“If the way of wisdom was easy, anyone would have walked in. Wisdom is not a whore, she is a shy mademoiselle so only those who strive win her heart.” ~ Rajesh Nanoo

You’ve probably seen the 10 Rules of Being Human shared countless times on the internet, in memes found on Pinterest, on personal blogs and even in books.

Although many sources quote these rules as being handed down from ancient Sanskrit, and are even attributed to ‘Author Unknown’, the rules are actually the work of modern day guru Cherie Carter-Scott, from a book she penned, If Life is a Game, These Are the Rules.

I have to admit that reading them I could have easily been convinced that it is the sort of thing handed down from some ancient scripture, as the rules resonated deeply within my heart, as if I’ve always known them.

It is said that there is nothing new under the sun, that every original thought has already been thought, that what spiritual teachers aspire to share with us is simply their interpretation of truths originating from the One/God/Goddess/Universe…whatever you wish to name the Unnameable.

I don’t know if this is true but I do tend to agree with the philosophy. My idea is that like the water on the planet, which is the same water recycled millions of times through the process of evaporation and precipitation, we are drinking the same H2O that Abraham drank. Inspired thoughts are no different; they rise and fall into our consciousness from the one original thought that manifested the physical world.

Having said that, I often go over the 10 Rules of Being Human by Ms. Carter-Scott with admiration for her astuteness on the human condition.

I have used them when muddling over circumstances in my life and searching for answers to the direction of my path.

I have included them in cards to friends who were lacking clarity and asking for advice.

I have pondered their depth and their wisdom, and I never tire of sharing them.

Although, like me, you will read them through the first time in pretty short order, I recommend using them as a ten-day meditation; each day asking the words to reveal more than their apparent briefness.

Perhaps you, too, will find meaning in this particular interpretation of what our experience here shall be.

The Rules:

Rule One:
You will receive a body. You may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth.

Rule Two:
You will be presented with lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called ‘life.’ Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

Rule Three:
There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of experimentation, a series of trials, errors, and occasional victories. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that work.

Rule Four:
A lesson is repeated until learned. Lessons will be repeated to you in various forms until you have learned them. When you have learned them, you can then go on to the next lesson.

Rule Five:
Learning does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

Rule Six:
‘There’ is no better than ‘here’. When your ‘there’ has become a ‘here,’ you will simply obtain a ‘there’ that will look better to you than your present ‘here’.

Rule Seven:
Others are only mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

Rule Eight:
What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.

Rule Nine:
Your answers lie inside of you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

Rule Ten:
You will forget all of this at birth. You can remember it if you want by unraveling the double helix of inner knowing.
 

~Cherie Carter-Scott, from  If Life is a Game, These Are The Rules

Author: Monika Carless

Editor: Caroline Beaton

Source: Cherie Carter-Scott

Image: Pixabay