Journey Into the Shadows - The Program

Visualize 12 people in a darkened, womb-like room,I haven't mentioned yet...you can follow along with all
screaming, jiggling and shaking, pounding on theirthis in my newsletter, "Quickening the Rhythms of
lower abdomens with fists. The music and screechingChange," or check back here for more stories of
are excruciatingly loud; the floors vibrate to the beatwhat led up to this moment and of course what
of tribal drums.comes afterward.
Strange that the only audible sound is that of eachI do feel much clearer about what is mine inside of
person's voice ringing and buzzing inside their ownme and what is not mine on the outside. I'm much
ears, while the ambient noise of the room opensmore willing to be a bit empty and undefined by
spaces deep inside their bones.what's out there. I don't feel as though I need to
That's where I was in January, at a holistic healingpump myself up creating a false sense of value or
course performing some combination of thesecater to my personal illusion. More than that, I don't
exercises every morning for three hours, 8 days in aneed to give away my gifts and accomplishments
row. It was miraculous.nor deflate myself for any relationship.
Daily I experienced a deeper relationship with myselfCertainly, another heavy veil has been lifted.
than each previous day. Through these exercises andWhat about you? Even if you aren't planning to
more, I accessed and released emotions and statesattend a confrontational workshop, how often do
of being that were linked to a fear-ridden operatingyou take the time to play detective, going back
program that has kept me imprisoned my whole life.through your patterns to find what really drives you?
At one point near the end of the course I wasMy Program was sacred ground and the heaviest
transported back into my baby body, re-experiencinganchor I've had to this plane of existence. However
the emotions of my life from birth to 6 months--thedense and painful, it's my comfort zone and
neediness and fear, the jealously and greediness oftherefore not so simple to locate and remove. Many
infancy.friends and teachers have gently tugged on my
Who thinks this way?pillows for some time now.
Like the cycle of creation, the key features of deepWhat is your deepest fear? What are the common
healing are awareness, digestion, ownership andthreads woven tightly into your daily experiences,
ultimately the destruction of old patterns. Sometimesevery day, all your life? How often do you call in a
it happens in a moment; sometimes it involves morenew context or an honest person to kick you in the
details and effort.rear so you can witness yourself from a different
Awareness begins as a thought or idea, digestion isvantage point?
about stomaching the resultant emotions, andLearning to accept the fact that this tapestry exists
ownership of these states is experienced in themakes it easier to see, digest and dissolve. When we
lower, physical energy centers. With this sequenceconsciously and purposely call up the Program, we
and a lot of trust, the Program moves out withare more able to accept our weaknesses, and all
activity in the densest facet of our beings--exercisingweakness revolves around the Program.
the physical body.Do you accept your weaknesses? Do you take
And tapping on the delete button was precisely whataction when you get an epiphany? Wouldn't you
we did as we pushed our voices, our strength, ourrather do this consciously, by choice rather than by
emotional limits and for some, the edges of sanityapathy or accident?
and courage.I've always been more like a tree pruner than a root
My intention was to find and destroy its roots,digger, yet the Program is definitely the root, residing
thereby deleting my Program. The success I createdat the core of who I am. It's not something that just
here is the result of first identifying the Program andhappens to shift when the wind blows, nor is it
then finding the willingness to risk living without it.something that washes away with the ebbing tides.
Think about this for a moment...risk living without theWe planted it that deeply for a reason.
Program...hmmm.Imagine; private rooms with a view of the rising sun
All this coupled with a strong commitment to takeover the red rock mesas of Sedona. It was primarily
action and I've come away with a new sense ofa silent course, so our attention rarely ventured
ownership--feeling more anchored and present in myoutside our inner terrain except to look at the vistas
body; a stronger sense of rootedness and worth; aand dark night sky filled with stars and the gradually
taste of trust that everything I need is right herewaning moon. When the time came to break the
within me.silence, we played as though we'd known each other
Is the Program gone? Probably not completely, yet I'llforever.
know if I got the whole root when the next rainMaybe we just knew ourselves that much better.
comes. Am I perfect...absolutely not...there's a lot that