Wake up to Your (W)Hole Life: Make Sense of Your Life, Now
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About this ebook
The Universal Story: Life has a way of catching us off guard, turning our world upside down or even shattering it in a second. We react ony to find ourselves in the same old pit again. Now what?
Waking Up: Discover your hidden strategies and reveal your (W)holeness.
A different WAY: You are the expert! All you need is the Wisdom Map.
An invitation: Read this and experience surprising relief and potent aliveness.
Alaya Chadwick is able to put hands and feet on extremely complex concepts in a way which connects them to the living reality of everyday life...An indispensable tool for assessing oneself in those volatile times. The brilliancy of this path is that once you learn to use the map, the way home is lovingly put into your own hands. - Martha Harrell, M.S.N. Ph.D., contributing author to Transforming Terror: Reclaiming the World Soul.
Alaya confirms what weve long feared: its a near impossible journey to complete with only a partial understanding of how one integrates psyche and soul. Here, in the hands of this storyteller, therapist-minister extraordinaire, we find what weve longed for. - Sunny Shulkin, LCSW, BCD, Master Trainer of Harville Hendrixs Imago Relationship Therapy, co-author with Pat Love of the book How to Ruin a Perfectly Good Relationship.
Alaya Chadwick
Elizabeth “Alaya” Chadwick, M.Div., M.S.W., L.I.C.S.W., Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, (W)hole Life Coach, Reiki Master, Storyteller. Alaya obtained a master’s degree in divinity from Yale University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut. She is the founder/director of The (W)hole Point Institute, LLC., as well as a co-director with her husband, John, of “Sanctuary,” 65 acres dedicated to healing, transformation, and awakening in New Hampshire.
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Wake up to Your (W)Hole Life - Alaya Chadwick
Copyright © 2010 by Alaya Chadwick
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
(W)hole,
(W)hole Point,
The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY,
The Wisdom WAY,
Walk Awake saying YES,
WAY,
(W)hole Life Coaching,
Radiant Pulsating Being of Light,
RPBL,
PAIR,
People Activating Intimate Relating,
Wisdom-Grace,
The Wisdom-Grace Mystery,
are trademarks of The (W)hole Point Institute, LLC, USA.
iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
iUniverse
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.iuniverse.com
1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-4244-8 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4502-4245-5 (ebook)
iUniverse rev. date: 11/23/2010
Contents
Words From Someone Who’s Been There
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Greetings to You, Dear Reader.
Preface
Word Play: Terms and Definitions
Used in This Book
Chapter 1: (w)Holes are Everywhere
Chapter 2: What I Wish I had Known
Chapter 3: A Universal Story
Chapter 4: The Beginning of (w)Hole Formation
Chapter 5: What a (w)Hole Feels Like
Chapter 6: Waking Up to Our Strategic Responses
Chapter 7: How We Broke Ourselves Into Bits and Pieces
Chapter 8: The Mysteries of the Spiral Pathway
Chapter 9: Free Will in Action
Chapter 10: The Power of Naming
Chapter 11: The Distortion Effect
Chapter 12: Being a NUB
Chapter 13: (w)Hole Helpers (HH)
Chapter 14: The Shattering of our (W)holeness
Chapter 15: Our (w)Hole Management Systems
Chapter 16: Collapsing a (w)Hole
Chapter 17: The Mystery at Work
Chapter 18: Radiant Pulsating Being of Light
Chapter 19: Applying the Art of Intentional Spiraling to Other Life Arenas
Chapter 20: PAIRing: People Activating Intimate Relating
An Important Notice Before You Read the Section on Spirituality
Chapter 21: The Intersection of Psychology and Spirituality
Chapter 22: (w)Holes in the Business Environment
Chapter 23: Worldwide Radiance One (w)Hole at a Time
Closing Experience
A Surprise Initiatory Invocation
An Invocation
A (W)hole, (w)Hole, Holy Mystery about the Wisdom WAY map
Appendix
At the end of the games we played as children, we would call ourselves back to home
by singing out:
Ally-y, All-y In Come Free!
Come out, come out wherever you are.
Now is the time to wake up, stop hiding, and step into your own (W)hole Life!
Words From Someone Who’s Been There
by Bob Stone
Simply put:
Here is the problem we address in this book.
Here is how we solve that problem with you.
Here is what makes us different from everyone else.
The problem is that life has a way of catching us off guard. Our world turns upside-down and our understanding of life can be shattered in a second. We become disoriented and feel like we are falling into the unknown. We do our best to avoid these scary, painful, lonely, and frustrating experiences. Whether subtle and almost invisible or dramatic, these are the experiences at the root of our suffering. Unfortunately by preparing ourselves to avoid the harsh realities of life, we simply end up numbing ourselves to our lives.
The solution: The wisdom basics in this book solve the problem of coping with life’s unbearable experiences by recognizing that we cannot cling to ideas of safety, like we would cling to a life raft in a storm. This book offers step-by-step skills, training, and insight that teach us how to stand on holy ground, strengthen our relationships with all that is, and to build an ark
that will sustain us.
What makes this book different from other self-help or spiritual journey books is that the author does not simply write about abstract ideas. Her writings and her workshops share the practical wisdom gained from examining her own pain and buried grief. She makes visible the curious and often hidden elements of our inner worlds that determine how we experience life and the stories we tell ourselves.
Only through examining our own particular experiences and stories can we express in a logical way the truth
of our lives. This book provides the tools to examine our experiences, our thoughts, our feelings, and ourselves in a way that transforms our view of the world and our ability to thrive in difficult times. The essence of The Wisdom WAY is the redemptive and healing power of speaking our darkest secrets, facing our deepest fears, and moving us to personal transformation.
We promise that if you invest a few hours reading, you will learn to move with your unique body, to think with an open mind, to feel with a loving heart, to be a wise spirit, and you will experience your life with a new and extraordinary sense of aliveness and awareness.
Bob Stone is a Vietnam Veteran, father of a grown daughter, and a Unitarian Universalist. For twenty years Bob earned a living as a procurement and subcontracts administrator. Bob has a visionary ability to integrate the impressions, words, and wisdom of complex emotional and spiritual issues.
Dedication
Each word is written in service for the benefit of all: self, other, and the world. Placed upon these pages, a moment at a time, they only come alive in and with the particular presence of you, dear reader.
The words and pictures you will find between the covers of this book are offered with my heart-felt gratitude for the opportunity to share with you what I have discovered about the mysterious wonders of Life Holes.
A hole is the metaphor used throughout this book to reveal the bare bones of our shattered (W)holeness and our path back to consciousness or (W)holeness. In essence, each time you read the word (W)holeness, a profound wisdom awakens within you. Called forth from deep inside your cells and your psyche, the truth of your (W)holeness is invited to move into greater and greater awareness.
I am honored to be in your presence and it is my greatest wish that The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY inspire you to "Walk Awake saying YES" to every expression of life that you are—holes and all.
Dedicated to the (W)HOLE of US: you and me…us.
Acknowledgments
It takes a village to birth a book! Let me introduce you to my village.
My Mentor of 30+ years and those of my (W)holeness Lineage:
Martha Harrell—M,
my Primal Truth Seer, my Master Teacher, my Life-Long Mentor, and Mother of my soul, it is beyond words. Thank you for my life. Thank you for being Synthesizer of complexities. Thank you for your integrity and generosity of spirit and mind. Thank you for being THE bald naked truth presence for me over and over again. Thank you for birthing my soul anew and thus this book’s wisdom. Thank you for your grace-filled presence.
Thank you to those of Martha’s lineage: Dr. Jonathan Goldberg—a Wisdom Presence; Carl Jung and all those who have gone before.
The Midwives of The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY:
I wish to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to all of my intimates who live their own magnificent radiance and who have encouraged me to live mine. These are the folks who have been in the delivery room with me as the words you are now reading slowly crystallized into being. In particular, I wish to thank:
Dorie Cameron—a Compassionate Presence—without whom this book would not be…holding hope and vision despite all appearance. A Teacher, Sister, and Friend to me.
Karen Kuhl—a Truth Speaker and Healer—who is a living wisdom presence for all around her.
DeeDee LaCrosse—a Healing Presence—whose words and being embrace all those she touches.
Suzie Moss—a Courageous Radiant Being—a person who lives the greatest gift of all: Friendship.
Judy Lewis—a Healer of depth and wisdom, a woman of grace and courage—always a steady embrace.
Claudia Moore—a Midwife of Radiance and Healing—a woman who heals by her commitment to truth.
Janice Welch—Angel of Sanctuary—a gift from heaven, a teacher of life’s raw truths: leader to us all.
My precious teachers, the ones who went first:
Dave DePalma—a man of Solid Integrity—who saw through my fear and believed.
Harville Hendrix—a man who dared to look intimacy straight in the eye and then live it for us all.
Sunny & Mark Shulkin—a PAIR of people—who taught me that everyone’s world is right
for them.
Meredith Young-Sowers—a woman who believed in me the moment it really mattered: she said YES.
The Original Teachers of the wisdom of The Wisdom WAY:
Thank you for your openness to a new way of being, your courage to live it for yourselves and then sharing my joy of bringing it to the (W)hole World—one student at a time. You are great playmates!
Anne Suddy—the Ripple of Transparent Presence—a woman of courageous tenacity and healing authority.
Lisa Scally—the Light in the Darkness—a beacon of hope and possibility when all else falls away.
Steve Burison—the Heart of the Rock’s Foundation—a hero of soul and heart, a man of bold abundance.
The Second Generation of Teachers:
Thank you for your presence. You showed me that The Wisdom WAY really works—over and over again. It isn’t about me; it is about a WAY that offers hope, clarity, and empowered choice.
Marianne DiBlasi—a special light in the world, dancing in her naked and ordinary presence.
Steven Scally—a bright presence of love, holding the light for all to see and find their way home to be.
Lizzy Derecktor—a bold splash of wisdom, singing her grand expressions without apology.
Rochelle Mausteller—a deep, quiet, flowing presence of wisdom and grace.
Jean Macdonald—a bright presence of gentle stories and bold wisdom.
My Parents:
Thank you for all the (w)holes you helped me create and all the (W)holeness you empowered me to discover and thus reveal the wonder of WHO I am! I love you, still.
Bunny
Runyon Craven Cameron
Howard T. Craven, M.D.
Steele C. Cameron
My Clients, Students, and Apprentices:
All of you who have honored me by sharing your journeys, your (w)holes, and your radiant (W)holeness. You are all my dearest and most precious teachers!
The Readers before you:
Thank you for your time, your attention to detail, your critiques, and your steadfast efforts. I especially want to thank Myron Miske, Dee LaCrosse, Anne Suddy, and Amanda Johnson for your insightful comments. Thank you to Kevin Micalizzi, Linda Doty, Suzie Moss, Rick Felty, Diane Fuller, Cindy Carroll, Bob Welch, Patty Miske, and Steve Burison.
To The Wizard:
Charlie, thank you for your steadiness as I printed out reams of words and for never asking the question, When will it be done?
The Edgartown@MailRoom has encouraged and supported me for years through all my writing efforts. Finally, these words are home at last!
The Ripple
and a Soul Sister:
Anne Suddy, thank you for standing in your full and powerful presence on behalf of us all. Thank you for teaching us that while shame and blame do cripple us all in some way, the true glory and wonder of life is when this all falls away and we find ourselves dancing in play and celebration. Thank you for your precious Twinkle. Your steady presence and open-hearted willingness to go into the darkest of places has touched more hearts than you could ever count—mine most of all. I am humbled in your potent presence. Hey, Anne, thank you for saying YES—again and again.
The Big-Hearted Light Brother
to us all:
Steve Burison, thank you for being the one to teach us all the meaning of Whatever it takes.
You have dared to be the first in so many ways: The first man to complete the certifications, the first man to mentor another man through the Apprentice Radiance Teacher program, the first man to shed his own tears on behalf of so many men, right in the middle of a (W)hole Shop. And, yes, the first man to bring his own father into this Wisdom WAY work and thus begin the lineage of The Light Brothers. Thank you for your open-hearted courage and naked human vulnerability. Your presence truly does matter to us all.
A special blessing to POP,
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) and grandfather to us all, and to MOP,
a walking Welcome Home
presence. Thank you for giving birth to this precious man.
My editor, co-writer and Soul Sister:
Lisa Scally, thank you, dear soul-sister and friend and editor. I firmly believe that without your computer wizardry, your extraordinary attention to detail, your capacity to take wildly disparate sections of this book and organize them into a coherent (W)hole, and most all of your big heart, this book would not exist. Thank you for your capacity to live this work in your life in such a way that has helped you craft words that capture the true heart and soul of The Wisdom WAY. Thank you for your dedication, your daring, and your (W)hole-hearted Presence. Most of all, thank you for turning around and embracing the wonder of you. I couldn’t have done it without you. Yes, your presence really does matter—For no reason and for every reason.
And most especially my dear husband, John Richard Chadwick:
John, thank you for believing in me when I had doubts. Thank you for all you do and all you are that has supported the birth of this book. Thank you for being my husband and my friend. Thank you for being the first person whose (w)hole I spun. Thank you for being the ONLY man in ALL the first (W)hole Shops of every level! Most of all, thank you for teaching me that I am lovable, (w)holes and all! Without you, I would never have dared to begin this 10-year long process! Thank you for being you. Your courage, your patience, and your presence is and has been the foundation upon which this work rests. I love you dear Man of my Soul. Thank you, again, for being you.
Greetings to You, Dear Reader.
WPI%20Picture%201.tifI decided to write this book for two reasons: You and Me.
My greatest joy is witnessing the relief and light of hope that come into the eyes of those with whom I have shared The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY.
Each time I would reveal The Wisdom WAY to someone—friends and family in the beginning and then students and clients—I would see a precious light sparkle in their eyes, a light that wasn’t there a moment before. I call this light Radiance.
I want to offer this to you.
I would hear them say things like, Finally – I make sense to me! I had thought I was stuck for forever.
How surprising—what felt so overwhelming a moment ago is now manageable.
"Now I know how to love myself! I have wanted to, longed to, hoped to, but I never could seem to take the concepts and make them come alive in my life.
Yes—now I see—it really is all up to me! And I can do it now, one precious (w)hole at a time.
I wish someone had told me this years ago!"
I wrote this book for YOU. Know that I celebrate, in advance, the Light of Radiance shining in your eyes as you, too, reveal yourself as (W)hole.
These are my promises to you:
By the end of this book,
• You will know The Wisdom WAY of (W)holeness.
• You will know the basics for applying it to yourself, your relationships, and your spiritual awakening.
• You will be able to appreciate just how creative you have been throughout your life.
• And best of all, you will have the how-to’s for loving yourself and loving your (W)hole life—NOW!
I wrote this book for ME, for the joy of sharing Light. The promise I made to myself, when I came to understand the potency of The Wisdom WAY was to share it. By writing this book, I am fulfilling this promise.
Blessings and Gratitude,
Alaya WPI%20Picture%202.tif
Autumn 2008
Preface
My goal is to give you, dear reader, a set of tools to allow you to become who you really are. This method of unlocking your inner self I call The (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY.
This model is more than simply another empowerment tool; it is also a method, a map, and a means for purposeful, particular, and sustainable transformation.
This profound and yet simple map applies to anyone anywhere—individuals, families, communities, and even companies. This map reveals an essential pathway imbedded within the process of awakening to our own (W)holeness. Exploring the intersection between psychology and spirituality, The Wisdom WAY is both radical and unique. It’s radical because it extends an invitation for full participation in (W)holeness to both our human psyches and our essential spirituality—neither one excluded nor judged. It is unique in that it moves quickly in offering an applicable, practical, and sustainable approach to living our (W)holeness.
This is not a book about a theory alone, but rather, it is primarily a Hands & Feet
or a How-To
guide to awaken the (W)holeness that is already within you!
How The Wisdom WAY is unique
This approach offers a practical way to meld all of your psychology and all your unique spirituality into embodied (W)holeness or Oneness.
Psychological or spiritual practices alone only carry any of us so far. Held apart from one another, each is less than the (W)hole of ourselves. Have you ever attended self-development seminars which left you feeling that there must be more or feeling like it’s the teacher’s way, but it’s not my way?
Have you ever attended a lecture or read a book that spoke deeply to your heart about loving yourself, only to feel a sense of frustration that you didn’t quite know how to implement these good ideas? Well, I have too.
Up until I discovered the secret of (w)holes, I was blindly feeling my way through the dark. All the parts of this skeleton or Wisdom map were elements I had studied here, there, and yon. However, up until I discovered the map, nothing put all the understandings together. I felt unable to use what I knew while I was standing at the kitchen sink, when I felt in the pits, or was head first in a (w)hole.
I had affirmed, chanted, examined, and analyzed. Sure, it was all worth it, and each of these practices have been helpful and valuable. But before The Wisdom WAY floated up into my awareness, I would struggle mightily when the stuff that hurt happened. Which tool should I use? Is this the time to meditate or chant? Or I would wonder what is going on with me that I am in this messy place again. Does this sound at all familiar to you?
The absolute gift of The Wisdom WAY is this: It works when you’re standing in front of a sink full of dishes. It works as you are walking into a large corporate meeting. It works with your intimate partner. It is usable regardless of your background, your issues, or your emotions. Once you get the hang of it, you can apply it on the run or take time to draw it all out. If you know the map, you have the tools to live your (W)holeness one (w)hole at a time. If you are reading this book, you have a hunger to be all you are, not just read about how you should be
this way or that way.
In addition, The Wisdom WAY is unique in that it is designed to empower each person to awaken to their own unique (W)holeness through the integration of psyche and soul. One without the other is less than (W)holeness. By definition, (W)holeness must include all elements of one’s being. The integration of our human psychology with our soul presence via a practical map and methodical approach that is based upon our own particular wisdom (no one else’s) is distinctive indeed. The key is how to embody this process of unveiling our (W)holeness to ourselves not merely as a concept, but for real.
How to do this has been the stumbling block for many of us. Encouragement from friends, family, and society to embrace our fullest expression is not lacking. We hear this from all directions. What has been sorely missing has been what I call the Hands & Feet
or the How-to’s
for awakening to our own (W)holeness. It’s easy to find lots of books describing the psychological elements of this, and there are even more books offering spiritual practices to support (W)holeness. However, the how-to’s
of melding the psyche and soul are merely hinted at or are available only through inference.
The Wisdom WAY offers a viewpoint which integrates these two elements into an awakening process, without dictating to you a rigid or stereotypical framework. Your answers and your individual process of awakening are empowered, guided, and supported through the Wisdom WAY model. As you move through this book, you will be offered opportunities to apply what you are learning directly to your own life. Practical and immediate, the Wisdom WAY can be easily transferred from any situation involving one human being to an entire organization and to the interactions between organizations. I have called it The Wisdom WAY
because it is based on your wisdom and experiences, not anyone else’s. You are your own expert. This essential framework of empowerment lets you apply your own life experiences and follow your own wisdom to discover the truth that is waiting to be awakened within you.
One of my greatest joys is the process of translating complex life experiences—my own and those of my clients—into pragmatic simple processes which awaken and empower (W)holeness. May The Wisdom WAY serve you as it has served—and continues to serve—me and many others who have embraced this process of empowered awakening. This is a book that makes sense of the confusion by showing you how to sort and sift through all you know and all you have experienced to make sense of you!
• I offer this book to you who want something that pulls it all together.
• I offer this book to you who are feeling lost in the maze of healing therapies, self-development options, and integrative modalities.
• I offer this book to you who are seeking something that works once and for all and can be done easily on your own, at your own pace.
• I offer this to you who want to get on with your lives and stop going around and around the same old stuff.
• I offer this book to you who know what you are missing and are choosing to be (W)hole, now.
• I offer this book to all human pioneers of abundance, creativity, and aliveness, who are interested in the Hands & Feet
of realized potentiality: awakened, empowered, and embodied (W)holeness.
This is not a book claiming to be an expert of you, rather, this is a book that is all about revealing you to yourself.
This book reveals the how-to’s
for revealing your own particular (W)holeness, NOW.
A Bit About Me
Everything I will be sharing with you in this book has been birthed first in my own life. It seems only appropriate to provide you with an overview of some of my own journey to date.
Nearly my entire life has been spent in the study of the psyche for the purpose of healing and (W)holeness. As a therapist, I have listened for approximately 55,000 hours to my greatest teachers—my clients and students. These hours are my greatest professional credential.
To date, I have spent over twenty-eight years as a psychotherapist and healer, completing two master’s degrees—a three-year Masters in Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School, with an emphasis on pastoral counseling; and a Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, with an emphasis on clinical social work. I held an associate teaching position for three years at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at Yale, where I taught family therapy to the nursing staff and the psychiatric residents. I am a certified Imago Relationship Therapist, a teaching Reiki Master of the Usui Tradition, as well as having been the founder and director of three separate private psychotherapy practices in three different states. Currently, I reside in New Hampshire on sixty-five acres of land which my husband, John Richard, and I have dedicated to transformation, renewal, and healing. We have named this land Sanctuary.
I am an ordained minister as well as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of New Hampshire. I am a Board Certified Diplomate, a member of the National Association of Social Work and a member of the Social Work and Spirituality Association. I am a graduate of The Stillpoint School of Integrated Life Healing (a year-long program) and am a Certified Intuitive Healer (CIH). Currently, I am also the director and founder of Alternatives in Counseling and Personal Development (ACPD), my private psychotherapy practice. I am, most recently, the founder and director of The (W)hole Point Institute, LLC (WPI), an organization created to offer intensive seminars, called (W)hole Shops, in the Wisdom WAY transformational empowerment system. I am the creator of the (W)hole Point Wisdom WAY model.
On a more personal note, just like you, I am a person on my own unique path. What we all have in common is our human self and our soul self. We are all the same in our essence and in our experiences. What makes each of us unique is how we express this sameness called being alive.
Our particular life paths are distinct, and yet, we all have a universal story in which we are filling in the blanks.
What I am sharing with you in this book is a weaving together of all my personal life experiences and my professional expertise, as well as all my academic studies. As you read on, I invite you to think of me as standing beside you, for we are all in this (W)hole universe together. We are unique; we are the same, and we are One! This is the paradox held within The Wisdom WAY.
It is my own life experiences that first led me to plunge into the depths and ultimately emerge with The Wisdom WAY perspective. Here is a condensed version of some of my life experiences, for which I am deeply grateful. Yes, even the painful ones!
I am a survivor of three parental deaths—two biological parents and my stepfather. I have been divorced. I have experienced rejections, losses, failures, and successes in schools, in jobs, and in friendships. I have been alone and in relationships. I have experienced date rape. I have moved and changed jobs. I have worked in corporate situations and in the business of healing. I have loved myself and hated myself. I am now married to an amazing man. I do not have children. I love our two cats, and I love to teach and to witness folks seeing their own brilliance. My greatest joy is to be a witness of the radiance waking up inside of another person and myself.
My search for understanding began at the age of eight. This was the age when my father chose to die. Yes, he committed suicide. At the moment he made his choice, I made mine. I began a quest, formulated and implemented beneath my conscious awareness. This mission
became the orienting focus of my life.
This quest was not spoken aloud; however, it was deeply entwined into my being. This quest led me through professional and personal explorations until I revealed to myself The Wisdom WAY. My life is now about BEING me rather than SEEKING for who I am supposed to be, or how I am supposed to be, or worse, for permission to be me. It is this wisdom I am choosing to share with you.
So, in addition to all of my formal education and professional background, I also have over forty-five years of seeking, searching, reading, loving, crying, laughing, analyzing, studying, failing, being totally frustrated, being in analysis, attending hundreds of workshops and seminars, journeying to study with spiritual teachers and masters, practicing yoga, fasting, embracing and enduring intense psychotherapy, grieving, celebrating and risking my life over and over again to finally see what was before my face the entire time: the (W)holeness within ME!
Looking back on it all, I can say it was worth it a thousand times over! I am now ready, willing, and able to share what I have come to understand about this with you. My choice is to offer the (W)hole Truth to you so you, too, will be where you want to be and can celebrate yourself now, not later. It does not require great study and effort; all you really need to know is the essential framework to sort through all of the wisdom you have gathered about yourself up to this point.
I entered into psychotherapy from the motivation of personal pain. As I continued on, I became more and more fascinated by the complexity and brilliance of the psyche and the soul. I often say to my clients, A therapist can only take you as far as she (the therapist) has gone herself.
My personal work has included Jungian analysis, sand tray therapy, shamanic soul retrieval, dream analysis, Reiki, Ennersense, Deeksha, theological studies, experiential spiritual seminars, alchemical ritual studies, and Imago therapy, while simultaneously participating in nearly a lifetime of integrative psycho-spiritual analysis.
My personal process is still an ongoing backdrop to my life’s work of teaching and mentoring. It is my greatest gift to myself. It is true to say the dark side of life’s experiences, the places where we hurt and ache for clarity, are the realms in which I have spent much of both my personal and professional lives. Ultimately, these dark places revealed to me the doorway of empowered (W)holeness. Available to everyone, awakened (W)holeness is merely a few steps of awareness away and doesn’t require all the thousands of hours I happen to have invested. This is great news; you can awaken your inner radiance, NOW. If I had known what I am sharing with you in this book, I would have spent far less time on self-development
and lots more time playing and enjoying life.
This book is a result of an integration of my life’s experience, my professional evolution, and my persistent curiosity. The hidden skeleton or bare bones of healing became clear to me in the year of the new millennium (2000). It was as if it floated up into my conscious mind in a gentle and wild experience of recognition. It wasn’t new at all, and yet it was entirely new; surprisingly simple, and yet, deeply profound.
The Wisdom WAY is a simple pragmatic map and compass for awakening and empowering your particular personal (W)holeness. This is not just another theory. It is a practical, usable, doable process that empowers you right from the very beginning. What you do from that point on is, of course, entirely up to you.
This book is very personal to me. I first recognized the Wisdom WAY map within myself, and it has since been recognized as essential wisdom by clients and students alike. It is at their urging that I have taken pen to paper.
A Basic Belief of Mine
I believe everyone is doing the absolute very best they can with what they know and understand. Everyone’s life choices make sense if you understand their inner heart logic. This logic exists in all of us; however, most of us never even know it is present or how to look at it, assess its effectiveness, and alter it. This logic of the heart took shape in our early years and most of the time is unknown to us.
It is a logic of feelings and reactions rather than of purely cognitive reasoning. However, it also contains a logic of the mind as well! All of us participate in this inner life logic. Additionally, it runs
behind the scenes of our lives like an automatic program. Essentially, we are blind to the most fundamental elements that run our lives. Until this heart logic is revealed to us, we are in the dark about ourselves!
We are living our lives based on an inner logic which in effect withholds our own (W)holeness from us, while at the same time encourages us to quest (i.e., self-develop ourselves) in an attempt to heal what we perceive as our brokenness.
All this is resting upon a secret kept from us
by us! No wonder we have all gone around and around the same old issues! We didn’t know about the inner heart logic.
How This Book Began
My clients and students asked me a question: How do I stop going around and around the same old stuff and just LIVE?
Often they