Cease - I hope I screw this up: how falling in love with your fears can change the world

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North Star Way

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Copyright 2017 by Evolving Out Loud, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address North Star Way Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First North Star Way hardcover edition May 2017

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-5011-5209-2

ISBN 978-1-5011-5220-7 (ebook)

T he late, heart-centered comedian Robin Williams once said, Comedy is acting out optimism. Mark Twain put it this way: Humor is mankinds greatest blessing. Its no wonder, then, that Kyle Cease began his professional career as a comedian, for as is abundantly evident throughout this book, his optimism and humor are highly effective medicines for the human spirit. If there is one outstanding truth among the many within these pages, its that ones calling in life is an ever-evolving expression of oneself. It is this realization that inspired Kyle to turn deeply within and shine the searchlight on how to deliver his gifts, talents, and skills as a source of inspiration and encouragement to his readers, as well as those who attend his Evolving Out Loud events. Through written expression of his personal growth, Kyle vulnerably shares with us how he came to combine humor with transformation, which has become a healing tool for millions of individuals.

Great teachers, such as the Buddha, many Hindu sages, and Jesus, to name a few, have encouraged us to be fully present in the now-moment, to remain attentive, awake, and aware. And for good reason, for it is being mindfully conscious not self-conscious, which is ego-relatedthat stands us before the cosmic mirror in which we can catch the reflection of our Original Face. When through these means we cultivate the courage to look straight into ourselves, we become the calm, wise seer of our true life path. And just as it did for Kyle, the mind chatter of childhood conditioning falls away as we begin to dis-identify with its emotional noise and stop catering to its demands. At first this can feel like unfamiliar territory, causing us to ask, Is this the real me? But when our analytical mind stops defining the boundaries of who we think we are or who we should be, the deepest and most authentic Self begins to emerge.

The encouragement you will receive from Kyles personal journey begins with the wisdom of no longer rejecting parts of yourself, with embracing with loving-kindness that you are the vast space of consciousness that holds it all. Feelings of fear, sadness, anxietywhen they are not rejected and instead experienced for the self-revelations they offerno longer are regarded as enemies but rather as signposts guiding us to the next step in our evolutionary growth. We then begin to welcome all the beauty of what it means to be alive and all the pure, creative intelligence and unconditional love that is our inheritance.

I share from personal experience that when Kyle speaks at the Revelation Conference, which is hosted by the Agape International Spiritual Center, the organization I founded, the energy in the room is vibrant with joy; it becomes filled with authentic soul-laughter. The self-awareness into which he escorts us will also escort you, dear reader, into a deep intimacy with yourself.

Michael Bernard Beckwith

Author of Spiritual Liberation and Life Visioning

February 22, 2017, Los Angeles, California

L adies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce this book. This book, ladies and gentlemen.

S o heres the deal, Im scared shitless right now. Im two sentences into a sixty-thousand-word book that I think I need to write because my manager, Norm, says my career wont really take off until I have a book. I got a deal from a huge publisher because they saw me perform and loved how I was able to walk onstage and speak my absolute truth to a crowd of strangers while making them laugh at the same time. I signed the deal and everything was going great until they said, Okay, now write a book.

If you think I wrote that because its a funny way to start a book, youre wrong. Right now Im in a battle with my mind, which is trying to do everything it can to stop me from writing so it can escape the pain I feel in my chest as I type. My mind is trying to tell me that I dont know how to do this. Its telling me that this book is going to suck. Its telling me Im going to miss my deadline and reminding me of a Facebook comment where someone said my vocabulary was atrocious, and once I understood what that meant, I was really hurt. The thought that I have to write this book with the English skills of a twelve-year-old has been standing between me and my happiness for the last six months.

So far, Ive started this book about a dozen times. I tried writing with cowriters, I tried writing alone, I tried writing in restaurants, I tried going to a cabin in Monterey. I almost tried not writing the book at all. I basically forgot everything Ive ever discovered about creativity and let how I was going to write this book get in the way of why Im writing this book, which Im in the process of figuring out.

Heres a picture of me as I try to write this. As you can see by how high my hair is, Im having a hard time.

And now Im thinking about you. You spent twenty bucks, hopefully thirty, on this book with the hope that it would help you in some way, and the first page is just about how scared I am to write it. Im sorry, the only thing I know how to do is say exactly whats on my mind. I know that might sound strange, but whats stranger to me is the fact that most people dont say whats actually on their minds. Were always thinking something, but instead of saying what were really thinking, which would free us and open us up to new possibilities, we instead say what we think people want to hear. How much easier would life be if we just said what we were thinking in the moment?