One of the most significant errors of omission in the latest post The Dance of Emergence was a very significant part that I had mistakenly edited out  about my copywriting experience. (move away from distractions when writing posts!!! lesson learned)

It needs added back in – right here, right now!

While I did begin the course with the negative perspective I described, I have (and I am only half way through) from the very beginning had many stunning reversals of belief as a result of both the facilitators and the curriculum. All my doubts and fears about integrity disappeared instantly as I listened to one of the first classes that stressed the necessity for honesty about and belief in the product or service.  As for alignment with my values – well, that dissolved in the very moment that I heard those words. As I have progressed through the course, I have enjoyed genuine enthusiasm and passion from the facilitators and through their eyes, I have realized what a vital role copywriters play in the success of any business – including businesses like this one!  I am discovering my own passion and desire to help others make a difference in their prosperity through learning these skills.

The AHA!

The obstacle that kept me avoiding jumping into this world was my negative perception. The unseen hand that moved me to take the course was a higher wisdom showing me how to surf instead of dog-paddle.

Obstacles can be obscure and very subtle. They can masquerade as beliefs that seem like our most sacred truths. It is not until we are willing to follow the gentle shoves of guidance that we discover in our hearts what our eyes could not see.

I am grateful and inspired by these dedicated and talented people with whom I have come in contact through this course. I am overwhelmed at the gifts it has delivered to me personally and professionally….and…..I had to express this to bring balance and perspective to another example of obstacles hiding the gold we seek in our lives….this has definitely been one of those experiences and promises even more…..

I am surfing this wave with the greatest of expectations and amazement and appreciation!

- Gandhi

As I read further in Fate and Destiny by Michael Meade, another passage needs sharing – here it is as direct quote.  Feel free to leave a comment on your thoughts and insights.  Where do you stand on the concept Life Purpose? (eye rolling doubter or heartfelt believer?)

“In this world each wake up call is an opportunity to turn back to the conversation with the divine. {..} Life is the necessary illusion from which we drink as well as the circumstantial waters in which we drown again and again. That is the truth as well as the illusion of it. We are each on a mysterious errand and the great beauty of this world requires that we both forget and at times remember it.  …. {..} ….we are closer to an awakening and to a turning point whenever we reach the end of our rope and feel that we have lost everything again. Then, we either fall apart or else we find the thread of destiny that pulls everything together and opens the path before us again”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/21/marines-lip-dub-hold-it-a_n_852288.html?ref=email_share

www.youtube.com

….so many people were in pain that their numbers were greater than the capacity of a world class medical facility like Mayo Clinic

I called yesterday to get some information and make an appointment at Mayo Clinic for Terry. The temporary measures we had chosen to abate  chronic pain issues were working but not addressing the source of the problem. It was clear that we could not continue in this interim existence without some causal resolutions to recovery.  To my absolute astonishment and shock, I was told that Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota was not accepting any new patients in their Pain Management/Rheumatology department because they were overwhelmed and could barely keep up with the patients they already were serving!  Really? Mayo Clinic was no longer accepting anyone who presented with arthritic symptoms and pain?     Stunning!

As I hung up the phone with the apology of the receptionist still ringing in my ears, I pondered the import of this revelation…so many people were in pain/arthritic conditions that their numbers were greater than a world class medical facility could handle….it was cold comfort to realize at least we weren’t the only ones in need of healing. The seeming epidemic proportions of this dis-ease started a cascade of awareness and questions.  A quick Google search of statistics on pain confirmed my personal experience at Mayo Clinic:

It is estimated by National Health Statistics that 76.2 million Americans suffer from pain maladies.

This  exceeds the incidences of heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined!

What was going on in America that might be manifesting  this flood of pain and arthritis? From a metaphysical perspective, it would suggest some  inability to move freely or being frozen with ? fear? such that motion is inhibited or halted….not beyond the realm of possibility given the national condition these days… but, is there more to this? what could be at the core of the stats that show such a nation-wide malaise? ……

Pain is the Body’s Message about Stored Trauma

Last year as we wrestled with the first appearance of this pain experience in Terry, we discussed what purpose the presence of pain served at this juncture of life. We could see how it offered a handy (albeit unpleasant) way to avoid the overwhelm of uncertainty and change abounding in the issues of present and scary life demands. In this latest revisit to our  ‘pain edifice’, we discovered more layers of its potential message and it  lead us into some interesting territory….including anthroposophic medicine, homeopathy, alternative uses for prescription drugs, and most recently, a shining gem of a book entitled:

The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process by David Berceli, PhD.

“Life is stressful, anxiety provoking, and frequently traumatic. The result is that many of us are hurting and often we are unaware of how deep our pain runs” …David Berceli, PhD

From this book we have come to understand how deeply we all are impacted by traumatic life experiences including those of the people with whom we interact and live. Traumas from past and present life events are stored in the body as energy.  These traumas run the full spectrum from large to small- does 9/11 ring a national bell? the economic crisis that has created unemployment, fear and distress nationwide? the political wrangling that continues to create imbalance and heated national discord? tsunami’s and earthquakes worldwide and suffering of so many in the wake of Indonesia, Haiti? Personal issues of abuse, loss, aggression, even seemingly insignificant events like almost being in a car accident or cut off in traffic all leave their mark on our bodies and psyches. Much like Mayo Clinic,  the body eventually exceeds its capacity to support the effects of these events and it begins to exhibit symptoms of overflow as pain. Once again, the image of the overflowing waiting rooms at Mayo Clinic offer insight into how many of us carry the scars of trauma that can manifest in chronic, unresolved pain. We appear to be a nation collectively rendered  powerless and vulnerable in the face of the events of our lives.  In our instant-fix culture, medication seems to offer the only avenue of resolution….thus the high demand for medical intervention

our experience has been that medical intervention is sometimes necessary but it is a band-aid not an ultimate resolution to the underlying causes of pain…..

—- The Trauma Release Process is a brilliant, simple technique devised from the wisdom and knowledge of Dr. David Bercelli who has traveled world-wide teaching 7 simple exercises that allow the body to naturally release the effects of trauma that manifest in the physical, mental and emotional. His body of work was developed from extensive personal experiences and his global work in treating and teaching people techniques to heal from trauma.

To bring this into a personal platform,  Terry’s pain is potentially a symptom of unresolved trauma and no matter what drug, medical or alternative treatment he undertakes, the source of that trauma is only suppressed not released.  For us, it is key to get to the source – if you will permit an aviation navigation analogy – find the pointy end of the needle and follow where it points!

That is our present personal mission and it seems that this did not just appear ‘out of the blue’ – it is in response to our prayers -asking on a spiritual level for healing – true healing and for our ability to live as our true Self – as beings empowered by our potential not dis-empowered by external events that dictate behaviors in direct opposition to who we truly are.

Imagine a wide-angle view of our world with every person holding tools to empower his/her own healing from pain….

Could it be that  our personal existential transformation is simply a snippet of the self-same unfolding at a national level? Are we nationally flocking to the medication route because we are unaware of any other alternative or we are unwilling to endure another minute of debilitating pain?  Perhaps this is a bifurcation point where we have the option to make a different choice, reach deep and find lasting resolutions to our internal maladies and afflictions so that we may live outwardly as whole human beings aware and engaged in peaceful and meaningful lives on a healed planet. This one publication offers such opportunity to anyone who would engage its simple yet profound healing process. Taking action on our own behalf rather than expecting someone else to take responsibility for us is the essence of what we are called to do….

If we make that choice I can  imagine those overfilled waiting rooms at Mayo Clinic empty and silent.   Imagine a wide-angle view of our world with every person having these tools at their disposal ….authentic autonomy through resolution of personal crisis.  The peace that image imparts is testimony to what is possible and,  if you can feel it, it is real!

Adversity introduces a man to himself.  ~Author Unknown

” YOU’RE GOING TO BURN IN HELL! “

……Those damning words floated into the sleepy sanctity of our condo this morning. The condemnation, uttered with such conviction, was part of a longer ‘sermon’  delivered as the speaker made his way down the street outside our window apparently warning invisible parishioners of the perils of sinful living. This fiery delivery was received in our domain with a wry and humorous comment about the glory of living downtown where all manner of humanity intermingles and shares their particular view of this existence.   But it did get me thinking about the conviction of truth from which those words were uttered and it did get me remembering what it felt like to hear those same sentiments as a young child growing up Catholic and wide-eyed with terror at the prospect of being consumed by flames because I did not obey and God was not pleased. Then, it was my first introduction to fear and the concept of Divine retribution. Today,  as a rational adult who has reconciled with logic, I realize that a punishing God is an oxymoron. Yet I am still amazed that  sentiments like the ones which arrived uninvited in our bedroom this morning are still afoot in our supposedly sophisticated culture. Do we really believe in ‘hell’? Really? Still?

As I pondered the question, I considered how much of our existence is centered around our cellular fear of dying and ‘burning in hell for all eternity’ because we are flawed and at our core, reprehensible.  So our fear of  annihilation sends us seeking safe harbor from death in any way we can.  At the heart of our individual, national and global conflicts is fear in some form.  In an effort to prevent any experience of pain and suffering which is part of our ‘meta-fear’, we as individuals become self-absorbed,independent and self-sufficient and abhor any kind of weakness; we work ceaselessly to become wealthy and live apart from that which would harm us; we are obsessed with our health and longevity, apparently believing that we can outlive the inevitable evolution of our death. In the national arena,  Republicans set themselves  against Democrats and the President as a way to render themselves relevant. Their fear mounts as their reason fails. In California  Proposition 8 pits those who fear the loss of the identity of marriage against  the Gay-Lesbian Community who simply are seeking constitutional equality;  pro-choice supporters fight against the pro-life proponents.    In  international conflicts it is ownership of land vs inherited rights to occupy land,   nuclear proliferation vs disarmament, religious fundamentalism vs religious fundamentalism and the omni-present war on terrorists vs those who torture in the name of peace. It seems that if we fight and win against another, our power and rightness is affirmed and our fear is vanquished – at least until the next fearful monster appears under our bed and the whole cycle begins anew.

OK, so we know the issue – what is to be done about it?  As in all solutions, the work begins at home – within us…..

In Voice Dialogue speak, Protectors are the ‘first-born’ parts in our psyches. Given the above, this comes as no surprise. Protectors are the part of us charged with that sacred duty to keep us safe and avoid fearful situations at all costs. Sometimes they employ the services of such parts of us as Judges and Righteous Zealots to be the armor that battles all those who would harm us in this human experience. Those loud voices of conviction leave no room for awareness and perspective. They simply deliver their sermons about ‘you are wrong and I am right’ ‘God is on my side and because He is, I will win’ and “anyone who does not agree with me is against me and must be removed or punished’ . They operate in the unadulterated belief that their job is to be right.

This situation begs the balance that the Voice Dialogue process offers. Within us, there indeed are voices of disowned parts  that can effect a different outcome – What if we could access the voices on the other side of this equation (if anyone was willing to compose another side or an equation!) -the voices that speak quietly of equality, respect for another’s point of view and belief….voices that invite dialogue and consensus and a sharing of life circumstance that evokes compassion and understanding?  This is not by any means an absolute suggestion – Any Voice Dialogue facilitator worth his/her salt knows that both sides of this energetic need be honored. I am not so niave as to suggest that there is no need to fear the likes of the illustrious leader of North Korea and his maniacal trek into the nuclear world. But in the worlds (and there are worlds) of possibility between these two extremes, lies the potential for reasonable discernment that is driven by awareness rather than fear.  It is akin to the reaction we had as we were assaulted with the damning prophecy this morning – did we take it as truth? No, did we normalize the experience? Yes. Did it become an awareness moment? Absolutely.

I have been reading Destiny of Souls by Dr. Michael Newton as preparation for training in Past Life Regression. This work is an astounding anthology of Dr. Newton’s  more than 30 years of investigations with clients into the ‘between lives’ experience. One of the most riveting truths I discovered in this book was  a consensus that ‘between life’ souls contemplating a return to another physical life crown the ‘Earth life experience’ as the most challenging because it is so full of conflict, passion, diversity and fear.  The greatest level of difficulty was unanimously chosen as fear. With all the beauty, humanitarianism, connection and love that is possible on this planet, I was astounded to realize the cosmic reputation our planet has acquired.

In the multi-dimensional model of Voice Dialogue lies the middle ground of reason and acceptance – a place that recognizes fear as an experience that is useful sometimes to keep us alive but that opens to the wider view of who we truly are at our essence and that invites by virtue of that perspective, a conscious dialogue with and choice of the behavior that is most supportive of our evolution as souls. The work of Voice Dialogue is sacred work that holds the light to the darkness of our terror and in that illumination. It is why we use it in our work with clients. it is why we teach it through our courses. It is the quintessential tool to effect lasting change — beginning one individual at a time. Perhaps in future incarnations, we who live on Earth now and who work out a truce with our own fears will effect a new quality that draws souls to reincarnate here…

If you are intriqued by Voice Dialogue and its possibilities and would like to know more feel free to visit our website: www.theemergentcoach.com or contact us at info@theemergentcoach.com. We teach courses and provide individual life coaching using this method.

Not unrelated to the internal cacophony, the external world of just plain living is clearly as loud and distracting. In our physical lives, we are bombarded with the constant sensory overload – from the demand to hold conversation with family, friends, students, co-workers, society in general,  to the invasive clamor of televisions, telephones, music, aircraft overhead, the laboring rumble of truck and bus engines, the familiar sounds of construction as we build, fix, maintain our cities and roads, the cries and questions of our children.  This external stimulus of every waking moment rarely stops.  Within this ubiquitous din resides all the enfolded messages that shape our behavior so that we can conform to a societal model of perfection. It creates the frenzied internal and external babble in which we are immersed and it causes unnecessary struggle and stress. It  becomes internalized as the low-level hum of inner chatter we unconsciously adapt to and  saps our energy and focus.

Terry and I have recently begun using a series of  guided meditations designed to support the taking back of the power of our minds from this frenzy. The CD’s series entitled Inner Talk use both subliminal (they list all the messages) messages and binaural beat technology. It was shortly after beginning to use these CDs that I noticed a deep, empty, delicious peace and quiet in my head that was very unfamiliar yet very welcome. That it was noticeable in the midst of a normal night of TV and other activity was even more remarkable and it has stayed with me. I am clearly aware of the quiet that has replaced the sensory overload of my thinking. So what does one do with silence?  Besides listening and actually getting in touch with intuitive messages, the most miraculous part of this rests in the loss of struggle I notice as I progress through a day. The someone looking  over my shoulder grading and measuring the perfection of everything I do no longer exists.  In the silence of this new space,  a sense of trust and confidence has emerged. This new pattern of transformed doubt has landed me solidly in the flow of all things and normalized the exhaustive struggle that had plagued my every move.

It is a definitive feeling of coming home to silence – a place I left behind long ago – a place that evokes  the ‘aaahhhh’ fall-into-grandma’s featherbed’ experience and a place that is consciously present in the midst of all the noise.  As I balance it with the activities of living and prosperity, I find the most profound gratitude for this discovery. Thank you, Terry for being the consummate explorer and adventurer, for being a living truth compass that I trust. As much as it is part of our mutual and individual progression of expansion, it is also a deep expression of universal love and regard….that is a gift I treasure and fully accept.

Years ago when I worked at a charter/scheduled airline in Canada, there was a phenomenon that occurred often with aircraft  charters.   Here is how it went – a customer would call up to charter an aircraft for a specific time; we would find air crew, arrange refreshments, get the aircraft ready to go at the appointed time – sometimes at great inconvenience and haste to be ‘on-time’… then we would begin the long wait for the customer to arrive so we could depart…thus the “Hurry Up and Wait” mantra came into being.  Like the  scenes in a movie that depict the passage of time by showing a character in a series of different positions in the same chair, we would wait and wait and wait and wait some more….refreshments would be returned to the refrigerator then more waiting ……suddenly, the doors of the waiting lounge would fly open, the customer would finally arrive and the chartered flight would begin…at long last, action and successful completion of the task at hand!

It seems that we often encounter a similar experience in pursuit of our personal goals – we start by doing  everything we think we need to do to act upon our focus. We take appropriate steps to get prepared and are full of purpose and direction. Then at some point when we have completed everything we know how to do,  we wait……………. Now what? It is as if we see our destination ( personal vision) across a great amorphous chasm – not at all accessible but clearly seen. How do we get across this abyss? What is it anyway?  Like the charter pilot waiting on the customer, we can spend a great deal of time in this spot frozen in time and space- shifting positions but not really moving.  We can even begin to adapt to this place – it is a comfortable place really. No need to do anything, no compulsion or propulsion to move. Yet we can imagine all the greatness of our vision from here – what it will look like when it is completed, accomplished. In this place there is no risk, no failure AND no action.
It seems to me that often we all get caught up in this ‘hurry up [to get ready] and wait [for something to take us to the next step]‘ game. In the flying analogy, until the customer arrives to kick the flight into gear, we wait – all prepared – but we wait! When the customer arrives, we go! The customer is the physical initiator – the person with whom we made a contract to deliver a service whose arrival is a clearly defined  embarkation point.

In life, that contract for service is with ourselves and our personal vision. It is not so easily identified and defined. The impetus to begin the next phase of action is internal and perhaps less exacting.  In our life waiting lounge, before we launch toward our vision, all our stuff comes up: – our fears of unknown outcomes, our doubts about our capabilities, our insecurities, our worries, our hopes, our beliefs  and if we look hard enough, we might even discover some excitement. It can be an overwhelming place. It can freeze us into immobile statues staring at the horizon to which we want to travel but are unable to take a step toward.  Sometimes it is easier to stand on the edge of action and pretend we are going to start. Occasionally, we peer into that amorphous chasm and have the urge to jump in but we don’t….until….we kick ourselves into gear……we are our own customers! We are wholly and completely in charge of both our flight and our destination….how cool is that?

Let’s say this real flight occurs on a clear night when there is a full moon. I can tell you that there is no more magical or spiritual an experience as this. Caped in darkness, gliding between the moon and stars above and the carpet of city lights below – it is as awe inspiring as it gets. So too, when we decide to see through the eyes of excitement and inspiration, we can choose to be open to some magic as we journey to destination. This blog you are reading is a personal magic carpet ride – when we first began to create it, it felt pretty ordinary, slow moving and actually the exact example of what we just said….it took from June 2008 to early 2009 before any new posts were made and became a regular weekly event…we are unfrozen and flying to our destination of business success.  It started with a manifesting workshop we held locally and sourced from the inspiration of the participants who are also on their journeys as a result.When I look at the blog now, I can see how it is growing and becoming alive. We get comments from people we don’t know! Every little action changes something in the big picture for us. It is with the greatest gratitude and love that we watch this expression of our desires evolve.

So if you find yourself in a “hurry up and wait” mode – know that you can do something about it – it is your call. Also know that it is an integral part of the whole unfolding of the greatest iteration of who you are. Use the ‘waiting’ to ask what is next, to chart your course, to deal with your frozen state and then enjoy every spiritual, physical, mental and emotional moment of the flight to your vision — it is worth it because it will change and empower you !

Sometimes you just have to take the leap and make your wings on the way down!

In closing, I want to thank the participants of our local Manifesting Workshop who have been community and support. In fact, we have become that for each other and it is exciting to see all the forward steps they are taking – to them:  Thank you – ‘clap your hands’ fun – abiding connection!

In my Sunday reading of Crack in the Cosmic Egg by Joseph Chilton Pearce, I found a most astonishing story about a Chicago doctor who made a successful kidney transplant in the early days of such medical phenomena.  This doctor painstakingly recorded much data about the process and eventual recovery of the patient before declaring to the medical journals that he had indeed completed a successful kidney transplant. Based on his results, similar procedures were tried world-wide with huge margins of success. Interestingly, the Chicago doctor subsequently re-examined his findings and discovered that he had made mistakes in his data and the success was actually a failure.  No matter, the other kidney transplants were successful and  continue to this day to increasing success as a routine procedure. How can such a thing be possible? As Pearce noted “All that may have been needed was sureness, belief and a concrete hope”

I found this inspiring because it speaks so succinctly to the power that is our imaginations, ideas and (as William Blake put it) our divine genius. We are at our very core, creators and visionaries. If we bring awareness to what we create, imagine what might be the result? Focused, intentional creation — if it were up to you – what would that look like for yourself? for humanity? What change could be brought about through the power of our innate genius?

If you think the challenge to change the world is too great, think of the doctor whose erroneous discovery caused a life-saving procedure to become standard fare in the medical world. It is living proof that it can happen and that one person can be the catalyst for immense change.

President Obama is such a figure in present time. His efforts to effect change are a powerful reminder that nothing is impossible. There was another interesting quote that was part of this same trend of thought in Crack in the Cosmic Egg that I would like to share as a closing idea to ponder:

” If an  imaginative seed, the gist of an idea, can be planted, even though contrary to existent evidence, the seed can still grow and sooner or later produce confirmation. Data can be found to bolster the conviction. The desire for conviction can produce its own data, its own metaphoric mutation, even to its visual demonstration…..even if the bulk of current belief would have to be sacrificed [CHANGE] to give the new idea grounds for growth, a tenacious adherence in spite of all the contrary evidence will nevertheless slowly build up the possibility for the needs of the new idea to be met.”

In a time of fear and uncertainty, it is reassuring to understand how much power and potential we carry within us!