Guaranteed Success

..."Pick up your cross, daily and follow me". Luke 9:23

I have a practical application that guarantees a 100% success rate. Look at the cycle of your life. Being high on yourself begets depression or complacency, complacency begets depression or high on yourself and so on. These cycles are how most people live through their lives. Most do this to themselves on a daily basis, and most, are unaware that they do it. Any combination of the three begins a cycle, a cycle to rid themselves of the previous state and so on, and so on...
Whether you believe this to be true or not, try this simple experiment. Go to the jewelry store and buy yourself a chain and a cross. You don't have to go overboard, you can make you own, but get a cross around your neck. Now, there is something to remember and that is this is "your" cross. It represents the "you" you know at this very minute. As soon as your cross is hung around your neck (for lack of a better word, because hanging used to be a form of death and punishment) go and find a mirror and look at it. What you see is a wonderful and beautiful human being, created by God, in his image. Now as you take your line of sight away from the mirror, you now see a seemingly different person. Try it. When we focus on our cross we see ourselves as God sees us. When we look away from our "cross", the different self now appears and this is where the evil one comes to play (through our thoughts about ourselves). Now, there is some effort required. Deny this away-from-the-mirror self. Be watchful of everything that it is thinking, needing or wanting and consciously let it pass. Include all of your present schemes, plans, desires, passions and ambitions. Deny yourself of these things as best you can. Do not focus on why you are doing it or that your eyes are now on God or Christ. There can be no self-sought illusion here (even if you think your illusions are honorable). Forget yourself as best you can. Go about your day observing as much about this you as you can. Don't react to anything you see, just casually observe, deny and let it pass on by. You may have to grasp your cross as a helpful reminder that this is something higher you are doing for yourself. No one need (or should)know what you are doing. You may even deny the need to tell another what you are doing. At the end of the day report back to yourself in what you saw. It is okay to be amazed before you are halfway through. blessings, r