Unleashing Your Soul
by
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
What
is Faith?
Trusting
the Unknown
Unseen
Creativity
The
Supportive Energy of Love
Surrendering
to Action
The
Role of Soul
Your
Package is No Accident
Recognizing
Your Purpose
The
Journey of Getting Ready
Saying
Yes to Showing Up
Claiming
Your Right to Joy
Letting
Go of the Money Hold
The
Asset of Your Past
Shifting
Priorities
Perseverance
Your
Link to God
The
Divine Spark of You
A
Relationship with God
Feeling
God’s Presence
Messages
from God
A
Mindset of Choice
Powering
an Open Mind
Unleashing
Limiting Beliefs
Belief
Flavors
Embracing
New Beliefs
Who
Are You Really?
Examples
in Others
Guided
Meditation
Sharpening
Your Intuition
The
Energy of Thoughts and Words
Anything
is Possible
The
Power of Visualization
Manifesting
through Practice
The
Law of Abundance
The
Balance of Giving and Receiving
Gratitude
is a Magnet
Affirmations
for Manifesting
The
Power of Prayer
Being
New is Okay
Defining
Your
Hanging
Out Your Shingle
A
Can Do Attitude
Expect
the Best
The
Transition Process
Taking
Care of Yourself
Smelling
the Roses
Courage
Principles in Review
Closing
Thoughts
Introduction
It felt like the rug had
been violently yanked from the foundation of my life. I was in such pain that I
wondered how I would make it through another day. My husband had abruptly left
me for another woman. Why was this happening to me? What had I done to deserve
this? What could I do to ease the pain? All I knew was that I desperately
needed some help. I needed something to give me faith.
There I was, having moved to rural
Time helped me to heal, as it always does. A year later,
just as I started to think about moving back to
I thought I was happy on the surface, yet my heart knew
something wasn’t right long before I awoke to it. I was making a six-figure
income and owned a beautiful home on the water, yet there were times I felt so
empty that I would go home for lunch and cry. I had created a life that seemed
totally detached from anything meaningful. I felt alone. I knew that there had
to be something more to life. There had to be something that would help me to
feel truly alive. Once again, I set out for some guidance.
The
yellow pages helped me to discover what is referred to as New Thought
spirituality. First I became involved with The Church of Religious Science and
then later, Unity. New Thought teaches about the loving energy that is all
around us and how we can use our minds to tap in to this energy to create the
experiences we want. I jumped in with both feet. I became aware that I was
feeling called to some type of ministry work. It took me awhile, yet eventually
I listened. As I would later be taught, when we show up, the right solution
always presents itself. And so it was with the perfect solution for my ministry
credential. It was a spiritual college called Pathways of Light, founded by
Reverends Robert and Mary Stoelting. The
curriculum is based on A Course In Miracles, which teaches that the love that connects
us is all that is real, and the fears that we hold on to are just illusions of
our mind.
This
work helped my eyes to be opened to the fact that the aching emptiness was a
chronic symptom of disconnect between my heart and the life that I had created.
I had been driven by money, not love, and security, not passion. Before long
the pain of living this way became stronger than my fears about doing something
about it. It became time to put the spiritual principles I’d learned to work in
real life. It was time for me to walk the talk. The process became the heart
and soul of this book.
I believe there is a delightfully mysterious source of
wisdom in the depths of our beings. Through it we receive understandings that
we know to be true, even though we don’t know how we know. I came to an understanding
about why I was forced so intensely onto my spiritual path. I also understand
the reason for my journey. It gave me the experience to share what you are
about to read. I hope your life will be benefited by this book in some way. I
hope that you will find the courage to do what I believe we all want to do,
live from our heart.
November 2005
Chapter 1: Stepping into Faith
Faith is knowing that if
you must step off a cliff, either a step will appear or you will be taught how
to fly.
-Unknown
I set off for
work that Monday in early April just like any other day. I thought I could put
what had emerged over the weekend into its own little box until I was ready to
deal with it. Yet as I walked into my bright office with its lovely hillside
views, I noticed that darkness had followed me. Something was taunting me. I
went through the motions of beginning my work day and quietly joined the others
gathering in the conference room for our weekly 9 AM staff meeting. I sat there
like a corpse, aware that my heart was so fully removed from the discussions at
hand that it was like I was observing the scene from outside my body. I
returned to my office after the meeting to review the emails waiting in my
inbox. Each message I clicked open felt like another stab to my heart. None of
them held any meaning to me anymore. I struggled to find some enthusiasm from
which to respond. I felt dead inside. I knew I would sit there in emptiness for
the next eight hours while I put in my time in exchange for a piece of
security. The clarity of this awareness had me in turmoil.
How interesting
that the weekend had primed me to react this way. After all, I hadn’t earned my
role as second in command by having a laissez faire attitude. That one phone
conversation was a disturbing wake up call that troubled me all weekend. I had
received a phone call from Alan Cohen to check in on what support I might need
for his upcoming life mastery workshop I was attending two weeks later. As I
shared with Alan that I was looking for the strength to let go of my job so
that I could follow the work of my heart, I was struck with the humiliation
that I hadn’t moved from where I left his last workshop two years prior. When
was I going to stop talking about my fear and do something about it? This
haunted me all weekend.
Where
does the courage to say good-bye to a solid, yet empty career or job come from?
And how does it take form? My own experience is that it often begins with
long-held dreams, a nagging feeling of emptiness, and a realization that we are
not going to live forever. If there is going to be a time to chase any of those
dreams, to feel alive with a greater sense of meaning, there becomes a time to
make it now. There becomes a time to make the leap.
Yet there is something about letting go of the security
and comfort of the known, to follow our most cherished dreams that arouse our
deepest fears. As we look closely at this fear, we might recognize it as a
dare. It’s a dare for us to put our faith in what we want to be real for us. It
is a dare for us to build our faith so that it becomes stronger than our fear.
I now know that this is possible. Having a mortgage and car payment I was
solely responsible for, I discovered that faith was the key I needed to follow
my heart.
What is Faith?
Faith
is an idea that we have built a confident trust in. It’s the claiming of
something that we desire to experience from life, with a strong belief that it
could be true. Faith is a belief that we have beyond any evidence. It is an affirmation we
make about something that cannot be rationally proven or objectively known. We
just trust it to be true. We may not see any signs to prove that we will be a
success doing something new, yet we stick our neck out anyway in faith. Faith
is claiming certainty that what you hope for exists, even if you cannot see it
with your eyes. Faith is a courageous act. It invites us to surrender from a
place of believing without hesitation. It asks that we see this as more
courageous than accepting something without proof. Faith is releasing the need
to know for sure, and accepting with pure trust.
Faith becomes a state of
being. It’s like a feeling of being attached to the center of the universe.
Faith keeps us standing tall and firm in our resolve. Sometimes we swerve from
the winds of a storm, yet we always keep coming back to our center of faith.
Faith is the joy that dances in our hearts from the belief that we are going to
make our dream come true. Faith is the strength that reminds us during challenges
that tomorrow is a new day.
Our faith becomes a magnet
which attracts all that we hold our faith in. Faith is intention fired with
trust. Faith builds creation. It recognizes the good that is coming our way,
and doesn’t let disappointments of what doesn’t come get us down. Faith is the
key to believing in one’s fullest potential. Faith is the secret to living it.
Faith does not come
overnight. At least it didn’t for me. I knew for three years that I wanted to
let go of my marketing career to begin writing and teaching, yet I remained
stuck in the security of knowing exactly how the bills were going to get paid.
Somehow I came to surround myself with the right people who lead me to look at
things differently. Once I began to see that what was going on in my heart had
a life of its own, I began to believe that where it wanted to take me was where
I was supposed to go. Then I began to consider that if I was doing what I am
here to do, then why wouldn’t I be taken care of? I then saw how ludicrous it
was to think I’d be better off in a meaningless job. Why would I be rewarded
for continuing on in empty pain? I chose to believe that my reward was to come
by saying yes to what I was feeling called to. And once I began to show up in
my new role, I began to see how the flow of life supports us.
Soon after I gave my
resignation, John, my boss, offered me the opportunity to remain on the payroll
in a very slim part-time consultant role. This arrangement would entitle me to
medical benefits at cost, as well as cover a good chunk of my living expenses.
I couldn’t have asked for a more comfortable launching pad. I hung out my
shingle as a wedding officiant, and was delightfully surprised at how easily
the business came. Sure, the deposits being made into my checking account were
not the size they’d been before, yet checks were coming and I had to start
someplace. I took this all as positive signs that I was on my right path, and
remained strong in my faith.
Remember that faith is a choice. It’s a choice to trust.
It’s a choosing of what to believe in. Faith gives you the choice to build your
trust around ideas that will support you, rather than those that hold you back.
Faith gives you the courage to take your life in the direction you want it to
go.
Trusting the Unknown
I know what
it’s like to think about letting go of that paycheck. It feels like giving up
your security blanket to expose yourself in nakedness to the vast unknown. What
if it is a cold world out there? Well, you know what? You have a choice in what
you think about this vast unknown that is the universe.
Consider that you have the choice to develop a belief
that the universe is a loving and abundant source whose protective care you are
always under. This choice is a faith that sees the universe as a supportive
environment through which dreams are built.
Are you using the word “universe” to mean God?
The word “universe” as described on these pages is meant
to refer to the spiritual world, of which God, or whatever word you choose to
use, is the creator of. It’s a theory of connectedness of all creation. It is
through this energy of our connection that things are nurtured and flow.
Practice this idea by thinking of the universe like a warm incubator. Think of
yourself as inside this incubator, letting go of the security of your present
work. There you are, now standing free and on your own. Inside this incubator,
though, you are protected in warm shelter. As you become secure that the
incubator will keep you warm, you also begin to sense that it will feed you,
and keep you from being hungry. The incubator that is the universe will help
nurture and sustain you while you give birth to your new work life. So is the
universal incubator of life.
I know that trusting that the universe will provide for
you may seem like a big leap. It is, however, one of the most important ideas
for you to accept in building your courage. Without this trust, you will
probably continue to hang on, even though you are just dying to let go. As you
continue to hang on, you are displaying proof that your trust is in your
current situation. In order for you to leave that situation, you will need to
have somewhere else to place your trust. Sure, you can put your trust in
yourself, yet where will you get your support? Are you willing to try putting
your trust in the universe?
If
this sounds like a risky proposition to you, that’s okay. Know that most of us
are not able to take this kind of leap overnight. Just let yourself
have an open mind and entertain the idea. When you think about wanting to
create a new life for yourself, bring the idea of trusting the universe into
your consciousness. Practice with trying it on for size. Expose yourself to
others who have this faith. Take a look at what they’ve done with their life as
proof of how their faith has manifested. Open your mind to the idea that you
can do the same.
Recognizing that she was a good public speaker who
enjoyed working with people and not sitting behind a desk all day,
Unlike other periods of her working life, jobs were not
coming to
The fact that jobs did not come to
Creativity Unseen
The unknown holds the world that we cannot see. Faith
asks us to believe there is exquisite creative magic in the unseen. It asks us
to believe that the world we’ve come to see with our eyes, and respond to with
our minds and actions is not what is real at all.
What do you mean that what I see is not what is
real?
This is an idea that acknowledges the difference between
the physical world that we perceive in our minds, and the spiritual world, that
of the unseen. Most of us have been trained to believe that what we see with
our eyes is all that is real. This is a perception which says that if we can’t
see it, it isn’t real. Consider instead that behind everything that we can see
is spiritual energy. This spiritual energy of the unseen has amazing creative
power. Think of this unseen universe like a vibrant theatre set, with what you
see on center stage to be the main act. Along with the main act in front of
you, you are aware that there is much going on behind the stage to prepare for
the scenes to follow. Although you are conscious of the preparation work
happening behind the stage, you don’t feel the need to see what is going on to
trust that it will lead perfectly to the next act. You just relax and enjoy the
show. You trust that the scenes are unfolding in perfect order.
Think about how this might apply in a new career
start-up. Let’s say, for example, that you are starting a new business as a
Spanish language tutor. You’ve put out all your flyers, your web site is up,
and you’ve sent out a mailing to everyone you know. Yet after a month of
waiting, not a single call. Now you’re beginning to think that this was a bad
idea, that your business is going nowhere, and you better start hunting for a
real job.
Although this is what you see, there is a different
picture behind the scenes. What you cannot see is that half a dozen people have
your flyer magnetized to their refrigerator as a reminder to call you to
schedule an appointment. One of those people is the CEO of a large company who
wishes to have all their sales executives learn Spanish! You’re about ready to
close shop, and the reality is that your business is about to take off in a big
way.
Most of us realize that things just don’t happen
overnight. You probably don’t expect to leave your job one day, and the next
day you have a portfolio of clients so vast that you cannot handle all of them.
Things take time. We don’t often think about what is happening behind the
scenes while the clock is ticking. There is energy in motion that is creating
your new work or business that you are physically not involved with. Although
you cannot see this energy in motion, it is very real.
You will find great courage in your faith that the
universe is working behind the scenes to provide the right opportunities for
you at just the right time. This will help you to have patience when it seems
that things are not happening fast enough. This faith will help you to trust,
rather than look to some external proof that you are in your right place.
Remember, though, that giant steps forward often lead to
small steps backwards. Sometimes your faith will be very strong and you will delight
in the progress you are making. Then, something will happen or not happen,
someone may say something that bursts your balloon, and you find yourself
taking a step backward in your faith. This is not fun, I know, yet it is a
natural process of the journey. There will be good days, and not so good days.
Just like keeping your head up is key to a good golf swing, keeping your faith
is critical in building your courage to create a more meaningful work life.
Your ability to relax into a faith in the universe is
your key to navigating through all kinds of change and challenges. By
developing a habit of looking past what you see on the surface, to trusting
that everything is happening in perfect order, you give yourself the ticket to
living with courage and peace. I know that looking beyond what you see, and
trusting what you don’t can seem like a mighty big stretch at first. After all,
this is the way most of us have been conditioned to live. Yet it doesn’t always
give us the greatest sense of security, does it?
Remember that you will put your trust in what you believe
is real. So take a close look at what you think to be real. As you go about
your day, ask yourself what you believe is real. If you believe that what is
real is the black and white of what you can see and touch, that is where you
will put your trust. If your faith is in the physical realm, and you cannot see
the resources coming together for your new life venture, how can you trust that
you will be provided for? Can you see how putting your trust in the protective
care of the universe is a much greater source for courage?
The Supportive Energy of Love
You can also build your courage with the faith in the
love of the universe. This is the faith that love is the energy that fills us
and surrounds us. You cannot see this energy with your eyes, yet you can see
its expressions if you choose to. You can choose to see love through the eyes
of a stranger you pass on the street. You can see love in your dog as he wags
his tail at you. Or, you can see love expressed in the beautiful sunset that
catches your breath at dusk. The supportive energy of love is all around us.
With an understanding that this loving energy wants only to support you, you
can build the kind of faith in which you relax into courage, just as if you
were releasing the string on a parachute.
How can an understanding that the universe is loving help me to build courage?
Think
of yourself for a moment as a child of this loving universe. Consider the
universe as a powerful parent who wants only the best for you, who longs for
you to receive that which will bring you the deepest sense of joy. Think about
the efforts, the time and the resources an earthly loving parent will provide
to see that their child is best prepared to live a happy and satisfying life.
Such is true with the universe, yet on a much grander scale. After all, the
resources of the universe are unlimited. This means that whatever you need to
reach your potential, to express what is stirring inside of you, to be who you
really want to be, is out there available to you.
You and I are children of this universe, brothers and
sisters born of the same creation. We are all equals in the eyes of the
universe. I know that sometimes it seems that some people get all the breaks,
yet that’s not the truth. Those whose success we admire have learned
courageously how to manage their faith and their minds, and align their actions
in the right direction. What others have done is an example of what is possible
for us.
Surrendering to Action
Faith in the universe is a powerful choice that is
available for all of us to make. Faith is the ingredient that will enable you
to open your heart wide without fear, to dance peacefully to the rhythms of the
experiences that come into your days. When you trust in the universe
completely, you release yourself from worry that everything must be under your
tight control. As you stay firmly committed to taking the steps required to
accomplish your goal, the universe will provide the opportunities you need to succeed.
Taking a look at your own life, can you see examples of when this was the case
for you? Perhaps you have stumbled across the most wonderful house, or the
perfect job opportunity came to you out of the blue. And maybe these ideal
findings were far greater treasures than what you may have expected from your
own searching. Whether you were aware of it or not, these were times that the
universe was supporting your efforts with opportunities.
Surrendering to faith means surrendering into action. In
your surrendering, you make an announcement to the universe that you are so
confident that you are taking your right soulful steps, even though you have no
solid proof of where you will land. Whether you are just starting to think
about making a change, or you are in some phase of transition, you can chart
your journey using GPS navigation as a model. You first determine the basic
position of where you are and where you ultimately want to go. You then
navigate yourself from one location to the next. You may not know exactly how
you will get from step one to your final destination, yet you have the faith
that clear directions will be unveiled as you continue on your journey. And
just like you don’t expect you will have to lay down the roadway to get to your
destination, you accept it as simply your task to steer the engine in the right
direction.
Sophie spent eight years doing graphic design work in a
small firm in
We see in Sophie a courageous example of the power of
faith. Sophie clearly put her faith in her heart, trusting that it would lead
her to opportunities that would enable its fulfillment. She didn’t have the
need to see proof by having everything laid out for her. Instead she leapt in
faith, trusting that everything would come from there.
Will
faith release me from all worry?
Having faith doesn’t necessarily
mean that fears of failure or worries about the bills are not going to come up.
They probably will, at least in the beginning, because they are ingrained thought
patterns. However, once you choose to live faithfully, you can catch yourself
having these thoughts, and remember that you can choose to trust, instead of
dwelling in fear. You can choose to not worry about how the mortgage will be
paid in three months, or that the right clients will make their way to you.
Instead you hold firm to the belief that the universe is in motion for the
precise things to come together to make it happen. While Sophie deeply believes
that quitting her job was the right thing to do, she sometimes wonders about
the sanity of it. Time will tell. For now she’s decided to try to let go of the
fear and let things happen.
Remember that developing a faith habit is no different
than experimenting with creating other new habits. If you’ve ever quit smoking,
you know what I’m talking about. Perhaps you never thought you had what it
takes to quit. Then something led you to try. Perhaps you had a few false
starts, yet one time you got very serious. You probably had cravings for a
smoke for awhile, yet you were firm in your resolve, and now you are one of
many that have kicked the habit. And maybe you even look back now and wonder
how you could ever have smoked at all.
I want to believe,
yet it seems risky to make a big decision like this based on pure faith.
You are probably more in the habit of trusting in the
unseen than you think you are. When you plant a seed, you simply trust that the
plant will grow. You relax into the faith without concern. Never do you feel
the need to dig up the dirt to check on its progress. You’ve been conditioned
to have faith that when you plant a seed it will grow. So you accept this
easily. Perhaps this is a faith similar to what you employ when you invest your
money. You put your faith in a particular stock or mutual fund, believing that
your investment dollars will increase. You recognize that you shouldn’t make
judgments about its performance through its day-to-day fluctuations. You
understand that investing requires making a commitment to the unknown for the
sake of financial growth. Can you see that what you have been conditioned to
believe is what you comfortably act on?
With that said, you probably associate investment with
risk, and rightly so. However, there are varying levels of risk involved, and
we choose the level of risk we are willing to take when we make our
investments. So it is with the level of risk you choose to take in moving away
from your current career. You have options that you can exercise. For example:
·
You can see
about cutting back from full-time status as you begin creating something new.
·
You can give
yourself a threshold of a certain amount of time, or a specific amount of
savings dollars you are willing to expend while you create this new venture.
·
You can look
for a part-time job closer to what you’re moving towards to help support you
financially, and possibly provide training for your dream work.
·
You can tell
yourself that your current job is not the only job you are qualified for. If,
after giving a noble effort, you are not able to create a situation that
supports you financially, you can always get another job.
Yes, you can always get another job. I couldn’t believe
what an “ah ha” this understanding was for me. In my deliberations about making
my leap, I was acting as if the job that I currently had was the only job
available in the world. I was treating it as if it was the job I wanted to
release, my dream work, or nothing. There was no in between. The reality that I
am able to see now, though, is that regardless of whether I made my dream work
happen, it was time to let go of that job. My heart was no longer in it. If you
are in that space now, too, I encourage you to explore your options, as I
suspect there are many.
George
had been preparing to leave his high tech job to begin his own consulting
business. Soon after claiming this intent, he attracted enough business to
afford to quit his job. George decided that he wanted to feel completely solid
before making his leap, so cut back to part-time status to have extra cash for
business start-up expenses. George recognized what his options were, and chose
the ones that provided him with the most comfort. By the time George completely
left his job, he had a full client load and a fully equipped office. You have
the freedom to explore your options, too.
I’m used to achieving something by creating a
plan, and then following through with it. I’m not sure how to balance this with
faith.
Keep in mind that the universe is much wiser than we are.
It knows what is going on behind the scenes while we don’t. It is great to have
a plan, yet it is through the wisdom of the universe that we are presented with
opportunities when we are prepared to carry them through. Similarly, we come to
understandings when we are ready to do something with the information. Trust
that wherever you are right now is exactly where you need to be. Perhaps where
you are doesn’t feel good or complete, yet allow yourself to see that
discomfort is what causes us to make change for the better. Trust that the
universe will guide you along your right path. Create and follow your plan so
that you are aware of what needs to come together, and work towards that. Do
these while you are keeping your senses open to the divine flow of the
universe, and put your faith in it. Accept the opportunities that come that
seem fitting, even though they weren’t a part of your plan.
Is there anything more I can do to keep myself
open to trust?
Setting the intent that you will be open to trust is a
good place to start. You can do this by sitting quietly for a few moments with
your focus on the unconditional love and care of the universe. You can open
yourself even further by acknowledging the gratitude you feel for the trust
that you will always be provided for. In doing so, you are affirming trust. As
we will explore in a later chapter, affirmations are a powerful tool for
creation. Try to make this a habit that you do once a day, or many times a day.
As you begin to trust in this love, and the idea that you will always be
provided for, you will find the courage to follow whatever your heart is
calling you to do. This courage will bring peace with it. The road ahead will
then be clear for you to follow.
As you begin to make trust your operating habit, you
should expect to receive signals from the universe confirming that you are on
the right path. As you relax into this trust, look for these signs, and when
you see them, accept them as messages meant for you. What do I mean by signs?
Signs are little gifts that come your way like pennies from heaven. For
instance, as you begin to lay the foundation for your new venture, you may see
opportunities come to you in an almost effortless fashion. Business may seem to
come to you very quickly. You may meet a significant partner for your work without
trying. Things will feel like they are coming together easily. It won’t be a
pounding the pavement, force things to happen experience. Things will just
flow. Take notice of these as signs, for they will reinforce your trust
building.
Exercises
These exercises will help guide you into surrendering to
the loving care of the universe. As they help you to relax into the peaceful
protection of the universe, you will become more comfortable with reaching deep
inside of yourself. Go through one or both of the relaxation exercises to
prepare you to look at any issues that you are ready to surrender to faith.
Perhaps there is something that has been holding you back from taking a step in
the direction of where your heart is aching to go. As you reach for this issue,
it may be something that is at your ready fingertips, or something that doesn’t
feel immediately within grasp. Remind yourself that whatever it is, you have
the knowledge within you. Be still, have faith in your own inner wisdom, and it
will come to you when you are ready.
1. Do one or both of these exercises, then proceed
to #2.
·
Settle your
body into a comfortable position. Relax and let go, quieting your mind and
letting go of all worldly concerns. Breathe deeply and focus on relaxing your
body and mind. Feel yourself becoming so relaxed that it almost seems as if you
are floating. Feel yourself tuning in to a sense of profound peace, and allow
yourself to flow for awhile with this soothing energy.
·
Imagine
yourself surrounded by an intensely bright golden light. Feel the energy from
this light softening your mind until your consciousness is resting in a
peaceful blanket of quiet. Allow yourself to drink in the peace you are feeling
from it. Lingering in this gentle state of peace, you now become aware of the
presence of a deep unconditional love. Feel your heart uplifted in joy as you
now understand that all that is truly real is this brilliant love.
2. Still in
your quiet and peaceful state, allow yourself to come to some insights about
the following questions. Add more questions that may feel appropriate and
helpful to you.
What
issue are you ready to surrender to faith?
Describe
the fear that you sometimes feel about surrendering.
What
nurturing thoughts can you give yourself to move away from this fear?
What
is holding you back from taking a step?