4th Invitation -- Live Like You're Dying
Reading and study – Setting Your Heart on Fire, p. 105-135
The Fourth Invitation states that love calls you to make death your constant companion. Cushnir points out, in pages 107-110, our resistance to death and how our acceptance of death as life’s greatest gift can lead to renewed intensity, to reprioritizing, to focusing on what matters most. He shows us that the first three invitations have prepared us for the fourth. Once we’re ready to feel everything, fear of fear is welcome, too. By accepting the Fourth Invitation we overcome fear at its very core, leaving us open to openness, connected beyond all connection, giving and receiving love with abandon.
Death as a friend: When our awareness of death is complete, life fills us with boundless gratitude. The exercise on page 115 asks us to imagine death is going to happen right now and shows us that unless we are filled with the deepest gratitude for even the most miserable aspects of life, some resistance remains. Did you experience gratitude? Did you find resistance?
Stillness as a friend: Stillness can connect us to our source. Cushnir suggests, on pages 117-119, that we try doing nothing at all. As you try this, notice what happens. Did you witness your customary response to real stillness? Did buried emotions surface for you? Did you grasp your lack of control over life’s happenings? Did you experience being in the void itself?
Unfinished business as a teacher: Tending to unfinished business ensures an open heart. On pages 120-122 we look at regrets. Do the exercise in all three categories—choices, desires, and relationships. As you look at your lists and access your motivations, what do you uncover about yourself? If you’re willing to give it a sustained effort, the Fourth Invitation yields great treasure.
Choice as a teacher: Authentic choices lead to a loving life. Do the “mine and theirs” exercise on pages 126-129. Were you surprised by your findings? Did you uncover the areas in which you find it hardest to live your truth? Can you think of a recent choice that might have been different if you had used this knowledge?
Terror as a teacher: As our terror of death begins to lessen, most other fears diminish as well. Test the feeling of fear with the exercises on pages 132-133. Did this lead to a sense of peace?
Accepting the Fourth Invitation:
To the best of my current and evolving ability, I resolve to: