Navigating Your Lifepath: Reclaiming Your Self, Recapturing Your Vision
Section I: Preparing for the Journey
Welcome
Congratulations! By choosing this step you’ve taken an important action. You’ve made a clear statement to yourself: I’m done with living the old way. I’m ready to step off the beaten path and re-align my lifepath to all that affirms me.
Did you know that when you make such a proclamation… you also positively affect family, friends and colleagues? By virtue of focusing on your own evolution others see possibility for themselves. Because — as you progress — you’re different and the way you interact with others is richer. You can’t help but touch others deeply, too. It’s natural and automatic.
It’s important to undertake the coursework in sequence. The material has been carefully sequenced to build upon itself so that you find yourself making clear decisions from a place of deep self-knowledge.
Remember: It’s not enough just to read the material and listen to the audios. The taskings and question prompts contained in each section are there to guide your self-discovery and put changes in place. But only you can make the commitment to the work.
In Section I, the material and assignments are focused on the areas below to support your process.
Task: Aligning Intent
Metaquestion: What do I want?
Presupposition: What you focus on, you become.
I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a
brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor,
every atom of me in magnificent glow,
than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
⎼ Jack London
Questions We Live By (Carla Woody, author)
Originally published in Anchor Point: The Practical Journal of NLP, September 2001.
The edge of our reality depends on what we hold inside our minds as true and possible. We tend to recycle our lives — past, present, future all becoming one in the same — continually validating the filters through which we live. We continue to attract to us what we self-select through rote unconscious processes until we don’t. When we don’t, it’s because something has awakened us to a wider life. With that wake-up call, different metaquestions are projected into the psyche from a place of higher wisdom. We begin to run those unconscious questions in our minds instead to attract to us the answers that will fulfill them. In alignment with the new metaquestions, a particular stream of metaprograms enact themselves to provide the thought and behavior orientations that serve us to step into the forest beyond the familiar compound where we used to live. As well, if we take on certain creativity strategies we better support ourselves on the journey.
In my book Calling Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness, I documented the path I call the Re-Membering Process. I overlaid a variety of world traditions, transformational modalities and tied the process to examples of everyday people undertaking the leap. The model I present in this article is drawn from my book, as well as additional observation and research.
Mythologist Joseph Campbell named three phases to an unfolding: Departure, Initiation and Return. From an intimate viewpoint of my own journey and my work with others, I’ve seen that there are two other main developmental points to the path. While there is no prescription or prescribed schedule, I’m aware of these stages: Sparking, Separation, Search, Initiation and Re-Entry. Many of us are on this path, in different phases and timetables. We are being propelled forward by the energetic momentum present with us in the world today demanding transformation now. If we’re not involved and committed to the Re-Membering Process, then we’re still anesthetized, betraying ourselves and deceiving others.
THE SPARKING
Sparking is what awakens us from sleep and an unconscious life. It usually happens over a period of time, but can happen within an instant. It often occurs at mid-life, but if we’re lucky or more conscious it happens much earlier. Even the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha or Enlightened One, was once asleep behind the castle walls. It was only when he finally stepped outside the compound in which he lived that he began to see the wider world. So, we all live within a container of some sort and are in a stupor to some extent. We can’t escape it. It’s part of the human condition. The questions are: How deep is the sleep? How big does the spark to awaken us have to be? What will jostle us out of the daily shuffle? What will cause our heads, bent over so intently eying our shoes, to rise up?
There are some of us who unconsciously decide, without really knowing why, to look up one day and really see the sky or a tree and the Sparking takes place. For others of us, it may be a seminar we attend or a book someone gives us at just the right moment. Only a month before, we wouldn’t have heard the message or heard it in a lesser way. Then there are some who must be dynamited awake. These are the souls who have to experience a major crisis in their lives. For them, it’s a significant illness, loss of a loved one or way of life that finally gets their attention. The important point is that no matter how we receive our Sparking it happens as it needs to for each of us. It’s at that point we begin to be more aware of how we have been living our lives. In our semi-wakeful state, we slip ourselves these questions.
1) Where am I?
2) What am I feeling?
3) What am I lacking?
These are the unconscious mantras that run within our minds at this stage. A state of confusion exists that seeks to reach out into the fog and grasp onto explanations. The task of the Sparking is to wake up. We have an orientation to the present. Soon we may even become hyper-aware of the state of our lives. At this point, we transition to the next phase in the journey.
THE SEPARATION
The task of Separation is un-learning. Once we begin to wake up, if we are truly going to continue on the journey, then leave-taking has to take place. It’s a prerequisite of the course. We cannot travel a path toward authenticity maintaining a false life. The Separation phase is a major sub-transition in the evolution of Re-Membering. Those who successfully carry it through find within them the great internal resource of courage to hold firm against the forces — internal and external — that struggle to re-establish homeostasis. It may be particularly dicey for individuals who are externally motivated and used to dependence on others for validation of their identity. What is required of Separation is a shift to internal motivation.
It’s at this point that we begin to look at our lives and notice what really fits for us and what doesn’t. Having been metaphorically asleep for so long, it was very easy for things to sneak in under the cover of night to nestle comfortably around and within us without our real knowledge — becoming a sort of prison containing our very self-expression. Through the conditioning process we all received messages, verbally and non-verbally, regarding what was “good” and “right” from our particular families of origin, schools and other societal institutions. Needless to say, “good” and “right” varied greatly depending upon our environments. In order to make sense of it all, the mind set up “look-outs” to filter out anything that didn’t conform to the inherited paradigm. But during Separation the “look-outs” are somehow duped into guarding a decoy instead and an opening is provided.
During the Separation phase, we wonder where we went in all the previous years and what stranger is there instead. Operating in an away from metaprogram, the Critic becomes resident and runs these metaquestions about the past with a slight consideration of the future to move out of pain.
1) Who am I not?
2) How did I abdicate?
3) How do I serve myself?
In fine detail, we examine our jobs, relationships, homes — virtually everything in our lives that matter to us. As we see how we haven’t been true to our own natures, discomfort and disorientation increase until a shift occurs. That movement may generate drastic change such as dissolving relationships, transferring career fields, or leaving a geographic location.
There doesn’t have to be a complete break with the pre-existing elements. However, discovery in this phase will allow the loosening of old beliefs, which will in turn begin to alter attitudes, feelings and behaviors to leverage possibilities to a new way of life. We are then brought to the next fork in the path.
THE SEARCH
The quest of the Search is to widen choices. During the Search we are looking at other perspectives and beliefs and trying them out. The Dreamer has been invited along as a guide introducing metaprograms to explore options and move toward them.
1) Who am I?
2) What are the possibilities?
We will find ourselves investigating areas that are new and different immersed in the present. The promise of a fuller life may seem endless. So, we undertake things such as going back to school, inquiring into other careers, moving geographically, experimenting with new relationships, trying out diverse spiritual traditions or religions; many things to bring in additional data.
The Search can be as exhilarating as it can be scary. We may feel as though we’ve jumped out into space with no safety net to catch us. This is the time to call on the great faith held by the Innocent, the archetype who knows she will carry herself through to the other side through guidance along the way. Otherwise, in fear we would find ourselves clawing at the emptiness in attempts to head back to the compound. The dirty little secret no one told us before we took the leap is that there is really no turning back. Even if we would choose to turn our backs on the future, we’re still different than who we were before. The future is guaranteed. It’s just how easy or difficult do we want to make it. So, we might as well press forward and happily complete the road rally. In the meantime, our minds may expand and contract. But if we pay attention, we will be directed by our intent to those things that fit for who we are at the core. We will know when we have arrived to the herald of our true home not by the logic of the mind, but by the response of the heart.
THE INITIATION
When the heart is warm, it will feed the mind and further direct intent. After having been on the Search, the traveler comes to rest in the comfort of self-knowledge. The undertaking of Initiation is assimilation. The Realist is introduced and experiences the present, to move toward the future with options with procedures and queries:
1) What are my gifts?
2) Where am I going?
3) What do I need?
While many formal ceremonies exist the world over, the real Initiation starts and ends inside — where the self is finally proclaimed as whole and the wearing of masks no longer necessary. In this stage we know and appreciate the old life for what it was. We have made the decision to take the learning and discard the rest. We also intuitively know that there is a new life on the horizon, a deeper one that stands apart from the one that passed before. Having been on the trail for so long, we now stand apart from those who have not yet awakened. We also know we have something to teach — even if only by example. This is the cusp of a real beginning and the fog has nearly lifted. We can nearly see. We are readying ourselves for the journey back into the world. After a pause and full integration of who we now are and what gifts we have to share, we will re-enter those places from whence we came originally.
THE RE-ENTRY
The mission of Re-entry is immersion. Having tilled the ground with early questions of authenticity in relationship, spirituality, healing, lifework and ecology and found some deeper realities, we come back to a world often not even yet aware of any need for evolution. But by holding the questions and the empty space where answers could exist, we will find ways to Re–enter and fill that void. The Dreamer, Realist and Critic collaborate, still internally motivated but include some external reference; and consider the future for options and procedures.
1) How do I return?
2) What gifts do I share?
3) What is the structure?
4) How do I implement?
This is the final tasking of Re-Membering, which furthers our own evolution as much or more than it may impact the environments in which we exist. If we don’t come back, then we haven’t completed the journey and we would remain floating somewhere without any real grounding. This is the phase of our own transformation that can be equally as major a sub-transition as Separation was.
It’s not easy to enter places where what we have to give isn’t always all that welcome. It can be frustrating and many of us will just want to give up and close ourselves off. But we can drop hints where we may. We can watch with our inner eyes for those who are ready for the Sparking, even if they don’t consciously realize it. These are the people we can touch, even as we go deeper into our own transformation. These are the ones who will receive the gifts, even if we have to carefully parcel them out over time.
Patience and intent are indeed the by-words of Re-Entry that allow us to ask our own answers. Belief in ourselves and the possibilities of human potential cleave the way for what is to come. Questers first had to adhere to the strong possibility that the path was so. Then over time, the attractor of that energy created the magnet for events to align themselves to make the reality.
THE PRIVILEGE OF OUR TIMES
Cultural Creatives, a name given to present-day change agents by Paul Ray, may be paving a new world pathway. But evolution is an ancient road. As far as the common thread of the human condition, we are very similar to people living in times past. Yet we are fortunate to be born in this age when so many are waking up.
Even as we travel through the cycle of Re-Membering, the circle never ends. We will re-enter the world and integrate our gifts. Over time, we will then again become anesthetized while we rest on our laurels. But sooner or later, we will once again arouse ourselves to invite in an even vaster existence. The larger the entity the slower is evolution. But Gaia is awakening and will soon be in the Separation phase. Being residents within Her domicile, we are privileged to further Her Re-Membrance as we do our own. Any of us cannot help but act on each other because there is no division. There are only macro and micro interconnecting systems of existence. One touch here will be a caress to a foundling across the globe, and there a wind on another planet in another galaxy.
Presuppositions That Support Your Journey
⎼ The world is more than the ordinary reality we have been presented.
⎼ We exist in systems that integrally affect each other.
⎼ We are all students of Life. What you choose to do with your lessons is up to you.
⎼ The map is not the territory.
⎼ You always have choice.
⎼ You are a gift.
⎼ What you focus on, you become.
⎼ The real action is in non-action.
⎼ The more flexibility you allow, the more expanded you become.
⎼ Behind every resourceful behavior resides intent.
⎼ Behind every non-resourceful behavior is a positive intention.
⎼ Everyone does the best they can given what they hold as true in that moment.
⎼ You are not your behaviors.
⎼ The meaning of a communication is the response it elicits.
⎼ There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.
Our Work
⎼ Is in un-learning and Re-Membering;
⎼ Integrating body/mind/spirit;
⎼ Marrying our feminine and masculine sides;
⎼ Cultivating wisdom;
⎼ Bringing non-ordinary reality into ordinary reality;
⎼ Living through the Core Self.
Tenets of Intent
⎼ Intent is.
⎼⎼ Expectancy is the state of being following intent.
⎼⎼ Impeccability is the result delivered by intent.
⎼ Intention tries.
⎼⎼ Expectation follows intention.
⎼⎼ A mis-take and defense come from intention.
⎼⎼ Behind a mis-taken thought or action is a positive intention.
⎼⎼ In the core of positive intention is intent awaiting discovery.
⎼⎼ Intention clouds intent.
⎼ Life’s purpose is to live through the Core Self, therefore aligning with intent.
⎼⎼ Part of intent is moving through intention. This is the underpinning of the spiritual path.
⎼⎼ Intent is always pure.
⎼⎼ What may live around intent can be convoluted until alignment occurs.
⎼⎼ It is possible to be aligned in some areas of life and not others.
⎼⎼ A particular theme of misalignment is the learning you are meant to undertake in this lifetime.
⎼⎼ Areas of alignment are your joys that are meant to be exposed to greatest light.
Setting Intent
One of the major teachings that I’ve gleaned from my work with Don Américo Yábar and Andean mysticism has to do with intent. This concept didn’t originate in the Andes necessarily but is also present in other spiritual traditions. You will find it emphasized particularly in books by Carlos Castañeda.
Some people call it intention. To me, intent more clearly resonates, even in the crisp sound of the word, for the description of this concise state of being. For teaching purposes, I use the term intention to describe what can block intent through some limiting belief.
Intent is. Intention tries.
At the start of every journey, I urge people to set their intent. The “journey” could be a retreat, a spiritual travel undertaking, beginning a transition — this coursework. Just as I did for a number of years, folks wrestle with the meaning.
We usually attempt to comprehend it with our minds when it comes from another place entirely — the Core Self. The mind will never understand intent completely, but can be directed by it so that the precise thoughts, words and actions are generated that align to it. An authentic life can be led as a result, where nothing is held back.
Subtle energy being the basis, it’s possible to discern what’s present at any given moment if you tune into your own body or sense the environment around you. Intent has a light, pure quality. Intention has degrees of heaviness.
No matter what, intent always resides at the core. If intention is present, it’s an encrustation surrounding intent. This is where release and alignment processes for the mind, physical and energy bodies can work wonders.
With continued commitment from our hearts we don’t have to register intent with our minds. It will naturally provide the fuel that propels across the threshold to freedom — in ways well beyond the imagination.
This is our work and our play.
Readiness
The point of readiness is exactly that. It’s a pinpoint in time, a moment of decision when we are poised at the threshold and intent’s power can move us to the farther path from where we’ve been.
Hopefully, readiness endures. Some people dance back and forth, or even all around it. Others try to ignore it, but it’s hard not to notice a strong wind at your back urging you to go somewhere, to fly over the landscape.
Still others go willingly, pausing for a moment and then stepping deftly through the doorway. But they, too, had to come to that marker called readiness, even if more subtly, the love of the journey being built into their personality.
This is the path called evolution. We’re all on it. Some of us rest on the plateau longer than others. Most of us take a series of leaps in our lifetime. The question here is to consider: How do we know when it’s time to go? To jump? To move through? To evolve? The movement entertained or undertaken may not even be visible to those around us.
Yet there is a part of us that is restless, that’s weary of standing still — or worse, running in place. It’s this part that asks us to determine what needs to be in place in order for us to come to readiness. Is there something to be settled? Or maybe a little used quality to be called into service? Perhaps it’s opening to something not yet experienced instead of settling for what has been.
I invite you to reflect on your own readiness and the questions here. Add more of your own. Then allow your unsung songs to emerge. Announce yourself.
The Cycle of Fulfillment
The foundation of Navigating Your Lifepath is built upon the principle that you are a co-creator of your own experience in the world. Whatever you hold in your mind will come back to you. In this way, all of us collaborate with each other to provide for an evolution for certain realities. You will automatically find a match for your map of the world by drawing to you people and situations that agree with it.
Therefore, you can see how it becomes very important to hold inside what is of the highest nature through setting intent. This way you are setting a direction that is of the utmost benefit to you. Through consciously setting intent you cleave the way for that intent to return to you. Develop expectancy, a kind of faith, that the universal law of attraction will be fulfilled. You can then hold yourself in a state of kenosis, or emptiness, for guaranteed delivery. Be alert and institute mindfulness as you go about your everyday life. You then become even more of an attractor for intent to enrich your life; and the cycle of satisfaction will continue in ways you perhaps previously hadn’t thought available to you.
The Threshold
⎼ Where are you on the evolutionary path called the Re-Membering Process?
⎼ What is the nature of Your Quest?
⎼ What is the central theme?
⎼ What were your hopes and dreams from childhood?
⎼ What got put aside or supplanted? What do you still carry within you?
⎼ Are you carrying any regrets with you?
⎼ What levels of learning have you gone through up to this point? What are the jewels?
⎼ What is your intent?
⎼ What metaquestion will inform your journey?
Understanding Your Values
We are so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value
that we forget that the inner value, the rapture that is associated
with being alive, is what it’s all about.
⎼ Joseph Campbell
Values are the qualities with which you resonate at a core level. They are those elements present in a particular context that let you know what it is good and right for you. If you are not meeting these deep needs, then you will feel an underlying discomfort and even great pain in the areas of your life where there is a mismatch.
Incongruence causes stress. If the incongruence has been resident for some time, it will come out in various ways in your daily life that are usually detrimental regarding behaviors, health, relationships, and so on. As you have a match in the various components of your life, you will experience a rich satisfaction that will draw to you more of the same.
Because we sometimes allow ourselves to be distracted or act through fear instead of love, most of us have areas where we are not yet being true to ourselves. That’s the nature of our individual journeys. When you realize any incongruence, experience it as a gift. Therein lay opportunities for growth.
Awareness is the first step. As well, when you discover areas of congruence, congratulate yourself. This is one of the ways in which you have thus far sustained yourself. Through modeling your abilities to be true to yourself in those contexts you can support further development in all settings.
Below you will find listed five lifestyle components. The ambiguous nature of their titles is intended. They will mean different things to different people. In order to know yourself better and gain the greatest relevance during the next phase of discovery, define what these terms mean to you in your life.
Lifestyle components:
Your Source
Your Instrument
Your Allies
Your Prosperity
Your Place
Lifestyle Components According to Personal Importance:
Evaluate the order of importance in your own life, (1) least to (5) most. There is no correct sequence. Just be sure to be honest with yourself.
Lifestyle Component Criteria:
1. In relation to each lifestyle component, ask yourself this question: “What do you want in your (lifestyle component)?” For example, What do you want in your Allies? What do you want in your Instrument? Ask yourself this question until nothing else comes to mind. Record each criterion on separate stick-it notes.
2. Sort as to importance asking yourself, “If I had to choose between ______ and ______ , which is more important?” Arrange stick-it notes in a hierarchy according to the answers you give. Do this with all criteria for each lifestyle component.
3. Record final answers below with criteria noted in ascending order of importance.
Life Component #1
Life Component #2
Life Component #3
Life Component #4
Life Component #5
Weighing In
Ask these three questions of each of your criterion in a lifestyle component:
1. In what ways are you already experiencing (criterion) in your (lifestyle component)? For example, In what ways are you already experiencing reciprocity in your Prosperity?
2. What do you want more of in the way of (criterion in lifestyle component)?
3. What do you want to fall away from your life in this area in relation to (criterion in lifestyle component)? Another way of asking this question would be: What is stopping you from fully having (criterion in lifestyle component)?
Keep your answers for each criterion grouped with that particular lifestyle component.
Record your present level of satisfaction with each criterion of lifestyle component on a scale of 1 (least satisfied) — 10 (most satisfied).
Lifestyle Component #1
In what ways, are you already experiencing ?
Lifestyle component #1
What do you want more of in relation to ?
Lifestyle Component #1
What stops you from having ?
Rate your present level of satisfaction for each lifestyle component criteria.
Commitment
Alignment and honor are inherent in commitment. It means you are honoring yourself, as well as others by adhering to your own inner truth. It builds the foundation that causes you to be mindful of your thoughts and actions so that they mesh with your intent.
Making a vow toward your own development brings sound decision-making practices to the forefront — and that leads toward mastery. Sooner or later, you will reach a plateau in your growth before the next leap forward. That’s the nature of the journey. Faith in yourself and the workings of reciprocity must be present. Pay heed. You are already making choices to re-member and this is the path of the master.
My level of commitment to having my desired lifestyle is 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
I am willing to begin moving in that direction by (date).
One new thing I can begin to do this upcoming week is:
Other agreements I make with myself are:
My signature _________________ Date ______________
Journaling as an Ally
Whether you recognize it yet or not, you are on a journey. If you have truly engaged yourself to this work, there is no going back to the way your life was before you began your pilgrimage. You have begun the Re-Membering Process. You have already received the Sparking to wake up. You have recognized the longing within your Self — for something more — and have had the courage to step onto the path toward fulfilling your own potential. In your discovery, you will find your direction and bring your gifts home.
Raise your level of awareness regarding your quest to that of the mythological hero and you will resonate somewhere deep within to the Mystery that guides you toward your authentic Self and fuller living. Those who undertake the journey are always provided with allies to assist them in their process. You need only recognize them. Journaling will be an ally to you — if you really use it.
You have come to the point now where things are beginning to take shape. Somehow, life is starting to seem somewhat different for you, perhaps full of deeper meaning and added insights. Use your journal to free whatever is inside. You may be surprised by what emerges. Here are some areas to journal and document your added awareness and increased understanding. You will thereby find inspiration to propel you forward.
Overall differences: Real transformation takes place at an unconscious level. When change takes place at that level, it lasts. There’s nothing you have to remind yourself to do or say, it just becomes a part of who you are. Sometimes it’s a challenge to recognize the change going on inside because it seems so natural. More often than not, these changes take place over time in a subtle way. In your journal, note what you find different in your life. You can use the differences as markers of your progress. They tell you where you’ve been and where you have yet to go.
Thoughts and feelings: You will discover yourself thinking new thoughts and feeling new feelings. You will likely open to expanded emotions, sharper mental clarity and increased physical health. You will find yourself responding differently — in positive ways — to old hooks that caused stress and blocked your progress. Become your own Witness. Observe these transformations and acknowledge your Self. It could also happen that unfamiliar “negative” thoughts and feelings may arise where they never seemed to play before. Should this happen, it points to what was always resident, but lodged at a more unconscious level. There are levels of learning. When you begin to heal areas that are most apparent to you, others will then have an opportunity to rise to the surface to be recognized and transformed.
Resistance: You will be asked to expand and try out new thought patterns and behaviors. Or, you may be asked to do ordinary things by the people in your life. Should you find that feelings of resistance emerge, journal about them. Consider your exploration as an encounter with your dragons. Find out for yourself if the opposition you experience is due to an old pattern. Or is it an authentic matter of discernment? Are you recognizing that something no longer fits for you, even if it perhaps felt right only a few weeks or months before? If this is the case, when you solidly say “No!” it becomes a heroic act.
Creativity: As you empty what no longer belongs within and around you, it will leave a void. New ideas and possibilities will crowd your mind as you leave an opening for them to emerge. Document and explore them. As you continue on your Search, you will find which ones fit for who you truly are. You can then begin to mindfully anchor them into place as you deem appropriate.
Dreams: Recognize that, by virtue of undertaking this coursework, you are giving a profound signal to your higher consciousness. During times of transition such as this, you will dream in ways you may not under ordinary circumstances. You will tap into archetypal images and stories that have been present since the beginning of humankind. These archetypes are common to all, but apparent to few. They speak to the unfolding of higher awareness and the trials encountered in order to travel back to the place where we all began. You may also find yourself working through some of your problems during your sleeping hours. It will be particularly important to record your dreams during this time. I encourage you to take the content of your dreams not so much literally as metaphorically. Look for the symbolism present and write about what it means to you personally.
Synchronicities: You will begin to notice coincidences happening more frequently in your life. These aren’t coincidences at all, but a phenomenon called synchronicity signaling your commitment to your own potential. Whatever you hold in your mind, will rush back to greet you. Some of these ‘seeming coincidences’ that you will experience may be of little consequence and seem as though the Universe is having a bit of fun with you. But most of them will be opportunities presented to you to further your own growth and align to your true destiny.
This is a profound form of guidance being given to you. You need only be open to the possibility that this kind of assistance is available. Then, be alert. When it comes your way, evaluate how the synchronicity may meet your needs and where it may take you if you act on it. Keep track of these occurrences, your thoughts about them and the results as you engage the chance. You will usually note a common theme that will give you further insight to open even wider-reaching occurrences.
Section One Assignments
1. Finish the Weighing In exercise.
2. Fill in the Commitment form. Fulfill your agreement with yourself in the one thing you can begin to do this coming week.
3. Read all material in Section One of this manual and begin journaling this week.
4. Read:
Calling Our Spirits Home — Chapter 2 “Awakening to Consciousness.”
Standing Stark — Preface and Chapter 1 “Origins.”
5. Listen to the audio teaching of Preparing for the Journey:
Lifepath Session 1 (MP3 file, 77.6 MB)
6. Form a metaquestion for yourself for your journey in this coursework. Use it in meditation and recall it to mind frequently.
Note: Access Calling Our Spirits Home and Standing Stark in serial chapter format in the publication Illumination on Medium for free. Chapters in assignments are linked above.
Preparing for the Journey (PDF file, 452 KB)
If you need assistance with the material or outcome you seek, please refer to consultations.
Bio
Carla Woody is a spiritual mentor, writer and visual artist. She is the founder of Kenosis, an organization based in Prescott, Arizona, supporting human potential since 1999 through life enhancement coaching, retreats and spiritual travel programs working with Indigenous leaders and healers in the US, Mexico, Central and South America. In 2007 she founded Kenosis Spirit Keepers, a volunteer-run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization to help preserve Indigenous traditions threatened with decimation.
Table of Contents
Section I: Preparing for the Journey
Jack London Quote
Questions We Live By
The Re-Membering Process Model
Presuppositions to Support Your Journey
Our Work
Tenets of Intent
Setting Intent
Readiness
The Cycle of Fulfillment
The Threshold
Understanding Your Values
Commitment
Journaling as an Ally
Section I Assignments
Section II: Setting the Direction
Life Energy
Whole Life Balance
The Bright Hope
Setting The Direction
Setting Outcomes Worksheet
Systems
Voice and Expression
The Juxtaposition
Building a Foundation
Section II Assignments
Section III: Entering the Forest
Success
Mining Resources
Panning for Gold
Learning Discernment
Section III Assignments
Section IV: Transforming the Dragon
How You Fulfill Your Destiny
Emotional Freedom Technique
Uncovering Limiting Beliefs
Clearing Limiting Beliefs
Understanding Homeostasis
Elements of Reformation
Evolutionary Dimensions of Archetypes
Section IV Assignments
Section V: Uncovering the Jewels
Doing and Being
Striving to Surrender
Activating the Witness
Telltale Signs
Creating Space
Starting Within
Paving the Pathway of Your Future
Spiritual Travel: Destination or Process?
Section V Assignments
Section VI: Engaging Your Allies
Hafiz Poem
Embracing All Parts
Relating to Relationship
Section VI Assignments
Section VII: Negotiating the Landscape
The Art of Reciprocity
The Principle of Seed Money
Giving and Receiving in Relationship
The Energy of Money
Section VII Assignments
Section VIII: Bringing It All Home
The Outcome of Intent
The Point of Re-Entry
The Disney Creativity Strategy
Sorting and Behavioral Styles
The Importance of Acknowledgement
The Nature of True Community
The Stages of Learning
An Autobiography in Five Chapters
Walking the Edge
Your Legacy
The Despacho Ceremony
Excerpt: Portals to the Vision Serpent
Section VIII Assignments
Copyright 1999–2021 by Carla Woody. All rights reserved. No portion of this manual, except for brief review, may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. Inquiries may be directed to: Kenosis Press, P.O. Box 10441, Prescott, AZ 86304, info@kenosis.net.
Also by Carla Woody:
Standing Stark: The Willingness to Engage. Read in Illumination Book Chapters.
Calling Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness. Read in Illumination Book Chapters.
Portals to the Vision Serpent. Coming soon to Illumination Book Chapters.
