Читать книгу Discover the Unseen - T.J. Wagoner - Страница 8
ОглавлениеTo be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
The most profound words that can be uttered on any journey of self-discovery are these three: “I need help.”
At their core, these words acknowledge the Desire for a fundamental shift, and at the same time they are an admission that help is available and necessary to achieve this shift. The idea also contains within it the kernel of truth that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. Help is possible, and help is at hand. Whether you get the help you need from the pages of a book, a trusted friend, a network of experts, society as a whole, or from quieting your mind and listening for your inner voice, help is always at hand.
This book is intended to help you transform your life from what it is now to what you would like it to be. The process I’ve developed helps you connect with your inner self, the authentic self, to understand and define your Desire, to ignite emotion and engage your passion. It consists of working with five elements, each one a metaphor for a stage in the process.
My background is mainly from the corporate sector and the last 15 years center in the field of consulting, specifically business process coaching. For decades my job has been helping people solve problems. Through some experiences in my own life, I discovered that the process can be universally applied. It led me to create the core ideas in this book, the essence of the title Discover the Unseen…, and what I call the Advent5 Process. Advent5 is an action-driven, results-oriented process by which you participate in the design of your life. The definition of Advent is the coming or arrival of something extremely important, and the number 5 represents the life path plus freedom and change. Remarkably, this process is adaptable to any situation, available at any time, and limited only by you.
Stages of transformation and the overall process elements
Transformation is a process, not an event. That means we can break down the stages of transformation into a workable, predictable system of events. Transformation itself can be expressed in five stages. And, also, with the 5 Elements of Advent5 (Fire, Water, Wind, Sun and Rock).
Stage 1 Fire - Awakening: It all begins with an awakening, experienced as a positive motivation; the simple Desire for a better situation or way of life. This may be anything from a vague sense of dissatisfaction to a complete sense of being overwhelmed, making you want to stay in bed all day holding a pillow over your head, wishing the world would just stop spinning so you could climb off. The awakening may also be the sudden and unexpected realization that something must change, or it may show up as a burning passion. Whatever its form, the awakening marks the beginning of the journey of discovery and transformation.
Stage 2 Water - Acknowledgement: The methods in this book encourage a stoic and calm acceptance of the present situation, rather than denial. Acknowledgement allows an individual to understand the futility of resistance and denial of the status quo, and enter a more constructive state of mind. This is a reviewing of where you are, with what you have, and who you are at this moment, with understanding of all that you are and what is needed to align with your Desire. Acknowledgment of allowing the flow as it is will be the next step toward transformation. It’s the realization that “I need help.”
Stage 3 Wind - Acceptance: The key to fulfillment is acceptance. Without acceptance, we’re naturally in a combative frame of mind, fighting against the conditions we reject. This creates an ineffective situation, one that restricts forward movement and constructive resolution. The things we allow and accept will actually transform and the ones we resist we get to keep. What we resist persists. It’s the acceptance of what is present, even if it’s perceived as unwanted, by the leaning into adversity that blows into your present moment with acceptance and no denial that will bring forward movement.
Some of the accepting is painful because of the ego. It’s human nature to fight against conditions. The ego gets so attached to the need for certain conditions or circumstances that it gets in the way of life’s own progress. Once you rise above the foreground of the day-to-day of what you see, you’ll begin to see that which is the essence of you. Just as a painter needs to step back from his work from time to time to gain perspective, you need to find the still, calm center within your own life to gain a perspective of the total picture. Only then can you make clear, productive choices about your life path and your day-today activities.
Stage 4 Sun - Alignment: Your values, paradigms and passions must be in alignment with your goals. So many people go through life believing that the objectives they are pursuing are worthwhile. Yet when they accomplish these goals they can’t understand why there is such a deep well of emptiness inside. Aligning your pursuits and your passions avoids costly mistakes and misdirection of time and resources. It creates a focus, and with this aligned focus your path will be illuminated.
Stage 5 Rock - Action: The final piece required for transformation is action. Acknowledging that you need help and accepting the emotions or conditions you’re experiencing is only the start. To move beyond your current state, you must take action with accountability. The principles in this book will assist you in discovering exactly which actions to take. Not just any actions, but actions built on a solid foundation of who you are and what you want from your life. Adapting these stages and elements will guide you to the discovery of your purpose. This is a continual process that is sustainable in the present moment and into your desired out come.
The process works in a wide variety of situations, especially personal goal setting. The fundamental premise is to take a look at your current state, deconstruct it, and develop the future state by using the steps that I have outlined.
It begins with mapping out the status quo, listing everything related to it, then reviewing the activities. Anything that’s a waste of time, energy or attention gets flushed out automatically. The activities that remain become the core of action in alignment with your true Desire, and the standardized path for moving forward becomes clear.
By using the present moment, here and now, you create your future. This is the simple process of causality. The idea asserts that the future will continue like the past unless we change it in the present. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This process provides a path around the insanity most of us experience in our daily lives.
All of this begins with making a choice - a choice in focus, a choice in awareness, and a choice in lifestyle. Making the choice to remove yourself from the distractions of the day-to-day world which are not in alignment with your Desire will allow you to begin focusing on living the life you are intended for.
Using the Discover the Unseen… ideas, concepts and processes to connect with your authentic self, you’ll discover the essence of the life you Desire. Just as your perception is the foundation of your current reality, the basis of what you perceive with your senses is the foundation of physical science. The five senses sight, sound, touch, taste and scent transmit signals to the brain. These are interpreted by your thoughts, and they influence how you interpret your experiences, your beliefs, and your model for living. The Advent5 Process allows you to reinterpret what you perceive and apply it in a new way, which allows you to reach a better understanding of your beliefs, and then align your actions with your Desire. This provides a path to achieving what you really want from life, yourself, and those around you.
Discover the Unseen…Life is full of insignificant noise and distraction. So many people live in a state of reaction, living as if on auto-pilot, with set routines and even methods for interacting with people, rather than focusing with consciousness and intent on the few key things that are really important to them. Our passions are often pushed aside to make room for society’s ideas of “success,” but these suppressed passions and the God-given gifts at our core make up the foundation of our purpose. You may ask yourself at this point, what is it that we don’t see?
Looking for what you don’t see is:
Focusing on your Desire
Believing in the unseen
Going beyond the obvious
Observing from the background
Awareness of thought
Searching within
The true meaning of your wants
Seeking for what is already here
Looking past the foreground
Understanding the Divine
Feeling the emotion
Moving past the situation
Authentic truth
Your essence
Your Righteous Cause
The Background vs . the Foreground
Welcome to the background, the space of awareness itself. This is the place where your authentic self resides. You have nothing to fix, nothing to improve, just your Desire to discover. Here, no answers, feelings, or ideas are wrong. It is just you at your purest: a spiritual being within a human body. Your Desire awaits your focus and intention to engage. When this happens, your life begins to transform. This is when you detach from society’s prescribed path for success and begin to participate in the design of your own journey. Every experience, decision, and event in your life has led you to this point. These events aren’t necessarily good or bad but they are just things that have happened on your path. And everything and anybody that is needed along the way will cross your path. These are the events and people that contribute to who you are.
The foreground of the physical presence is where most of us spend the majority of our time, this daily space where temporary forms and situations come and go. They represent movement - waves that pass through this time and space, our surrounding environment. You can feel the disconnection from the background. You could say that these are elements of the distraction.
It’s the background that becomes our reality. The background is what we seek: the essence of silence, the stillness, the observer of the authentic you. This is known by a lot of names, and it’s not my intent to define this for you. The important thing is that you become aware of the background where your true self resides. This still, calm center is where the acceptance is found and where transformation begins.
This is the essence of the message, “Discover the Unseen…” Contained within it is the idea that as an individual, you don’t need any fixing. You’re not broken. You have been brought to this place by the events in your life, and everything has happened just as it should. You are exactly where and who you need to be.
You already have the answers, and everything you need is available for you. It’s your perceptions, beliefs, fears and judgments that keep you from seeing the answers you seek. Everything you need, everything you’re looking for is here; it’s present in the here and now. The Advent5 Process will guide you along your journey on the path of your Desire.
This is exactly what I tell myself and others: that all we need is here and now, and within us, waiting in the background. It’s the searching outside for approval, acceptance, and even love that leaves us wanting, and with that sense of lack in our lives. When we seek purpose and meaning externally, we always come up empty – always! It’s an emptiness that is dark and endless. Simply turn your focus, energy and seeking to the stillness within and emptiness will begin to disappear. It is the stillness that you can’t name, can’t create, and can’t become… because it is you! That is the essence of who you truly are. This is where you find your Righteous Cause, the one thing that matters most in your life. When you do find it, all else seems to fall in place and life becomes simple, even magical.
An Effective, Simple, Workable Process
We might say that using this process is a bit like climbing a mountain. Many give up along the way, but there are those who succeed who provide the example for those who follow. A common failure with the process occurs when people try to climb the whole mountain or tackle the entire challenge all at once. They get overwhelmed and quit before they’ve even reached the half-way point. Sometimes people give up when significant progress could be seen with just a few more steps because they see the task in its entirety, and not what it is: a steady series of steps along the journey. They could be mere inches away from obtaining their true Desires, but they just don’t see it through the sea of noise and distraction.
What they lack is what you have in your hands right now: an effective, simple, workable process. A good Sherpa wouldn’t overload you with a year’s supply of food, a dozen tents, tons of extra maps, and too many blankets. But so often people who teach problem solving skills for the life path are guilty of doing exactly that, overloading the very people they’re trying to help. They give them more than they will ever need, and it bogs down progress. It’s fair to say that stuff does not equal value. Overloaded preparation creates the path to being overwhelmed, and people give up before they get started.
Maybe you’ve encountered this already in other programs or other attempts to reach your desired outcome. If so, don’t worry about it. That’s over now, and you don’t need to give it another thought. Whatever you’ve encountered in the past might make up part of who you are, but it doesn’t have to determine where you are going.
Instead, what we’re going to focus on is a 5-step process for optimizing strategy, creating excellence in your personal results, and living life with sustainable passion. The beauty of it is that you can apply this strategy not only to your own life, but also to your circle of influence in your professional life. You can use this and teach this in your community and in your work environment.
In fact, the corporate sector is precisely where this process was born - in my decades as a consultant to some of the largest, most successful manufacturing corporations on the planet. Whether it’s making pencils, building jet engines, or planning the details of your best life, the process has surprising similarities.
The Advent5 Process is proven, highly effective and designed to bring you into contact with your deepest self. It evokes transformation through a natural process of self-definition, self-assertion and self-mastery. Its results are self-sustaining and life-altering.
Who This Process Is For:
Anyone who wants to learn to use a system for effectively and objectively meeting life’s challenges while sustaining a heightened level of passion and vitality
Anyone who wants to make significant positive changes in life with the easiest, most natural process possible
Anyone in a position to manage and influence groups brought together for a common purpose
Anyone who feels they need more direction in life and wants to feel a closer connection to the world around them
Anyone who has felt blocked from or unworthy of pursuing their deepest Desires
Anyone who can understand a process and welcomes change
Who It’s Not For:
Anyone who is unwilling to look closely at their key motivations
Anyone who is addicted to erratic highs and lows fed by drama in their lives
Anyone who is unwilling to shift their behavior or effect radical change
If you are willing to look at the ideas and concepts of Discover the Unseen… and the Advent5 Process, yet don’t feel quite ready to make a life change, then keep reading. It might not be the right time for you to transform your life. That’s okay! We all arrive at our own pace, at the right time and place. Perhaps by learning about this process you’ll be inspired to take the leap of faith.
I’m confident that you’re going to be inspired by what you find ahead. Congratulations on your choice to make this exciting journey of self-discovery. Get ready for a fun ride!
