Roadmap to greatness: Five spiritual exercises no one told you.

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If you noticed, I have not written to you this year. This is my first official write-up this year. Now, it will be a little ride, so, if you are not conformable with long posts, use the escape door.

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We complain of the deficiency in Africa and we still flee from long posts. How can we change Africa with excerpts or epigrams only?  I often think People who come online and skip meaningful, long posts are the problems of Africa. If you cannot read 1200 words that can restructure your mindset and change your environment, why would you have the guts to complain about the continent?

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And what would you say if you are asked to read a book of 700 pages-- and do the review within a week? So, if you cannot read ordinary 1000 words and above in this space, don’t ever write or say crazy things about Africa. Keep your invectives to yourself. We don’t need them.

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Good. I know by now those who have phobia for long posts have gone. Now to the serious ones who are ready to change the world, please turn off your notifications and pay attention to this text.  Or I suggest, you relax, get a coffee or a bottle of water-- and dig into imagination as you follow me in this ride. You must surely change in this 2020. Sure!

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Now, let’s get to business.

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See, I don’t always post what is not in alignment with my spirit. So if you find this post too unconventional, know that following conventional methods made no one great. After reading this post, some people will be like “Hey, Damian has come to shake the table again”. Yes, I need to shake it to bring harmony with my spirit. I don’t always buy into traditions; it makes me crazy each time I find I am amidst the crowd. And that is why, sometimes, when they hurl diatribe at me, I tell myself: “Damian, remember, you didn’t come to bring peace” You may need your spiritual director to explain that. Of course, Jesus said the same thing, so, I ought to shake the table and reform some minds-- even if that will disrupt the peace of some folks.

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I am confident to take you on this ride to change you and not please you. It is not a salescopy that will persuade you but a reforming-copy that will make you. So I bid you farewell as you sip the spiritual exercises to greatness.

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Note I said five in this post, but they are not limited to five. If I were to name all, it will be a textbook (Smiles). Let’s go:

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I need to meditate:

 

What the world thinks as a success, to me, is merely what everyone needs. It is easy to get or practice what everyone does. The real problem surfaces when you want to do what is entirely different from the routines. When I tell people that---finding meaning and purpose out of life is more difficult than making money, they think or say, “Oh! What a crazy guy”

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See, anybody can make money. No matter how we romance the difficulty of making money, everybody can make money, though, not everybody will. But what everybody cannot do is: finding the reason why they were born. I love Mark Twain when he said: there are two most important days in your life, ‘the day you were born, and the day you discover why’. To discover why you were born is the most difficult thing on this planet. But most people think it is getting money, fame or illustrious social status. Of course, those things are good and still difficult to behold, no doubt, but they are ephemeral and you can’t find fulfillment in them.

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Therefore, you need one thing: to discover why you were born. When you discover this, money and other good things of life follows. How do I start? You need to meditate. I find joy in meditation. Every day ask yourself one question. Like I do it:, “ Damian, why are you here?”. When you wake up in the morning, call your name in your mind and ask this question. Like: “ Chidozie, why are you here?” It might sound unbelievable, but I bet you, before you do this for so long, you will find purpose and meaning out of life. That is why it is spiritual, not everyone can do it. Other people might be here to occupy space, but you are here for a purpose-- and never you live your place of meditation until you discover it and get to work. And it is through this exercise that you can still connect with the Most High for direction.

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The issue of meditation is multifaceted. I just outlined a part out of many things we do in meditation. Because people who have discovered their purpose also meditate. If I go a little deeper about this, you will find yourself reading an encyclopedia. To cut the long story short, get a mentor who will guide you in the journey, as sometimes, you can’t find it yourself until someone guides you. Note. I said ‘guide’ not ‘dictate’ to you. It must come from within.

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I need to fast:

 

Once a stronghold called ‘dream’ descend on you, you don’t need to remind yourself you need to do this. Sometimes you do it unconsciously---which is that time--you refuse or forget to eat, doing something you love. However, I want to go deeper about this, though, it might be contrary to the general belief. Most Christians believe they fast to please God or just to get things from God. That’s all. Hence, they do it religiously. Listen, I am here to get rid of that belief from your psyche. It is a destructive belief.

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Hey, we fast to live in spirit. We fast to be in spirit. The body is not a place to live. I think this is why Teihard de Chardin said: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”  I repeat: the body is not a place to live. These are all in the Scripture but I may not like to flood the post with quotations. But there are innumerable Bible references of why you need to be in spirit. Apart from suffering your body as a penance to appease God, or as a transaction to get things from Him, you fast for yourself. You fast because you need to. Let me reveal to you what I do apart from fasting to get things from God. I fast to be creative. When I want to engage in a journey of writing a book, I need to be in spirit-always- to be creative. For those that don’t know, writing is a spiritual engagement---therefore, to succeed in the creative aspect, you need to be in the spirit to get inspiration. Carnal people write carnally. There is nothing creative in what they write. This applies to almost every other endeavors we engage in. Only great coaches or people who understand the principles that govern this life can tell you this. Though it is a bitter truth, you need to accept it to be great. I often believe canal people tend to be poor. Believe it or not, but if you doubt it, go ahead and argue with yourself.

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Therefore, fast to help yourself. You are not helping God or anyone else. So don’t do it religiously. I laugh when people say they fast from 6 to 6 and exclaim in difficulty. These are religious people who think they are pleasing people when they announce the progress of their fasting. What of people who fast days or weeks and you don’t get to know or hear them. Get sense.

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I need to sync with nature:

 

What people don’t understand is the greatness of what God did for them. And that is why when they ask things from Him and get No or Delay as an answer, they resort to branding Him as a ‘failing God’. God never fails, it is your ingratitude that fails you. How many times have you appreciated nature—which cometh from God? Needless to say, God created amazing things that will make us happy, but we are ingrates who pester Him now and then with prayer points---without first being grateful.

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See, one thing you need to do to be great is to sync with nature. God has given you enough.  Go away from the commotion of this world and find a place to appreciate nature. Go to the beach. Sit down quietly and listen carefully. Watch the turbulence of the water. Appreciate its brightness. Meditate on its storming force. Go to the mountain. Listen to the chirping of the birds; appreciate the breeze from the tree. Contemplate the mystery of the mountains. Go to the zoo. Touch the animals you love—those that are not harmful; watch how they eat and hobnob. Observe many things. Tell me why you will not be happy and great after these exercises. Someone will say, do you do this (These)? I beg your pardon. Should I be telling you about all my spiritual exercises? If I must, it will be only the closest people who are ready to achieve greatness with me. These are things your motivational speaker doesn’t tell you. Only your mentors ( honest ones)  tell you the bitter truth to greatness.

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I need to give:

 

Don’t be annoyed if I have been tagging religious people in this post. I see most of them as religious but unspiritual believers. They tell you paying tithes is evil, unscriptural, uninspired, and untheological. I can’t even remember all that they tag it. Not only unspiritual believers. Even unbelievers follow suite in this crazy razzmatazz. But we need to understand one thing: Giving is spiritual and natural. Now listen, if you want to be rich, you need to be a generous giver.  And don’t limit it to paying tithes in the church. Feed the hungry in the street, clothe the prisoners, train the disadvantaged, comfort the disabled and console the underprivileged. Don’t expect me to emphasize more on this. I think a word is enough for the wise. You don’t need a soothsayer to convince you about the significance of giving. And you don’t want to need your pastor or Rev to lure you into believing the blessings that come from it. “Live beyond yourself” is the shortest form of saying this. Are you living beyond yourself?

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I need to pray:

 

Some might be wondering. Why did you put this last? Anyway, it may be ( I said ‘maybe) because it is difficult to be great without the other four but not this. Some don’t believe in God and they become great. Why? They did what is in alignment with the laws of nature. Some believers cannot sacrifice what the unbelievers sacrifice to be great. And even though, they don’t believe in their Maker, God still helps them because they marvel  Him with the good things they do for mankind. You will need a whole lot of preaching to understand this. But I want you to understand that unbelievers also attain greatness if they did what nature demands.

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Now, you that is a believer, how much do you pray? There are forces you fight in place of prayer. How much do you fight them? Apart from the external forces, how much do you fight the inner ones? Envy, Jealousy, Anger, Hatred, Selfishness are the inner forces you need to defeat to be great. So, when you find yourself unable to handle them, tap into prayer and ask God for help. He will direct you. Also, grow from praying to get things from God to praising to get things from God. Praise Him. He needs praise and worship. You don’t have an excuse not to do these. If I go further about this segment, I may become Kenneth Hagin, trying to clarify the things of God for His people. But I only want you to understand the simple truth behind the essence of prayer. Okay?

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Don’t be surprised at how I ended the long post. It was unexpected and unannounced. Right? And did I shake any table? (Smiles)

Congratulations! You have just read 2155 words. That is how to grow Africa. Peace be with you and happy New Year.

 

Damian Chiemezie

 

Writer, Transformational Speaker/Publisher

 

@Sages Publications.

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Face the pain of discipline squarely

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