Remember when you were young and you got into a name calling match with another kid? One of you called the other "stupid" only to be countered by "you're more stupid," followed by "you're stupid times a hundred!" Until, finally one of you said "you're stupid times infinity!" And the argument stopped right there. Stupid times infinity! Nothing can beat that.

The notion of infinity is something that has intrigued humans for centuries, yet most of us are still as dumbfounded by the concept as we were when we were kids. It's not really our fault--as humans, we're not set up to comprehend the infinite. We're taught to rely on finite measurements and events which have a beginning and an end. The problem is, the more we think in finite terms, the more limited our lives become. Finite thinking tells us that there aren't enough goods to go around which leads to excessive desire and materialism. Finite thinking makes us fear death because after the body's gone, that's it. Finite thinking dictates that we are separate from the creative force of the universe and makes us believe that we have no control over our lives-no power to create something new. Yet all of the great spiritual systems of the world give essentially the same basic message--that life is abundant and we are eternal beings. So how can we expect to know this infinite side of ourselves if all we ever think about is the finite? The number one barrier to spiritual fulfillment or enlightenment might just be our lack of infinite thinking.

So how can we open ourselves up to infinite thought? Well, like any shift in perspective, it requires some seeds of new ideas. Consider, for example, what science tells us--that everything is made of energy and that energy can never be created nor destroyed. Now, we know this may not seem very relevant to day-to-day life, but when scientists say that everything is made of energy, that includes us too. While our bodily forms come and go, the stuff that gives them life has always existed and always will exist. What does this say about us? Does it follow that we are infinite and eternal as well? Our finite minds may not be able to answer this question definitively, but we guarantee that just thinking about the question will draw opportunities for us to bypass our brains and experience the infinite nature of life more directly. This is what Spinoza referred to as "intuitive knowing."

If the enormity of it all frightens you, remember that infinity is as small as it is large. Think about cutting an apple in half, and then in half again, then repeatedly in half. This process goes on forever until you're literally splitting atoms. And what happens when you split atoms? Why you release energy of course, the same infinite, boundless stuff that has always been there.

The next time you feel like you're stuck with limited options, try setting your mind along the course of the infinite. For all time and throughout all space--outward into the cosmos, or inward toward cosmic consciousness--that boundless spirit is there for us. All we have to do is look for it.