to create web sites. Maybe you want to learn a new language or how to knit a scarf. Find some weekly class that you really want to attend, register and commit to attending.

This doesn’t have to be a costly venture. Many inexpensive classes exist out there. In fact, you can take a free teleseminar from the comfort of your home any day or night of the week. Simply register on line and pick up the phone and dial in at the appointed time. Or choose a nonfiction book and commit to reading it. Better yet, find a study group reading and discussing that book and join in. You can also purchase a tape, CD or MP3 series to listen to and study on your own. Or sign up for an online course.

In some way, this month increase your knowledge. Stimulate your brain. Pursue your intellectual interests.

Exercise B

Just like last month, apply this part of the month’s assignment to the following 12 general areas of your daily life — finance, romantic relationship, free time/fun, health/exercise, work/career, spiritual practice/relationship with God, friendship, relationship with self, relationship with family, continuing education, charity and care of the Earth, and commitments/responsibilities.

Remember how during month #3 when you made conscious choices about what you wanted in your life? However, you did nothing after consciously choosing your desires to create them besides visualizing having what you wanted and imagining what your life would be like if you had those desires in that very moment. Well, now you get to actually create those desires; you get to manifest them in whatever way you can.

Since you have created space for something new to exist, you can bring that something new into your life. This month, remember what you want in each of the 12 general areas of your daily life (Has it changed in the last seven months?) and go about creating it. Fill the space you have created with whatever your soul’s desires.

This may mean a new better-paying job or source of additional income. It could mean a new or improved romantic partnership. Maybe you want to begin filling your free time with dance lessons or hiking with a friend each weekend, or you want to finally take up yoga or power walking. Do you want to expand your career, write a book or totally change your profession? Do you finally want to begin meditating or going to religious services once a week? Maybe you want to spend more time with friends or join a men’s or women’s group to meet some like-minded people. Do your desires include getting up each morning 15 minutes earlier to have a cup of tea and read or journal? Do you want to take a trip home to visit your parents or organize a family reunion or simply devote 30 minutes each week to a phone conversation with your sister or brother? Then plan it! Now go to your computer or phone and sign up for that class you’ve wanted to take or purchase that course you plan on participate in online. Start recycling or pick up trash while you take your walk each day. And commit to a new responsibility joyously.

Of course, you may want some new furniture or a new car. You may want some new clothing to hang in your closet. And maybe you need more money to get purchase these material desires. I realize you may not be able to manifest all your desires immediately; some may take longer to acquire than 30 days. You can’t, for instance, force a new friendship or romantic relationship into your life. You shouldn’t take whatever new job presents itself just because the opportunity presents itself this month; it has to be the right job for you. However, as you work towards obtaining what you want you can practice some conscious creation techniques. Get clear about what you desire –consciously choose what you want. Clearly visualize your desire. Focus your thoughts upon it. See it clearly. See yourself having what you want and experience having it right now. Feel the pleasure of having it. Then, ask yourself what actions you need to take to help yourself bring these new things into the space you have created. What would be good things to do – inspired actions you can take – that will help you manifest your desires? Then, take that action. If you can also see how these “things” you want will serve your soul’s purpose or can be used to help others, you will find it easier to bring them into your life as well. Attempt to manifest desires that don’t simply serve you but that serve others as well. In so doing, you will find yourself living more fully.

The examples I used above for each life category may be my desires. They may not be the desires you want to manifest. They may not be the new things you want to place in your newly-cleaned and organized closet. You must come up with your own. What would you like to see hanging in the space in your life closet?

Now’s your chance! You’ve created the space for something new – your desires…fill it! By doing so, you give yourself the enjoyment and peace of mind of having your desires fulfilled.

One note of caution: Don’t get caught up in the desires themselves – or in not having them. Feel enlivened by the desires themselves (which helps you manifest them) and in the filling of the spaces you created, if you can. Then be detached from the things themselves – whether or not you are able to obtain them. They aren’t what actually help you live your life fully. That said, when we can fill our desires, we do, indeed, feel we are living our lives more fully. We feel joy and fulfillment in seeing ourselves surrounded by the things we love.

Go fulfill your desires!

I'd really love it if you would send me a note telling me about your experiences using these exercises for the last 9 months. I'll be writing a book based on the Living Fully Challenge, and I would like to include real life examples from people's lives who have actually put the principles and exercises to use. So, if you'd like, send along a note telling me what has worked for you . . . or not . . . or what has been a struggle. Describe how you have felt when you have put the exercises each month into practice. If you want to remain anonymous, that's fine. . .