What Is Your Ideal Lifestyle…

Discover What Is and What is To Be on Your Journey of Life…

Click the two cards below to see what Present and Future you have drawn. Then click again to get the description and recommendations for your specific situation. Watch for follow-up emails with even more information to guide you…

Be sure to write down the names of your two cards, so you can access additional information later.

Passive Income Lifestyle
This card will tell you how things are now…

Sacred Mirror Falls

Identity

Overview

People everywhere experience societal pressure to conform to what others expect of them. We are drilled from a very early age to be nice, to fit in, to put others’ needs ahead of our own, and so on. We are told not to rock the boat, not to make waves. And if by chance we fail to abide by all these rules, then we run the risk of losing someone’s disapproval, or maybe being shunned, or even worse.

Unfortunately, in order to meet the demands of these rules and regulations, we often end up disowning ourselves. We put on masks and costumes in order to appear publicly the way we believe others want to see us. In doing so, our true selves get lost, and we often end up feeling unhappy, disillusioned, depressed or angry.

In Sacred Mirror Falls, you are taken into a deep exploration of Identity—that is, the essence and meaning of who you really are—and how you can maintain your sovereignty and uniqueness while still honoring the protocols that society puts in place.

Situation

You are showing up in your life in ways that you believe other people want to experience you. This could manifest in a variety of ways:

  • You may be putting aside your own wants and needs in order to accommodate the wants and needs of others.
  • You may be saying (or doing) things in order to avoid confrontation or conflict, rather than speaking your genuine truth.
  • You may be resorting to humor, perhaps even to excess, in order to get people to like you or approve of you.
  • You may be adopting a perfectionist approach to your life out of some unconscious belief that it is not okay to make mistakes.

These strategies, and others like them, may actually work to some extent in getting the kind of approval or acknowledgment you are seeking. But they also have a negative impact on your self-worth, because deep down inside you know you are not being your authentic self, and one thing you want more than counterfeit approval or acknowledgment is to be seen and experienced for who you really are.

Recommendation

At the moment, you are being driven by unconscious beliefs about how life operates, so it is important to shed light on these beliefs so that you can understand and accept them for what they are. This will require some deep and tender introspection. You can begin by asking yourself questions like the following:

  • What are my beliefs about how I’m supposed to show up in the world?
  • What are my beliefs about how the world responds to me?
  • How did I come to believe that I am obligated to please others or put my needs aside for them?
  • What might happen if I spoke my truth in all situations, rather than trying to avoid conflict all the time?
  • What would I lose if I stopped being the “joker” or “class clown“?

Bring compassion and forgiveness to yourself as you ask these questions. Try not to judge yourself in any way; simply observe your answers and notice how you feel about them.

In your soul, you know that it is possible to accommodate people’s wants and needs without compromising your own. It is possible to bring authentic humor into situations when it is called for. It is possible to speak your truth in virtually all situations while still honoring the truth of others. It is possible to aim for perfection while allowing mistakes to guide you.

You also know it is possible for YOU to show up vulnerably and authentically as the shining light you are—while still allowing space for other’s lights to shine just as brightly. So, the real questions you can ask to get you back onto your true path are questions like these:

  • How can I show up in authentically in the world while honoring the authenticity of others?
  • How can I honor the wants and needs of others without compromising my own?
  • How can I speak my truth consistently and reduce the likelihood of conflict?
  • How can I allow the gentle flow of my natural humor in a way that contributes to every situation?

You will notice that all these questions begin with How can I… When you ask questions in this powerful way, you are inviting the Universe to feed authentic answers to you through your Soul. So, when you ask them, make sure you maintain your awareness so that you’ll be ready when the answers appear.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Easy Do-It-Yourself
This card will tell you how things are now…

Peaceful Heart Meadow

Acceptance

Overview

Our ego-minds spend a great deal of time trying to keep us safe—sometimes in ways that, on close inspection, may seem quite dysfunctional. We often find ourselves trying to make sense of our circumstances by putting our own spin on things—that is, we analyze, explain, justify, or interpret our situations without really making any effort to accept them as they are. In other words, we unconsciously tend to reject what is in favor of our own story or thinking about what is.

In Peaceful Heart Meadow, we begin to learn about the first Key Skill: Acceptance. As we become more aware of what is, our first priority is to accept it as it is. That is, we suspend our judgments, conclusions or stories about it, so that we can grok it more clearly for what it really is—rather than for what we think it is.

Acceptance is not about agreeing with anything; it’s not about condoning anything; it’s not about believing in anything. All of those actions—agreeing, condoning, believing—require you to analyze, explain, justify or interpret what is, which puts you back into your ego-mind, and disconnects you from your innate ability to accept. Acceptance is simply about being fully aware of what is and acknowledging it as such—in other words, Acceptance is Awareness without Story. If you get out of your head and into your heart, you engage your natural power to accept what is. Once you have accepted it for what it really is, then and only then can you actually do something about it.

Situation

Something unpleasant, painful or tragic is happening in your life right now, and it has triggered many different reactions within you. In essence, your reactions are just variations of your overall rejection of the situation, and your rejection of what is merely increases your pain and discomfort without in any way changing the situation. Your  desire to reject what’s happening may be quite understandable, because the situation itself is causing you pain and distress. Perhaps you are having thoughts like these:

  • This situation is completely unacceptable; I have to find a way to make it go away.
  • This can’t be happening to me…again!
  • If I accept this, then it means that I’m agreeing with it. I simply can’t allow that to happen.
  • I don’t like it; I don’t want it; I don’t choose it. I refuse to allow it into my life.

Recommendation

If you’ve ever had a massage, then you probably remember a time when your massage therapist found a place on your body that felt painful to the touch. And when that happened, you probably had an instant reaction to tense your body and protect yourself from the pain. Interestingly, however, if you allowed yourself to consciously relax the muscles and accept the temporary pain of the therapist’s touch, then pretty quickly the pain subsided and the movement of the therapist’s hands actually relieved some deep-rooted tension, and therefore provided some much needed healing.

Think of Acceptance in the same way. Your current situation may be unpleasant or painful, but you can alleviate that pain significantly simply by acknowledging it, relaxing into it and allowing your breath to carry it away.

Find a quiet place where you can follow this simple process to help you return to a place of acceptance:

  1. Take some deep breaths to ground yourself and bring yourself into the present moment. Bring attention to your emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. Avoid any judgments, interpretations or conclusions as you do this. Just keep breathing gently and maintain your perspective as an observer.
  2. When you feel sufficiently present and relaxed, allow your inner observer to take a closer look at the issue that has been triggering resistance. What is it about this issue that agitates you to the point that you want to push it away? Does the issue bring up any self-judgments or stories that challenge your ability to stay present? Again, avoid any judgments as you do this; simply observe the situation and what it brings up for you.
  3. Bring the energy of compassion and forgiveness to yourself for the way you are reacting to the situation. Imagine that you are wrapping yourself in a big, unconditionally loving hug. Remind yourself that everything about you is perfectly okay—including any reaction or feeling you may have had up to now.
  4. Take a few more deep breaths, and simply release your energy of resistance. Imagine that you putting all the resistance energy into an expanding balloon; imagine opening a window in your heart and allowing that balloon simply to float off into the distance. Watch it disappear over the horizon, never to come back into your body.
  5. Take a few more deep breaths, and see yourself accepting your situation exactly as it is. It is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong; it simply is what it is. In your mind’s eye, see yourself examining the situation from all angles, maximizing your awareness of everything it contains.
  6. Take some time now to honor yourself for bringing yourself back to a place of acceptance.

At this point, you have really completed the exercise. Give yourself some time to let the process anchor within you. After sufficient time has passed, and you believe you have fully accepted the situation for what it is, you will find yourself better equipped to decide exactly what steps you want to take to move forward.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Easy Do-It-For-You…
This card will tell you how things will be in the future…

Dark Forest

Shadow

Overview

Each of us has parts or aspects of ourselves that we try to keep hidden from the rest of the world. We do this—consciously or unconsciously—because we have a negative belief about those parts: they are somehow unacceptable, inappropriate, bad or wrong. And what’s worse, because these parts exist within our overall makeup, we inadvertently come to believe that we are somehow defective or broken.

As we learn in Dark Forest, the truth is that our Shadows are actually very powerful aspects of ourselves, and if we simply take the time to meet, engage, understand and eventually embrace them, we will have a much deeper and more intimate knowing of who we really are. And this has only positive implications for the kinds of lives we are destined to live.

Situation

Conditions are coming into being that will trigger unconscious resistance in you. You will find yourself looking for ways to avoid certain people or circumstances, and you may not be fully aware of this tendency. You may hear an inner voice warning you of some kind of unspecified danger, or strongly suggesting other activities that will keep you away from this situation.

Recommendation

When your Shadow activates, it works behind the scenes. Since it represents a part of you that you disavowed or disowned at an earlier time in your life, it tries to stay out of sight. This Shadow initially came into being because of an unconscious negative belief you took on when you were younger—likely as the result of a painful or traumatic experience—and it adopted whatever coping strategy you discovered for dealing with similar experiences that appeared to be creating the same kind of pain or trauma.

The situation today is that, even though you are much older and wiser than when you experienced the childhood pain that started this dynamic, you are still unconsciously using the same coping strategy—even though it almost certainly no longer works for you! Your Shadow is still alive and well behind the scenes, and whenever it detects a situation even remotely similar to the one that happened when you were a child, it automatically goes into self-protection mode and starts implementing its innate coping strategy. Meanwhile, you are still trying to live your life and do the things you do, but your Shadow—in its zeal to keep you safe—somehow takes over and manages to run the show, sometimes creating chaos in the process.

The solution here is for you to raise your awareness and bring your own Shadow into the light. You must remember that your Shadow is trying to create one of the four core states: Being, Serenity, Love, or Oneness. It is simply using a strategy that no longer achieves the desired result.

Create a safe and quiet place where you can relax and know you are totally safe. Do the following:

  1. Bring your awareness to the Shadow within you, and let it know that you are here simply to provide love and support.
  2. Speak to the Shadow as if it were a small child, and invite it to come closer so that you can hold it in your lap. See yourself as a loving parent who is trying to soothe his/her own little child. Just be totally present for this child, without judgment or condition, and make yourself available to listen to whatever the child has to say. Some of the following questions might be helpful:
    • What do you imagine is going to happen?
    • Does this remind you of something else that happened to you at a different time?
    • What happened to you as a result of that similar situation?
    • How did you feel because of what happened to you?
    • What did you come to believe about yourself or the world because of that situation?
    • And so you adopted the strategy of <describe the strategy> because it kept you safe, right?
  3. Once you have answers to these questions, you (as the adult) can now begin bringing some loving support to the small child. You might say something like the following:
    I am really sorry that that happened to you, and that there was no-one there to protect you when you needed protection the most. I am proud of you for finding your own way to keep yourself safe. That really worked for you for a long time, so thank you for doing that. It just shows how resourceful and thoughtful you were. But I am here now. I am an adult with adult powers, and I can do things that I could not do when I was a child. I am here to keep you safe and protect you. You no longer need to take care of me—that is my job, not yours. So, I release you from your job of trying to keep me safe, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done for me.
  4. You may find that the child will release some tears, and you might do the same. Just let that happen, and allow the love to flow between you.
  5. When you are ready, release the child, and allow him/her to go off and play, like a child should be able to do.
  6. Take note of how you are feeling, and embrace the full power of who you really are.

After this process is complete, you will be much better prepared to deal with future situations that trigger the pain and reaction of old wounds.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Assetizing…
This card will tell you how things are now…

Base Camp

Awareness

Overview

When you are about to set out on a journey, before you can ever hope to know how to get where you want to go, you must first be very clear about where you are right now. In other words, you must make sure you know as much as possible about your current situation, conditions, environment and circumstances.

This is Awareness, the foundational skill of Life Mastery Way. Because it is so important, we learn about it first at our centering and grounding station, what we call Base Camp.  Your objective is to bring Awareness into every aspect of your life and, as much as possible, keep it present in every moment. This means being aware of what is going on in your surroundings, and also within you—that is, your emotions, thoughts and sensations.

Situation

Lately, you have been operating much like a sleep-walker. That is, you have slipped into an unconscious behavior pattern; it may seem as if you are flying on auto-pilot. Obviously, you have not done this deliberately, but you are probably experiencing moments where you think things like these:

  • How did I get here? I don’t remember the last 30 minutes.
  • I am way off-kilter here; I seem to be bouncing around from one thing to another with no sense of direction.
  • I am totally confused and disoriented; I need to get back on track.

Recommendation

It is important to stop whatever you are doing, at least until you can bring more Awareness into your current situation. Find a quiet place where you can sit and relax. Take a few deep cleansing breaths and bring awareness to all aspects of your situation.

External Inventory

Take stock of everything around you, and bring your focus to as many details as possible. Notice the shapes and colors of all objects around you. Notice the temperature of the room or the space. If you are outdoors, take not of the details of the weather conditions. Are there people or animals around, or are you alone? What kind of objects are around you? Just notice as much as you can without making up any story or drawing any judgments or conclusions about any of it.

Internal Inventory

Now bring your attention to your body. Notice any physical sensations that you might be feeling: cold/hot, relaxed/tense, hungry, clammy, shivery, etc. Again, avoid any judgment or interpretation; just take stock.

Next, notice the emotions that you are feeling. Try to limit your words to one of the four primary emotions: sadness, fear, anger, or joy. Is it a strong or weak emotion at this time? How long have you been feeling this emotion? Again, no judgment; just observation.

Finally, bring your attention to your thoughts. What are you thinking? Are your thoughts related to a common theme? Do you notice a judgmental or interpretational quality to your thoughts? How long have these thoughts been present in your mind?

Introspection

Now that you have elevated your awareness about your current internal and external state, take a few moments to see if you can peek under the covers and find out more about how you came to be in this state. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself—remember not to judge yourself for your current state:

  1. How did I attract my current situation into my life?
  2. What is the purpose for my current behavior?
  3. In what ways are my thoughts, words, actions and emotions aligned with my purpose?
  4. In what ways are they out of alignment?
  5. Do I wish to change this situation? If so, what new choice will I make?
Final Steps

Once you are complete with this process, take some time to honor yourself for having had sufficient
Awareness to know that you were operating unconsciously, and for having the courage to look inside to find out what was really going on. Notice how you are feeling now, and take this new feeling into the next phase of your life.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Automated Modeling
This card will tell you how things are now…

Alignment Ridge

Integrity

Overview

As we learn in Alignment Ridge, Integrity is a state of being in which our thoughts, words, actions and emotions are all in alignment. Being “in integrity” is a wonderful experience, and most of us know instinctively when we are there. But, as we also learn, Integrity is even more powerful when we synchronize our alignment with our sacred Purpose for being. When we create this kind of alignment, we feel inspired and motivated, perhaps even unstoppable!

No-one is “in integrity” 100% of the time; we all slip-up occasionally. Thankfully, one of the other tools we learn about in Alignment Ridge is Accountability, which enables us to perform some powerful introspection to find out how we got off track, and to create a new commitment to find our way back to our chosen path.

Situation

It has come to your attention that your thoughts, words, actions and emotions are not aligned with each other, or at odds in some way with your purpose for being. As a result, you are feeling a sense of disorientation or confusion about your life. This may be creating a story loop in your mind with thoughts similar to these:

  • I have no idea where I am or where I’m supposed to be going.
  • I’ve completely forgotten my commitments, and I seem to be wandering around aimlessly.
  • My life is in chaos! How did this happen?
  • Nothing makes sense at the moment! Why am I doing this? How did I get off track?
  • <So-and-so> is going to be pissed at me; how can I make this right?

Recommendation

Being out of integrity is a pretty common state. Everyone experiences it from time to time, because, as humans, we all make mistakes. So, first and foremost, be gentle with yourself and make sure to approach this issue with love and compassion.

Begin by determining if you are out of integrity because of a broken agreement with someone else, or if you are simply out of integrity with yourself—in which case you may have forgotten or violated a commitment to yourself. Regardless of the situation, you can use this self-accountability process to get back on track.

Find a quiet place to journal your responses to the following:

  1. What was the agreement or commitment I failed to honor?
  2. What choices did I make (conscious or unconscious) that led me to slip out of integrity with respect to this agreement/commitment?
  3. What were the consequences of these choices?
  4. What possible unconscious beliefs do I have that may have led to these choices in the first place?
  5. What is the source of these beliefs? Where might they have originated in my earlier life?
  6. Now that I have a better understanding of what drove my choices, what can I do to take full responsibility for the consequences I created?
  7. What new commitment can I make (to myself or to the other party) so as to challenge myself to grow from this learning and to regain my alignment with my purpose?

If your agreement/commitment was with another person, you will find it very empowering and liberating to approach that person from a place of vulnerability, and own your mis-step, offer any apology if required, and re-commit to your agreement.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Cash Pumping In…
This card will tell you how things will be in the future…

Destiny Point

Purpose

Overview

Everyone has a reason for being here in the physical world. The problem is that many of us aren’t really aware of our true Purpose. Instead, we follow our inner desires and passions (which are often influenced by ego-minds that want us to show up so as to conform to the expectations of the world), and end up in places and situations that we didn’t really have in mind. This is because we were following a default purpose instead of a true spiritual purpose.

In Destiny Point, we dive deep into the concept of Purpose and discover ways to know with conviction why we are really here. Then we take our understanding and apply it to all of our choices, agreements, and commitments going forward.

Situation

You will soon be faced with challenging circumstances that will lead you to question the reason for your being. You will find yourself wondering things like:

  • Why is this happening to me (again)?
  • How can life be so cruel?
  • What possible meaning can there be in this?

These thoughts will compound the situation by making it difficult for you to deal with it in anything but a reactive approach. You will find yourself making choices automatically and unconsciously, without considering possible consequences, and this will make the situation even more chaotic.

Recommendation

Recognize and understand that the reaction described above is one that emanates from fear. All of the thoughts listed (and any other similar thoughts you might have) signal your retreat into self-protection mode, which means that you perceive some kind of risk or danger or threat. Indeed, there may be a real danger in the situation that arrives, so the first thing you must do is make sure you are actually safe. And if it turns out there is no real danger, then recognize that your reaction is triggered by an ego-mind that sees something in the situation that corresponds to a difficult or painful situation that happened in your past.

In either case, after the danger—real or imagined—has passed, and you are have regained your composure, proceed to reconnect to the truth of who you really are and why you are here. Remind yourself of your significance in the world by reciting these two affirmations repeatedly until they resonate within your heart and soul:

  • I am a magnificent, divine, unlimited spiritual being of light and love.
  • I am blessed with a powerful and sacred purpose, and I am fully aligned with that purpose in every moment.

When you feel the energy of these affirmations taking root within you, reconnect to the specifics of your Purpose, and remember your objective to align all of your thoughts, words, actions and emotions with that sacred purpose.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Awakening
This card will tell you how things will be in the future…

Nama Station

Forgiveness

Overview

When we are caught up in the dramas of our ego-minds, it is easy for us to fall into the habit of playing the BS Game—that is, the “Blame-Shame Game”. When someone else does something that causes us discomfort, upset or pain, we put ourselves into the role of victim and the other person into the role of perpetrator. In this way, we give all our power away to the perpetrator—who may not even be aware of the fact that s/he has done something “wrong”. In allowing ourselves to slip into this finger-pointing pattern, we often end up creating even more pain and upset for ourselves, while secretly hoping for the other person to suffer.

Nama Station teaches us about the powerful healing capabilities of Forgiveness, a tool whose sole purpose is to give ourselves permission to release ourselves from our own pain and suffering. When we forgive, it really has nothing to do with the so-called perpetrator! It is really all about letting go of something over which we have no control, and—without forgetting or condoning or agreeing with actual bad behavior—releasing ourselves from the prison of our own negative thinking, and reclaiming our power.

Situation

Someone in your life will do something that directly impacts you in a negative or malicious or painful way. A person with whom you are personally or professionally involved will do something that violates your boundaries in some way or breaks a trust with you. You will find yourself doing a lot of repair work to clean up the damage, so this situation may also result in damage to your name or your reputation.

Recommendation

Knowing that you are on a collision course with an unpleasant and potentially painful interaction with someone can certainly be unnerving. However, worrying about what might or might not happen in the future is not a very productive (or effective) way to prepare for it. As someone on a path to Life Mastery, you are certainly more interested in living your life in the present moment as much as possible.

So how can you prepare for this kind of event in your life? In a word, Pre-Forgiveness. That’s right, forgiveness in advance. It may sound a little strange, but it is a powerful tool that you can engage any time you find yourself worrying about something that someone in your life might do. Here’s how it works:

  1. Imagine that you are in the future and the event has already happened, bringing with it whatever discomfort, unpleasantness, or pain it might have contained. Imagine that you have already experienced your reaction or response to the situation and that you understand this person was doing something out of his/her own fear or pain and wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt you.
  2. Notice how you feel about all that has happened. Just be with the feelings that show up within you and allow them to pass through you.
  3. Notice any judgments you may have about the other person, and allow them to pass as well.
  4. Tap into your own powerful sense of compassion, recognize that you too have done things like this that caused pain for others, and begin to feel unconditional love flowing from your heart to the heart of the other person.
  5. Say the words out loud: “I forgive you”. See yourself offering this gift of forgiveness to the other person, without condition, without expectation of any particular result.

Bring yourself back to the present moment, and notice how you feel now, having actively forgiven this person. Realize that you completed this process without even knowing for sure who the other person might be. There is great power in this Pre-Forgiveness process and you can use it anytime, anywhere. Let this be an ongoing practice for you on your continuing path to Life Mastery.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Igniting…
This card will tell you how things will be in the future…

River of Grace

Flow

Overview

When we come into the physical world, we arrive in a state of sacred flow. We are excited and happy to be in our new surroundings, full of curiosity, and eager to venture onto the path of our adventures. We aren’t troubled by the past or worried about the future; we are simply present in the here-and-now, full of wonder for whatever shows up next.

But soon enough, life happens, and we find ourselves bound and restricted by ever more complicated rules and guidelines and demands. Soon enough, the sacred flow is nowhere to be found, and life becomes more of a struggle and challenge than an adventure.

When we visit River of Grace, we are gently and lovingly reminded of the natural state we arrived in. Here, we learn about Flow—the idea of presence in action—and how we can reclaim it and maintain it in our everyday life.

Situation

You are well aware that something important is going to take place in your life in the next few days or weeks. It is something you have been anticipating with a mixture of excitement and fear. You are worrying about possible negative consequences of this event’s arrival, and obsession with these fearful thoughts makes it difficult for you to stay focused on important things that need your attention right now.

Recommendation

The only two times when nothing can be done are Yesterday and Tomorrow. If you focus your attention on either of them, you are depriving yourself of the gift of Today.

It may well be true that something you have anticipated for a while is soon to appear, and it will bring with it whatever it brings. You can worry about how this event will show up, about how it will impact you, about all the things that could possibly go wrong, yes, you can do all that if you want to. But what is it costing you to concern yourself this way about something that has not yet happened? Wouldn’t you find your life less stressful if you could stop this worrisome future-think?

Bring yourself back to the present, to the here-and-now, and allow yourself to experience what is here right now. Here’s a little trick you can do to help you re-ground yourself:

  • Imagine that the event you are anticipating has already arrived, and that everything about it turned out more or less as expected. Notice the relief you feel, and the immediate sense of relaxation that shows up as a result.
  • Now, simply allow the event to be a wonderful memory in your mind, something that you can cherish any time you are feeling a little stressed out. Allow this memory to be so important to you that it seems almost like a peak experience.
  • Bring the emotional energy if this experience back into the present moment, and notice how you are feeling right now.

Focus your attention on your renewed sense of aliveness, and let that inform all your thoughts, words and actions going forward. Anytime you find yourself slipping back into worry mode, come back to this exercise and let it ground you and bring you back to Flow.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).

Focusing…
This card will tell you how things will be in the future…

Nama Station

Forgiveness

Overview

When we are caught up in the dramas of our ego-minds, it is easy for us to fall into the habit of playing the BS Game—that is, the “Blame-Shame Game”. When someone else does something that causes us discomfort, upset or pain, we put ourselves into the role of victim and the other person into the role of perpetrator. In this way, we give all our power away to the perpetrator—who may not even be aware of the fact that s/he has done something “wrong”. In allowing ourselves to slip into this finger-pointing pattern, we often end up creating even more pain and upset for ourselves, while secretly hoping for the other person to suffer.

Nama Station teaches us about the powerful healing capabilities of Forgiveness, a tool whose sole purpose is to give ourselves permission to release ourselves from our own pain and suffering. When we forgive, it really has nothing to do with the so-called perpetrator! It is really all about letting go of something over which we have no control, and—without forgetting or condoning or agreeing with actual bad behavior—releasing ourselves from the prison of our own negative thinking, and reclaiming our power.

Situation

Someone in your life will do something that directly impacts you in a negative or malicious or painful way. A person with whom you are personally or professionally involved will do something that violates your boundaries in some way or breaks a trust with you. You will find yourself doing a lot of repair work to clean up the damage, so this situation may also result in damage to your name or your reputation.

Recommendation

Knowing that you are on a collision course with an unpleasant and potentially painful interaction with someone can certainly be unnerving. However, worrying about what might or might not happen in the future is not a very productive (or effective) way to prepare for it. As someone on a path to Life Mastery, you are certainly more interested in living your life in the present moment as much as possible.

So how can you prepare for this kind of event in your life? In a word, Pre-Forgiveness. That’s right, forgiveness in advance. It may sound a little strange, but it is a powerful tool that you can engage any time you find yourself worrying about something that someone in your life might do. Here’s how it works:

  1. Imagine that you are in the future and the event has already happened, bringing with it whatever discomfort, unpleasantness, or pain it might have contained. Imagine that you have already experienced your reaction or response to the situation and that you understand this person was doing something out of his/her own fear or pain and wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt you.
  2. Notice how you feel about all that has happened. Just be with the feelings that show up within you and allow them to pass through you.
  3. Notice any judgments you may have about the other person, and allow them to pass as well.
  4. Tap into your own powerful sense of compassion, recognize that you too have done things like this that caused pain for others, and begin to feel unconditional love flowing from your heart to the heart of the other person.
  5. Say the words out loud: “I forgive you”. See yourself offering this gift of forgiveness to the other person, without condition, without expectation of any particular result.

Bring yourself back to the present moment, and notice how you feel now, having actively forgiven this person. Realize that you completed this process without even knowing for sure who the other person might be. There is great power in this Pre-Forgiveness process and you can use it anytime, anywhere. Let this be an ongoing practice for you on your continuing path to Life Mastery.

For more information about this topic, please see the full program at Life Mastery Way (and remember the name of your card).