How Life Really Works
12 Principles You Can Use to Create
the Experiences You Most Desire
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Preface
You’ve most probably figured out that when you were born your parents did not receive an Owner’s Manual for what was likely (over the course of the next 18 or more years) one of the most expensive acquisitions they had ever made: you. And if you have children of your own, you know they did not come with an Owner’s Manual, either. Further, as you grew up, I dare say no one gave you what he or she called an “instruction book” for your life (and if they did, I bet you didn’t really understand what it had to do with whatever then seemed to be happening to you).
Even if you received some type of “religious” training or indoctrination, it may have often been unclear to you what the connection was between you and whatever you were encountering within the religion practiced by your family. And some people have received virtually no guidance or direction at all…. It probably became rather obvious to you that virtually no one “knew the rules” of life any better than you did. As a teenager, you may have thought you understood what was going on, but as you reached adulthood, you probably concluded you didn’t clearly understand what the “rules” really were… at least not the rules that pertained to what was then becoming important to you in your life.
Many of the valuable “Life lessons” you learned were, most likely, learned the hard way — by trial and error… through your own experience. Even then, it probably wasn’t clear whether a particular lesson you thought you had learned was actually the lesson Life intended, or rather, a warped, distorted perception (or presumption) that failed to serve you well later in your life. As you tried to apply a particular lesson you thought you had learned to what you believed were similar circumstances or events, you may have found the results were, at best, completely unanticipated.
So many of us find ourselves in the midst of adulthood, confused and frustrated. So many things simply do not seem to make good sense.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know, at least to some degree, how life works? Do you believe you would be willing to consider such information, even if you didn’t particularly enjoy getting it (since it may differ substantially from what you THINK you already know)? Part I of this book addresses what I now view as some fundamental Facts of Life. It’s astounding how a clear understanding of a few key points can clarify an enormously complex subject. Each of us begins to get a handle on How Life Really Works whenever we’re ready to do so. Some people gain great insights at a very early age. Others make an effort to understand what’s actually true only when they are quite old. Some, it seems, never get started at all. But you are ready to begin, or continue. How do I know? Because you are reading these words now….
The purpose of this book is to provide you with some insights, tools and techniques you can actually use (and that I have used) to help you navigate through your life. We’ll begin with some practical concepts you’ll easily see can be applied to your life right now. It’s been my experience that it can be very difficult to piece together some of the helpful information you might encounter in one source… with complementary information located in another, completely different source. Further, I’ve found many of the truly insightful discussions available in various books and articles about how life actually works are contained in publications that appear to presume the reader is already very familiar with certain concepts, ideas and principles….
My intention is to span the gap with this book, and provide you with an overview that’s both directly useful and that can guide you to some more detailed explanations and discussions of the concepts and principles presented. If you discover you’d like to learn more or gain some additional clarity about a particular concept or idea, Part II of this book will suggest some other resources you might find helpful… valuable sources of information that might be of assistance to you on your quest to understand How Life Really Works.
We’ll move from thoughts and ideas that may seem rather superficial, to some concepts that are much more fundamental. You’ll discover you can be happy. You can enjoy peace and tranquility in your life, regardless of your present situation or circumstances. Whatever you find on the following pages that seems to “ring true” — use it! And whatever does not, you can ignore. Life will continue to work as it does, whether you choose to be consciously aware of how it really works, or not.
Please allow me to be extremely clear on this very important point: I do not want to convince you that some particular viewpoint is “correct” or “better” than some other way of looking at something. It’s absolutely not my intention to attempt to “show you the truth” and then suggest that if you don’t think the way I do… you must be “wrong.” Rather, it’s my desire to expose you to some concepts and ideas that “ring true” for me, and I ask only that you consider them… notice whether or not they “feel right” to you. Then you can decide whether or not you want to use those ideas and apply those concepts to your life.
It will never be my intention to convince you that something is “right” or “true” for you. Only you can decide what is true for you. No one can make that determination for anyone else. Through this book, I will attempt to convey to you what is true for me… and even then, since everyone’s outlook is constantly changing and evolving, I can only present you with what was true for me at the moment I wrote down the words….
You’ll discover you already know (even if you do not consciously realize you do) many of the concepts and ideas discussed in this book. In fact, whatever your viewpoint might be, it’s of great value to all of us, since you might have the particular insight or approach for which someone reading these words right now has been searching…. I invite you to share your comments and insights — your perspective — with other readers, and with me. Please take a few moments to visit the Forum located on the website, www.LivingWithIntention.org, and express your particular viewpoint… or pose any questions you have. Everyone will gain value from exposure to your way of looking at Life — even if they do not agree — for it is through a better understanding of one another that we can begin to dissolve the uncertainty and discord that so frequently results in conflict… and our expression of defensive (or various other types of fearful) behaviors toward each other.
Life won’t always seem fair (whatever that means). Often, life will not seem easy. People do things that may appear to be illogical, and yet (whether they realize it or not) most of the time they are following some rather basic, relatively easy-to-understand “rules.” The actual rules do not change (although what people do and how they behave often does change, and this can cause us to think the rules themselves are changing). I find it quite notable that whether or not we “get it” has very little to do with our level of education. It has little to do with our financial circumstances, or “social standing.” And “getting it” (or not) clearly has nothing to do with any aspect of what we look like. But it has a lot to do with what we believe… with what we think.
Some extremely sophisticated science has been developed (please see the “Suggested Reading” list located toward the end of this volume) that has allowed confirmation that the content of the book you are now holding in your hands (or reading on a computer screen) is, in fact, true. However, I promise that in Part I of this book I won’t get you bogged down in metaphysics, sociology, psychology, religion, mathematics or… whatever. In fact, Part I has been written especially for people who may recognize there are some things in their lives that don’t seem quite “right,” but who do not necessarily consider themselves to be particularly religious or Spiritual, nor serious students of “self-improvement” or other self-help style books, courses or seminars. I’m just going to explain, as clearly as I can, some of the principles and techniques you can use (and that I have used) in order to have a much more fulfilling, rewarding life than most of the people you know are probably experiencing.
No preaching, no hand waving or table pounding — just some “facts of life” and a short discussion about becoming aware of what is going on around you, and (more importantly) “within” you. If you choose to consider and then apply to your own life what follows, you will likely see you can handle your life much more effectively than you may have previously thought was even possible.
This is a relatively short book… an introduction. It won’t take a long time to read through it. But it addresses many principles, concepts and techniques (let’s just call them “lessons”) I have “learned the hard way” over the past twenty or thirty years. Consequently, although rather brief (and at times, down right terse), you have in your hands a key that can allow you to unlock and open wide a door through which you may have been trying to pass for some time. Don’t be discouraged if some of the things you are about to read don’t seem to make sense to you. If you pick up this book and read it again in a week, or a month, or years from now, you will have had additional experiences in your life, and hence, more of this book will seem to be clear and compelling. You’ll likely find that simply by making the conscious decision to finally “get a handle” on your life and how you’re experiencing it, more and more interesting information for you to consider will just keep showing up… almost as if by “magic”… helping you to better understand How Life Really Works!
So, if you will — just for the time it takes you to read through what follows — suspend your current beliefs and opinions, and thus allow yourself to consider the possibility that another way of looking at certain things might have some beneficial value for you, personally. I’m confident you’ll find what follows to be both interesting and potentially very helpful to you as you live your life.
My fondest desire relative to the words that follow is that within them something may strike a chord in your heart such that you perceive value in having taken the time to read them.
Gregory P. SpohrAdobe PDF Format; 279 pages
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