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21 " Let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that is trying to work its way into your consciousness. "
― Caroline Myss , Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing
22 " Always, a shift in awareness includes a period of isolation and loneliness as one gets accustomed to the new level of truth. And then always, new companions are found. No one is left alone for long. "
23 " She was thoroughly entrenched in her wounds, so much so that she had converted her wounds into a type of social currency "
24 " The expression “If you can’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else” is commonplace. Yet for many people loving oneself remains a vague notion "
25 " forgiveness is a complex act of consciousness, one that liberates the psyche and soul from the need for personal vengeance and the perception of oneself as a victim. "
26 " Of great significance to me was the realization that "healing" does not always mean that the physical body recovers from an illness. Healing canals meant that one's spirit has released long-held fears and negative thoughts towards oneself or others. This kind of spiritual release and healing can occur even though one's body may be dying physically. "
27 " Those who are in a spiritual crisis, however, have a feeling that something is trying to wake up inside them. They just don’t know how to see it. "
28 " Intuition, like all meditative disciplines, can be enormously effective if and only if, one has the courage and personal power to follow through on the guidance it provides. Guidance requires action, but it does not guarantee safety. While we measure our own success in terms of our personal comfort and security, the universe measures our success by how much we have learned. So long as we use comfort and security as our criteria of success, we will fear our own intuitive guidance because by its very nature it directs us into new cycles of learning that are sometimes uncomfortable. "
29 " The chakra system is an archetypal depiction of individual maturation through seven distinct stages. The chakras are vertically aligned, running from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, suggesting that we ascend toward the Divine by gradually mastering the seductive pull of the physical world. At each stage we gain a more refined understanding of personal and spiritual power, since each chakra represents a spiritual life-lesson or challenge common to all human beings. "
30 " remind yourself continually of the higher truth that you cannot possibly see all the facts or details of any situation, nor visualize the long-term consequences of your actions. "
31 " But rewarding oneself with trips and toys is third chakra love—using physical pleasure to express self-appreciation. "
32 " The wounded child sees the Divine as operating a reward and punishment system, with humanly logical explanations for all painful experiences. The wounded child does not understand that within all experiences, no matter how painful, lie spiritual insights "
33 " Again, we all have negative feelings, but not all negativity produces disease. To create disease, negative emotions have to be dominant, and what accelerates the process is knowing the negative thought to be toxic but giving it permission to thrive in your consciousness anyway. "
34 " We begin the formidable task of getting to know ourselves by discovering our emotional nature—not in relation to anyone or anything, but in relation to ourselves alone. With or without anyone else playing a primary role, a person needs to know: What do I like? What do I love? What makes me happy? What do I need for balance? What are my strengths? Can I rely upon myself? What are my weaknesses? Why do I do the things I do? What makes me need the attention and approval of others? Am I strong enough to be close to another person and still honor my own emotional needs? These questions are different from those of the tribal mind, which teaches us to ask: What do I like in relation to others? How strong can I be while still remaining attractive to others? What do I need from others in order to be happy? What will I have to change about myself in order to get someone to love me? We "
35 " Questions for Self-Examination 1. What belief patterns did you inherit from your family? 2. Which of those belief patterns that still have authority in your thinking can you acknowledge are no longer valid? 3. What superstitions do you have? Which have more authority over you than your own reasoning ability? 4. Do you have a personal code of honor? What is it? 5. Have you ever compromised your sense of honor? If so, have you taken steps to heal it? 6. Do you have any unfinished business with your family members? If so, list the reasons that prevent you from healing your family relationships. 7. List all the blessings that you feel came from your family. 8. If you are now raising a family of your own, list the qualities that you would like your children to learn from you. 9. What tribal traditions and rituals do you continue for yourself and your family? 10. Describe the tribal characteristics within yourself that you would like to strengthen and develop. "
36 " This love is the essential key to finding the happiness that we are convinced lies outside of ourselves but that spiritual texts remind us is only found within. Too many people are frightened of knowing themselves, convinced that self-knowledge would mean living alone, without their current friends and partners. "
37 " Pilgrimage is extroverted mysticism, just as mysticism is introverted pilgrimage "
38 " realize the importance of the words of Polonius, “To thine own self be true.” For without personal power, life is a frightening, painful experience. "
39 " No matter how successful we are, at some point we will become conscious that we feel incomplete "
40 " Gaining an awareness of our own limitations opens us to considering choices we would not otherwise have made. "