Here is a sad street scene that you may have never witnessed but is a daily occurrence in any major city. There is a homeless person seated on a sidewalk or inside of a doorway talking to themselves aloud. The conversation they are having makes no sense to anyone.

The inane conversations they used to have only in their head have spilled out for public consumption.

We are as much of the living dead as that person is when we continually live inside our head. Life doesn't go on inside our head; that's only a commentary on life.

If you are only commenting on life, you aren't living it. You are without power, but you keep throwing the internal talk switch looking for a remedy.

Life is a participatory experience. When you relegate it to a game of Solitaire, complete with your own announcer, you are trapped inside the dead zone.

Since continually talking to ourselves is so common, we have accepted that it is normal. What we rarely stop and consider is that when we are in our head, we have removed ourselves from the process of life.

You can't be in two places at once. Either you are inside and dead to what's going on around you, or you are immersed in the actually experiences of life. It helps to recognize the difference.

It only takes a moment of observation to know where you spend the most time - inside or outside.

If you are not the experimenting sort, I'll save you some time. We spend most of our time inside our head.

Once you own that realization, you open the door to more life. Now you are aware that what you've automatically been doing robs you of life. The key to letting more life inside the door is to notice that you've been keeping it out by staying inside.

When you notice that you are in your head, that's your opportunity to step out. It's the noticing that is the catalyst to receiving more life.

If you never notice a recurring habit pattern that's causing you grief, chances are it will remain hidden from you for a lifetime. You'll complain until you die about how you are a victim of circumstance.

Take time to notice how often you withdraw from life by going inside your head. Each time you notice, you interrupt the reaction to retreat and, instead, participate with what is present. To quote Frank Sinatra, "That's Life."

You have the ability to experience more life at any moment. All you need to do is notice that you are commenting vs. participating. Every time you employ this little bit of wisdom, you leave the land of the walking dead and participate in life, which never happens inside your head.

All the best,

John