The philosopher Kierkegaard hinted at this principle when he wrote, “Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.”

What the Tool Is For When someone enrages you and you can’t get the person out of your head. You may replay what he or she did or fantasize about getting revenge. This is the Maze. It puts your life on hold while the world moves forward without you.

The trick to getting out of the Maze is to generate a form of love that’s independent of your immediate reactions. After all, your reactions put you in the Maze in the first place.

Close your eyes and start ruminating on your dissatisfactions. Then, imagine the entire society around you in a similar, discontented state. How does this affect people’s sense of responsibility for one another? Now, erase that image and do the Grateful Flow. Feel yourself overwhelmed with appreciativeness for everything you’ve been given from the

Pick something you hate doing. It could be traveling, meeting new people, family gatherings, etc. How do you organize your life so you can avoid doing it? Imagine that pattern is a place you hide in. That’s your Comfort Zone. What does it feel like?

the Force of Self-Expression comes through your Shadow. But there’s something wonderful about this higher force: It speaks through you in a way that is unique to you. It gives each of us a distinctive voice—and yet all our voices derive from the same ultimate source. That’s why true self-expression feels like it’s coming from someplace else—and sim

Real happiness is the constant presence of higher forces in our lives. And the universe has been designed so that higher forces are available every moment of every day. We simply have to use the tools to stay connected to them.

The Comfort Zone makes us feel good in the moment. Who cares what the future penalty will be?

Higher forces must be experienced directly, and that takes effort. That means you’ll face the same stark choice I did: demand proof that you’ll never receive, or use the tools in the face of your doubts.