Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

What I Know to Be True

Balboa Press

Contents

Our Stories................................................................1The Way In.................................................................10Why We Need What I Know to Be True.........................................14You are the Gateway, What I Know to Be True is the Key.....................25Stepping into Your Light...................................................28The Seed...................................................................29What I Know to Be True: The Practice.......................................30* Soothe Yourself..........................................................35* Relief from Mental Chatter...............................................37* Shift Negative Thoughts..................................................39* Stressful Situations.....................................................41* Relief from Physical Pain................................................42* Diffuse Conflict.........................................................43* With Partner or Child....................................................44* Decision Making..........................................................46* Upon Waking..............................................................47* Journaling...............................................................48* Sleep Aid................................................................49* Balance Heart and Mind...................................................50* Meditation Deepens your Experience.......................................51* Find Peace from the Inside Out (Meditation)..............................53* Icon Meditation..........................................................57* Remember Your Truth......................................................58What I Know to Be True Truisms.............................................60* Universal Knowing........................................................62* Creation.................................................................70* Thoughts/Beliefs.........................................................75* Inner Peace..............................................................81* Being Present............................................................84* Mindfulness..............................................................89* Emotions.................................................................98* Fear.....................................................................110* Perfection...............................................................115* Self-Worth...............................................................118* Judgment.................................................................127* Responsibility...........................................................131* Validation...............................................................133* Control..................................................................138* Trust....................................................................143* Change...................................................................147* Connection...............................................................149* Expansion................................................................152* Appreciation.............................................................156* Giving/Receiving.........................................................159* Contrast.................................................................161* Meaning and Purpose......................................................162* Balance..................................................................165* Harmony..................................................................166* Walk the Talk............................................................167Remember Who You Really Are................................................169About the Authors..........................................................173

Chapter One

Lisa

I have, for a long time, considered myself to be well-developed spiritually. From a young age, I was interested in personal growth, development, and all things unexplained. I had read a tremendous range of books on subjects from becoming clutter-free to life-after-death. I'd studied different spiritual perspectives from Native American to Buddhist, attended workshops and seminars, from Werner Erhard's EST in the 1970's to Abraham-Hicks' more recent The Art of Allowing.. With all that "enlightenment" I felt I had become a fairly centered, clear-eyed individual who could handle most of life's challenges with grace and ease.

And so it was with great surprise that I found myself responding to a stressful situation with a significant lack of grace. In the process of dissolving a business partnership, my partners had a decidedly different perspective than I about how to share in the sale proceeds. After much (and sometimes heated) dialogue back and forth it became apparent that there was heightened negative emotion on all sides attached to our perspectives.

I was angry that my partners did not agree with me. I felt my proposal was more than fair. How could we be so far off in our perspectives? I found myself stewing about the perceived unfairness, thoughts and emotions swirling continuously in my head. The cloud of the situation followed my every move, affecting all of my activities. I was trapped in the pain of the situation.

As time passed, I realized I felt wounded, as if my partners failed to value any of the contributions I had made in creating our successful business. I believed that their suggested remuneration diminished my efforts. (They, of course, felt the same diminishment from my offer.)

When I realized the truth of my "wounding" reaction I was able to gain more perspective and approach the disagreement more objectively. I did still feel, however, that I needed to honor myself and be honest about how I felt. I offered a compromised solution. The compromise was also rejected and I faced yet another wounding.

I was stuck. Their combined vote in the partnership outweighed mine; there was no recourse. How was I to live with this? Not only was I feeling wounded but friendships were at stake. Clearly this was a core issue for me. What had happened in my childhood that allowed for this reaction? Was it from another lifetime, perhaps? An unresolved karmic issue? Whatever the source, the pain that surfaced was real and breathtaking in its effect. When I was able to focus on the feelings that arose, my list read like this:

"I feel less than, small, unworthy, undeserving, dumb, incapable, ineffective."

The tears flowed.

I felt just like the little girl who used to hide under the coffee table when visitors arrived. So terribly shy, I sometimes wanted to disappear from the world. I'm not sure what I was afraid people would see, I only knew that perceived strangers, even my own grandparents, imposed pain just by requiring my interaction. Making myself smaller allowed me to escape interactions and minimize my pain, or so I thought.

Now it appeared that my child-self was now in charge. But why?

Where was the enlightened perspective I needed at this moment in time? Where were the universal lessons I thought I understood and was trying to live my life by? I started saying daily affirmations and prayers to help heal...