Here’s something that changed my life completely. For years, even as an Agape practitioner and ministerial student, I was giving myself permission slips to play small. Every single day.
I gave myself permission to complain when things didn’t go my way. Permission to criticize others when they didn’t meet my expectations. Permission to take offense, hold grudges, and act like a victim when life felt challenging.
Most painfully, I gave myself permission to place countless other priorities ahead of my relationship with God.
On the surface, it looked like I was spiritually committed. But underneath, I knew I was living in total conflict with what I claimed to believe. I justified it by thinking, “Come on, what am I going to be? Perfect? I can’t aspire to be holy. Who does that?”
But here’s what A Course in Miracles taught me: “Fear is always a sign of strain arising whenever what you want conflicts with what you do.”
When our heart longs for Love but our actions choose separation, we create internal conflict that manifests as fear and suffering.
The most liberating moment came when I realized that these permission slips weren’t protecting me – they were keeping me trapped in a cycle of spiritual smallness.
What could be more terrifying than being a somewhat awakened spiritual being who knows the nature of God but refuses to live in accordance with that knowledge?
Today, I invite you to examine your own permission slips. Where are you giving yourself permission to choose separation over Love? Where are you justifying behaviors that conflict with your spiritual aspirations?
The beautiful truth is that we don’t need to be perfect to stop playing small.
We just need willingness – our little willingness to let Love lead instead of ego.
When we revoke those permission slips and partner up with our Higher Holy Spirit Self, we discover that accessing our magnificence isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency in choosing Love, moment by moment.
Your spiritual maturity isn’t measured by never falling down. It’s measured by how quickly you choose to get back up and align with Truth.
What permission slip are you ready to revoke today?
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL – Are you ready to stop playing small? I’m offering an online retreat that starts on September 5. It’s one of the most effective and successful things I’ve done. People repeat it 3 and 4 times because they get so much out of it. If you feel like you might be playing small in some area of your life – this could be your breakthrough! Plan for your success and we’ll do it together – click here to learn more about the Stop Playing Small Online Retreat in September. It’s on Early Bird Special right now! If you’re thinking of taking this, you can combine it with Finding Freedom From Fear – both are on Early Bird Special, and you get an EXTRA DISCOUNT if you register for both right now!
NEW ACIM PODCAST EPISODE: my topic is The 3 Lies That Create Anger (And the One Truth That Dissolves It). In this episode, I explore how anger is fundamentally a form of self-sabotage rooted in the projection of separation and the belief that we’re victims rather than the dreamers of our dream. Drawing from A Course in Miracles Chapter 6, I shared my personal journey from being a chronically angry person – like “a pot boiling on the stove” – to discovering that anger can only occur when we believe we’ve been attacked, that retaliation is justified, and that we bear no responsibility for our experience. The profound truth is that taking complete responsibility for everything we see and feel, without blame or projection, is the only path to peace, joy, and freedom – and when we model this for others instead of allowing ourselves to be victims, we create miraculous healing for everyone involved.
