One of the many benefits of skipping is that it awakens the childlike spirit we started life with...Skipping on a regular basis definitely helps me look at my life in a more imaginative, adventerous, and childlike way.

I just read an excerpt from one of the books I am publicizing right now for New World Library that speaks to the idea of looking at life through this kind of lens that I felt inspired to share. The book is Trager for Self-Healing and it is written by Audrey Mairi...

TRUSTING IN THE UNKNOWN - Let Go and Let Life Flow

What does it mean to have the innocence of a beginner when doing the same job for 15 years? What does it mean to have innocence when we have been vacuuming the same floor for 20? How about when looking at the same face across the breakfast table for more times than we can remember? And what does it mean to have innocence when looking in the mirror?

It means loosening the reins of what we thought we knew. It means opening up to a world that continues to unfold on all levels. It means trusting ourselves not to know what is going to happen next.

Commitment to an attitude of not knowing encompasses subtle layers of trust that may take time to unwind. It requires, first, that we trust that we are going to receive from spirit something that has validity to our life, and, second that we trust that what we receive will come to us from a place of love and compassion, regardless of whether it’s what we expect.

Unfortunately, what many of us call trust is really based on whether or not the expectations of our ego-self are met. When the result of such pseudo-trust does not fall within this narrow bandwidth, we feel betrayed. “If the life force is so intelligent, why did I have to go through that heartbreak? Why didn’t I get the job I wanted? Why didn’t I get the sale?” Disappointment occurs when our ego-self tries to control the world out there.

The ego-self, unable to relate easily to the nonlinear nature of the life force, rarely considers that there might be a better way. It’s hard for the ego to trust anything outside its box. How can I trust something I can’t understand? It says. How can I put stock in a mystery? The ego wants to understand now. It wants a light bulb to flick on, accompanied by a solid plan and goals it can implement. It wants neat-and-tidy static answers because it believes that’s where safety lies. What the ego needs to remember, however is that it cannot accurately perceive outside of its box. Therefore, attempting to control any situation in order to manifest preconceived expectations becomes an extremely dicey and overwhelming task.

As a result, the ego feels caught between a rock and a hard place. To align itself with the past means living through illusion, but to trust the life force is to jump off a cliff and “boldly go where no one has gone before,” to use the phrase form the Star Trek series. Why would we want to trust something constantly on the move? Because that is life. We change; the world changes. Change is constant. Our knowledge evolves as we evolve. How it is today may not be how it will be tomorrow. Our perceptions continually change as we mold and shape our sculpture, as we paint our painting. Each mark of the chisel, each stroke of the brush alters how we see ourselves and the world around us. Life is multidimensional and never ending. There is never a time when we have “arrived.”

To counter the fear of jumping off the cliff into the unknown, we need to anchor back to the [universal source of energy]. From the past there is only memory to comfort and guide us, but in the present moment there is the blissful feeling of spirit—it’s real, it’s physical, you can feel it. If we focus within, trusting in our tools, the manifestation of our life happens easily and naturally, in line with our authentic self. Stepping out of our box becomes effortless and, above all, safe. When our ego-self follows this flow, it aligns itself with spirit. That is its job.
Choosing to live with out expectation instead of sticking to the tried-and-true from our past is making a choice to not know. This requires trust.

—from Trager for Self-Healing: A Practical Guide to Living in the Present Moment by Audrey Mairi, New World Library (2006). Reprinted with permission. www.newworldlibrary.com