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PERSONAL GROWTH

Get Ecstatic!

Living what you love most.

Published: March 15, 2012

ECSTASY IS THE HUMAN reset button. It shakes you up, reboots your system, and opens your eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. Ecstasy introduces you to your deepest, most authentic self, while simultaneously offering freedom, intimacy, connection and spiritual awakening.

How can you live a more ecstatic life? Here are a few ways to get started:

Become lovers with your evolving self. In order to step forward, you need to be in a consistent, friendly relationship with your evolving self—theyou who is creating your future. Your evolving self exists in this present moment. Avoiding your evolving self will not save you from your future. It willprevent you from playing a role in the conscious creation of your future. Walking with awareness of the presence of your evolving self will help you recognize the next doors that will open for you.

Radically accept—everything. Radical acceptance is the practice of accepting things as they are with no expectation of change. When we accept things the way they are and are willing to be happy and satisfied with that, almost any situation can be turned into an experience that—if not ecstatic in itself—can lead to a place of peace and no regrets, both of which contribute to an ecstatic life. Radical acceptance provides the opportunity for finding infinitely more creative and ecstatic possibilities, and it paves the way for positive change.

Live what you love. This is hardly a new maxim, but it’s essential to an ecstatic life. Do as much of what you love as you possibly can. Do as little as you must of anything you don’t like. The more you commit to what you love, the easier it is to let the rest be handled by someone else who enjoys it more. Pay attention to your intuitive energy meter. Remember to ask yourself: Do I feel an energy gain or an energy drain in this situation, or around this person? Eliminate or minimize your exposure to anything or anyone that drains your energy. Embrace that which feeds you.

Whatever you’re doing—do it whole-heartedly. Do not hold back. Give yourself over completely. Be bigger than you think you are. Be more than you’ve ever been. Be too much.

Embrace and celebrate your inner teenager. What was your passion at age 13? Or age 16? How did you pursue that passion? What was your most compelling reason for pursuing this passion? How did you behave if people told you that your passion was wrong, silly, or a waste of time? Revisit your most ecstatic, stubborn, passionate, activist years. Take notes. See your inner teenager as a vital part of your authentic adult self.

On a related note, redefine aging. What if as we got older we became more passionate instead of less? What if life were more fun? What if age freed us from the fear of others’ judgments? What if we became more hopeful and less jaded? What might we accomplish—for ourselves and others—if we combined the wisdom of our years with the passion of our youth?

Go to the edge. Fall off. See what’s there. Start a love affair with your own fear. Imagine your fear as your best friend. Throw a fear party. Invite all your friends and all their fears. Dance with all your emotions.

Seize the moment—and stay in it. Slow down! Spend as much time in each present moment as you can. We often complain that we want more time in our lives. Why would the universe give us more time if we can’t appreciate the time we do have? Stretch each present moment to its fullest. See how much ecstasy you can savor in each moment of the day.

Barbara Carrellas is an author, sex/life coach, sex educator, university lecturer, workshop facilitator, motivational speaker and theater artist.