I use myself as an example a lot when I’m teaching. Naturally I know myself as well as
anyone, and have been witness to what was silently going on in the background. I’ve 
picked myself apart numerous times, and I’ve found that no matter how different we all
are, there are certain principles that hold true for most everyone. Since I’ve seen them all
from the inside, I can use them to make deductions about my clients based on what I
already know about them. If A=B, then C must = D. Etc.
Of course, that needs to be tempered with the knowledge that there are differences in
people… sometimes, big ones.
That’s all in the way of saying that when I use my own journey as a teaching example,
the lesson is much larger than just my story. It’s to give a general shape to your vision of
your own healing. Listen to the principle, not so much the specifics.
In my case, the trip for me just gets more interesting and better in this latter phase. For
most of it, it was still interesting, but not better. Worser, if anything. But now it’s
definitely in “better” mode, and I thought I’d share some of the stuff that I think made the
difference.
It’s a long grind for most of us, me included. But fortunately there are also those bursts
of energy that will suddenly propel you forward… or push you back if you’re not ready.
During the times when you’re questioning, searching, thinking, you’re storing up
potential energy. When it reaches a critical “mass”, thar she blows! Either you ride it
like a wild stallion, or you get thrown on your ass.
I struggled for a long time (and we know what happens when you do that) with a few
issues, general and specific. And this was after my spiritual journey kicked in real good.
When it was just getting wound up, there were many synchronicities and epiphanies close
together, because I needed them. Now they are more refined, more subtle, but also
proportionately more powerful. Here are a few relatively recent ones:
Be the change…
This chestnut is uttered often enough to have become trite-sounding. But it’s literally
true. You cannot enter the world you want to live in unless you’re in attunement with it.
Still too vague? OK, try this: if you want to be a successful, say, businesswoman, you
need to begin acting like one. You’re responsible, energetic, punctual… all the stuff that
makes a successful business person.
You want to be wealthier? Act like a wealthy person as much as possible. Have the
attitude that there’s always more of everything, plenty of whatever you need. Don’t clip
coupons. Don’t tell people how poor you are – ever.
It’s not about you…
I was often faced with a lack of sufficient confidence in my abilities. One of my own
mentors asked me, “Where do you get the advice and help that you give to your clients?”
I said that half of it was obviously “channeled” from the universal field of information,
and the other half was practical advice based largely on my own personal experiences.
My coach then asked, “Where did you get those experiences?”.
Duh. I do believe that everything comes from Source…but I hadn’t applied to it myself!
Her point was that there’s no need to be concerned about the work, because all of it
came from Source; the wisdom, the answers, the questions, the experiences. And
furthermore, I deduced that I could trust my work because it was my intention to focus
that Source energy on helping folks. The best and highest use of anything is
automatically right. Like I said, duh.
Your inner child is a putz…
We all have a certain image of ourselves. It’s accumulated gradually over the years – our
experiences and our reactions to them shape our beliefs about ourselves. It’s
programmed into our mental and emotional bodies. How we shape our beliefs shapes our
identity, the thing that allows us to tell ourselves from other people.
Losing your grip on who you are is a frightening thing. Except, we usually don’t realize
that’s what we’re afraid of. The subconscious holds onto that story for dear life, literally.
But consciously, it shows up as a lot of different things: procrastination, conditionality,
self-sabotage. But the root of it is that change is an unknown, and we don’t like
unknowns. How can we still be us if we’re someone else?
In my case I had a rigid and proud belief that I was an outsider, and therefore couldn’t
really participate in society. But when another mentor of mine began helping me see the
fallacy of that mistaken belief, that story about myself, the fear of losing my identity rose
to the surface. It was a fascinating experience. I actually thought to myself, “If I’m not
to be Michael, who am I to be? I’ve worked all my life to become who I am; won’t that
be wasted?”
For me, the answer was that I could be anyone I damn well wanted to be. I literally had a
talk with my identity (ego) and explained what was going on, and thanked it for
protecting me. I negotiated and said that if things didn’t turn out, we would go back to the
old ways.
Well, of course, it worked. I am now a very different person. The best part is that with
all the good change that’s going on, in other important ways nothing has changed. I still
have my raunchy sense of humor, I still have a beer now and then, I still cuss and look at
women-folk. It’s all good. I’m still me – just a more accurate me, more faithful to the original design.
Just try those three little guidelines. I think that even if you can only do one at a time,
you’ll find yourself moving forward a lot more easily.