What is Radical Aliveness?

Good question.  Knowing what it is to be radically alive is the first key to actually experiencing it.

Sometimes we associate Radical Aliveness with Peak Experiences. Those moments or days that are truly special — like the day you graduate; the day you started your dream job or opened your business; or your wedding day; or the day your baby was born.  You have, no doubt, had at least one of those experiences.

I want you to think back to that day. See if you can recreate how you felt.  Perhaps your heart was blown wide open and love was flowing abundantly.  All your “aliveness” circuits were wide open and joy flowing abundantly.  You were probably fully in the present moment…fully alive to every moment of that day.  You probably worked really hard for that moment.  Perhaps all your talents and skills were utilized…including some you didn’t even know you had.  You may have even felt that that moment was what you were born for. You were connected to a sense of purpose.  These moments are generally seared into our memory for a good reason. Because we were totally, fully, radically alive.

What if we could experience that kind of Peak Experience feeling every day?
I believe we can.  We’re going to explore exactly how to do that.

Now the place to start is to first understand what LIFE itself is.  And I’m not talking about human, physical life.  Physical life comes and goes.  It is temporary and changeable.  All are born and later die.  Flowers blossom, then wither away.  I’m talking about the force, the energy, the essence that is behind the physical and that gives rise to all experience of physical life.  That force or “essence” is unchangeable and eternal.  It is the intelligence…the eternal love intelligence that is behind all, that supports all.   Sometimes refer to it as Divine Energy, or God Force, or Divine Substance.  It’s what we are at our core.  It is our vital essence.

And the more we are conscious of our Source…the more we are connected with this Divine Life Essence…the more we are plugged in, and all our circuits are open…the more vitality and vibrancy can flow through and as us.

So how do we do that?  How do we connect with it and open ourselves to it?  Well, there are certain qualities of this Vibrant Life Essence that, when we know about them and access them, they can be the keys that unlock Radical Aliveness for us. So let’s explore them one-by-one.

• The first key is Joy.  Joy is a definite component of radical aliveness.  When we are connected with our inner Joy we are connected with Source Energy because Source Energy is Joy.  But let’s be clear that the kind of Joy we’re talking about is without opposite.  True joy is not the opposite of sadness. It’s not a fleeting emotional state. It’s not conditional. It’s not something that is the result of what happens to us. True joy is connected to the heart.  It’s Pure Love Energy. It’s a love of life…a zest for living.  Charles Fillmore, talked about the power of Zeal (one of our 12 Spiritual Powers) as being “the great universal force that impels humankind to spring forth in a field of endeavor and accomplish the seemingly miraculous.”  That sounds like a good definition of Radical Aliveness!
• Another key to the experience of Radical Aliveness is cultivating gratitude.  When we’re in a “State of Gratitude”…when we are fully appreciating the beauty of nature and all the blessing in our lives, we open to the flow of joy and we feel blessed. We open to the idea that we are so loved by the Infinite and this fills us with a sense of aliveness.  We’re also more fully present, fully attentive to the present moment when we’re in gratitude.  A consistent practice of proactive gratitude…noticing, and then celebrating, all the good in your life daily builds a “State of Gratitude”.
• Another key to experiencing Radical Aliveness is when we are working in harmony with the Divine Order of things…when we respect the rhythms of life.  Life has definite rhythms. We see that in the change of seasons, the ebb and flow of the tides, the migration of birds.  I never really understood about the rhythms of life when I lived in S. California…there didn’t seem to be any.  But I finally got it when I moved to a place where there’s a change a seasons. When we’re in harmony with the natural rhythms of Divine energy within us, life flows, and we feel a great sense of aliveness.
• The next key to Radical Aliveness is to do what we can to be at our peak of physical health. When you are at peak health, it’s just plain easier to feel more vibrantly alive, isn’t it?  And a lot of that is in our control.  We can choose what we put in our bodies…choosing foods that are alive…that feed our cells, and nourish our organs.  Daily exercise is vital to our healthy functioning.  And I know a lot of folks say they don’t have time to exercise.  There is a sign up my doctor’s office that I see every time I’m there. It says, “Those who think they don’t have time for exercise now, will eventually have to make time to deal with illness later.”  When we combine healthy eating, plenty of exercise, and plenty of rest, we open to the flow of vitality that supports our physical existence which helps us access Radical Aliveness.
• But perhaps the largest contributing factor to experiencing Radical Aliveness is when we are living our purpose.  When we’re aligned with, and expressing our purpose, life-energy flows and sustains us miraculously.
  I recently heard someone say that there are 2 most important days in your life…the day you are born and the day you discover why you are born. Have you discovered why you were born?  Are you living your purpose?One way to tell if you are living your purpose is to notice…do you wake up every morning with a smile and can’t wait to get going doing what you’ve come here to do?  Are you sharing your unique gifts, abilities and talents in service to others? Do you do it with love?Pastor Rick Warrren, the author of A Purpose Driven Life talks about it in terms of living a “life of significance” as opposed to just surviving.  A life of meaning and spiritual significance.   Life has meaning when we allow the Divine Spirit within us to direct our life…rather than the ego.  Now, that’s not always an easy thing to do. Our ego thinks it knows what’s important.  It might know how to keep us safe, or get our needs met, but it doesn’t know how to really live.  And it definitely doesn’t know anything about Radical Aliveness.Meher Baba once said, “It’s characteristic of the ego that it takes all that is unimportant as important and all that is important as unimportant.”  When we get our ego out of the way and surrender to a higher Truth…let the Inner Divine lead our life, we find the significance…our purpose.  You always have a choice between listening to the ego (or false self) or listening to the voice of your inner-self self that know you were born for a magnificent purpose.  And when you find that…and live that…life becomes deeply meaningful, fulfilling and miraculous!  That’s Radical Aliveness!