Learn to laugh at yourself by doing something you’re guaranteed to fail to do “successfully” for at least one hour. Of course, don’t risk your life. Share your three most spectacular failures.
Why? Because it develops crazy capacities of stick-with-it-ness and helps you overcome “preconceived outcome addiction,” which gets in the way of real creativity and heroic action. Also, all heroes must learn to laugh at themselves.
My goal for the hour was to draw a perfect circle, which of course only exists in Plato’s spiritual/conceptual realm of forms and archetypes — even with a compass or some contraption with a laser you can’t draw it perfectly. I was doomed to failure and I was going to fail freehand! I started on the chalkboard and then moved to a piece of paper. Spectacular failure #1 — I like it because it’s my biggest circle and because I have my daughter Lily’s arm in the picture.
Spectacular failure #2:
Spectacular failure #3:
I tried to think about one thing (a safety-pin) with out wandering thoughts for an hour. I was given the opportunity to laugh at myself 26 times or more! HA ha HA! :-) I have never tried to just think for an hour so I was worried that I would be bored out of my mind and mentally exhausted; not the case. I wasn’t bored and I felt energized or just stoked that I did it!
(above) The little lines in my journal are the marks I made each time I thought about other things…
i sat for an hour and telepathically willed my friend (who sometimes calls me) to call me. it didnt work, but it was an interesting exercise.
From 1000 PST to 1100 PST, I will practice Trāṭaka, and only stare at a candle flame to realize Dhyana. Success can only be achieved if I can maintain Dhyana for the entire hour…
I also set an intention to Open the US Federal Government in that hour, by Summoning Love.
… I have to laugh, because I was only able to sit for a handful of brief moments with my mind quite enough to hear the candel’s true existance.
… but the US Federal Government DID open in that Hour… : )