Years ago I sat in a group coaching program where we were asked to prepare our elevator speeches. Thirty seconds to explain what you do.
The woman before me went first.
She said something like, I’m a life coach. I help people who have anxiety and worry and fear and guilt, and I help them develop successful managing and coping skills.
I had prepared to say something quite different.
“I help people who are managing and coping with fear, anxiety, worry, and doubt to move out of managing and coping altogether. To actually heal it. And then to invest their time, energy, and money in things they can enjoy, instead of just maintaining the status quo.”
I didn’t say it. I had no wish to rain on her parade or make her feel bad.
But that moment showed me something clearly.
The ego thought system offers managing and coping strategies rather than healing.
The world runs on them. And here’s the trouble with that:
You cannot go to the mindset that brought you the anxiety and the confusion and look there for the solution. You don’t go to the one who’s torturing you to get the solution.
For me, this is where it gets expansive.
I’m interested in being a redeemer. I’ve redeemed myself and I’m helping others do the same if that’s what they’re interested in.
Jesus is my teacher. He walked in this world redeeming people, not by handing out some dispensation, but by helping them realize they could let go of their unforgiveness toward themselves, their blame of themselves, and their projection of blame onto others.
To the man lying on the bed, he helped him see that he was dwelling in the past. That he was not forgiving. That he could forgive instantaneously.
And take up his bed and walk. And he did. That’s redemption.
We can help people in exactly the same way.
We do it through a living demonstration.
That’s why I talk about walking the talk and living the love. It’s what heals our mind. It heals our heart. It heals our physical body, our relationships, and our emotional body.
Reading the teachings isn’t enough. That’s the icing. It isn’t the cake.
Practical application comes from the heart.
If you’re ready to do this work of dissolving the habit of self-attack, consider my Finding Freedom From Fear Bootcamp which starts next month.
THIS SATURDAY, August 8 we’re going deeper together in my Deep Dive Workshop, Why Am I So Hard On Myself? If self-attack and criticism is your struggle, come join me. This is a habit that can be dissolved. Two and a half hours. We’ll do the heavy lifting together. YES, I’M GIVING MYSELF THIS GIFT Learn more now
My next FREE Forgiveness Workshops is Saturday August 29. Come as you are, however you can. You don’t have to feel ready. You don’t have to have done any prep work. Your willingness is all that’s required. Click for more info: powerofloveministry.net/forgive
NEW PODCAST EPISODE: The Decision to Forget One ordinary morning, Leon Joel Russell opened A Course in Miracles and hit a single paragraph that stopped him cold for six days. This week Jennifer Hadley sits down with her fellow ACIM teacher to follow where that paragraph led them, into a question most of us spend a lifetime avoiding: what are we actually afraid of, underneath all of it? Where they take it is lighter than the question sounds. Two friends who love the truth, going somewhere worth following.
