NAVIGATING · Web viewThe word kenosis comes from the Greek and means to empty. With the continued emphasis in Western culture for “faster” and the push for “more” at the

NAVIGATINGYOUR

LIFEPATHCarla Woody

SPONSORED BY

P.O. Box 10441 Prescott, AZ 86304 Tel. 928.778.1058 www.kenosis.net

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NAVIGATING YOUR LIFEPATHTABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview

Kenosis Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Course Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Carla Woody Biographical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Section I: Preparing for the Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Jack London Quote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Questions We Live By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8The Re-Membering Process Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Presuppositions to Support Your Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Our Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Tenets of Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Setting Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Excerpt – Portals to the Vision Serpent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20The Bright Hope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22The Cycle of Fulfillment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23The Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Understanding Your Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Journaling As An Ally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31It’s About Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Assignments . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Section II: Setting the Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section III: Entering the Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section IV: Transforming the Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section V: Uncovering the Jewels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section VI: Engaging Your Allies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section VII: Negotiating the Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section VIII: Bringing It All Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

KENOSIS LLC1

About the Organization: Carla Woody founded Kenosis LLC in 1999 to serve human

potential and hold the vision…”One tribe, one world.” Toward that end, she offers workshops,

retreats, private consultation and spiritual travel programs relevant to leadership and personal

development. The word kenosis comes from the Greek and means to empty. With the continued

emphasis in Western culture for “faster” and the push for “more” at the expense of quality in our

lives, Carla saw a need to offer people experiences to discern what is real and what matters in

today’s confusing world. Through a variety of services, Kenosis clientele have an opportunity to

drain themselves of limiting programming and step into full authenticity. Please visit our website

at www.kenosis.net.

What is unique about Kenosis: We are vitally committed to the transformative process. In

order to effect change most generatively, people need to be able access those hidden areas

where it occurs. Through such powerful means as NLP, energy healing and ritual, we

orchestrate experiences that allow participants to tap into their own inner wisdom where true

metamorphosis occurs. Services include:

Private mentoring: Carla Woody is available to people who want to address such issues

as: health challenges, self-esteem, loss, trauma, phobias, relationships, life direction

and spiritual emergence. Navigating Your Lifepath mentoring and private intensives

are options.

Group Retreats and Spiritual Travel Programs: We offer periodic retreats of a

transformational nature and spiritual travel programs that include working with

Indigenous peoples in sacred ceremonies and visiting sacred sites. Special groups

may be arranged and retreats may be tailored to specific clientele. Please see our

website for details.

Workshops and Classes: Range of subject matter includes: belief change, core

communicating, bridging transitions, Indigenous wisdom, whole health, creativity

strategies, NLP training, etc. We tailor according to the participants and offer

diagnostic and consulting services.

Publications: Kenosis Press publishes Carla’s books and recordings of her presentations

and other materials. We also offer the free monthly online newsletter Kenosis

Inspirations and The Lifepath Dialogues blog. Subscribe on the website. All publications

are of an inspirational and/or educational nature supporting human potential.

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http://www.kenosis.net/

COURSE OVERVIEW

Navigating Your Lifepath coursework is designed for those who are committed to moving

toward an authentic life and their own potential. The material and experiential learning are

carefully sequenced to take you to a place of real self-knowledge and gentle transition. The

more dedicated you are, the more you will accruein an on-going way. You will be given the

opportunity to make a clear assessment of your life, to move beyond present blockages and to

live in a way that is much more meaningful for you. Through this undertaking you will be offered

ways to:

Understand your personal values.

Define the life you want.

Make conscious decisions toward that intent.

Explore and transform life beliefs.

Enhance your present capabilities.

Create balance in your life.

Develop fuller relationships.

Use your mind and heart to leverage change.

Assignments: You will be given assignments in each section to embed change into your daily

life and to develop your own observational skills. Please make a commitment to complete these

tasks. Sections build upon each other. Advancement to the follow-on work will depend on

completion of the study and tasking from the previous session.

Environment: We are invested in creating a safe environment where those concerned can fully

open to exploring all aspects of themselves. As such, it is important to maintain sanctity and

confidentiality if involved in a Lifepath group or private work with Carla. What disclosure of a

personal, confidential nature takes place will remain within the safe haven provided. This level

of trust must be present for all to feel free to express themselves in a way that engenders

transformation. At the same time, discovery is fun! This is an informal setting where we can

light-heartedly encourage each other as we delve into some of the bigger questions of life!

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Make-up Sessions: If working privately with Carla, please make every effort to attend all

sessions as scheduled. If for some reason you are not able to keep the time scheduled, notify at

least 24 hours in advance.

Feedback: We value feedback. It’s the way we improve the quality of our offerings and meet

your personal and professional needs. Please give your input as something arises.

Follow-on Programs: The intent of this coursework is to allow you to build strong self-

knowledge and a solid foundation for positively impacting your life—and the lives of those

around you. This is a path of mastery and there are levels to your learning depending on where

you are at any given point. In the Lifepath program, we engage your conscious and unconscious

mind to create a form of stability that you can take further. Group retreats and spiritual travel

opportunities are natural follow-on undertakings. Some questers have also chosen to re-take

the coursework after a period of integration.

Community: Welcome! You are considered part of the Kenosis community, a heart-centered

family of choice committed to human potential and a better world. Please join us as you can

when we gather, e.g. for retreats or other events, and nurture these relationships. It will make

your own evolution easier, solidifies the work and also reinforces others on the path. By taking

part…you give back.

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CARLA WOODY

Carla Woody had a serious health crisis at 27 that led her to meditation, questions about living

mindfully and studying human potential. She continued a mainstream life working as a

logistician for government agencies, but felt as though something essential was missing. She

began volunteering as a conflict mediator for inner city neighborhoods. However, it wasn’t

enough to satisfy her desire for something more meaningful. In the early 1990s, she

encountered two catalysts that revolutionized her life. The first one was training in Neuro-

Linguistic Programming (NLP). Through NLP, she uncovered the clarity and courage she

needed to leave a “safe” eighteen-year career. Carla established herself as an organizational

development consultant and created a private NLP practice for whole health. The second shift

arrived in the person of respected Andean mystic Don Américo Yábar, following shortly on the

heels of her first NLP certification. Through a healing with Don Américo, Carla first found what it

was like to experience a true expanded state of consciousness. Twenty years of involvement in

Andean mysticism, as well as work with the Maya and Hopi and other spiritual traditions,

continues to enrich her awareness of non-ordinary realities that influence us.

Today, Carla is considered a conscious living teacher and spiritual guide in her own right

and leads retreats internationally. She founded Kenosis in 1999, with a base in Prescott,

Arizona, providing programs that guide people in transforming areas where they may have

challenges, such as life direction, relationship, spirituality and whole health. Her methods often

merge NLP with guided imagery, art, meditation and subtle energy work. She is the author of

the books Portals to the Vision Serpent, Standing Stark: The Willingness to Engage and Calling

Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness, the course Navigating Your Lifepath, and

recording Breath Meditations, along with numerous articles on integrative health, spirituality and

advocacy for Indigenous traditions. She is also an artist who captures the essence of the

people, ceremonies and sacred sites she visits through mixed media and oil on canvas.

Carla holds a B.A. in Communications from Wright State University and M.A. in Human

Relations from the University of Oklahoma. She is certified as an advanced practitioner of NLP

(special applications to health), hypnotherapist and conflict mediator. Aside from academic

degrees and certifications, she engages in ongoing spiritual inquiry.

Carla has lived and traveled widely in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Her study of world traditions and spiritual practices has taken her to various sites in North Africa,

India, Peru, Mexico, Indonesia and Central America. These influences color not only her writing

and artwork, but also her work with others.

© 2013 Carla Woody. All rights reserved. 5

PREPARING

FOR THE

JOURNEYSection One

Task: Aligning IntentMetaquestion: What do I want?Presupposition: What you focus on, you

become.


I would rather be ashes than dust!I would rather that my spark should burn out in abrilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot.

I would rather be a superb meteor,every atom of me in magnificent glow,than a sleepy and permanent planet.The proper function of man is to live,

not to exist.I shall not waste my daysin trying to prolong them.

I shall use my time.

Jack London

Originally published in Anchor Point: The Practical Journal of NLP (September 2001)Reprinted with permission.


QUESTIONS WE LIVE BY

By Carla Woody, M.A.

The edge of our reality depends on what we hold inside our minds as true and possible.

We tend to recycle our lives past, present, future all becoming one in the same continually

validating the filters through which we live. We continue to attract to us what we self-select

through rote unconscious processes until we don’t. When we don’t, it’s because something has

awakened us to a wider life. With that wake-up call, different metaquestions are projected into

the psyche from a place of higher wisdom. We begin to run those unconscious questions in our

minds instead to attract to us the answers that will fulfill them. In alignment with the new

metaquestions, a particular stream of metaprograms enact themselves to provide the thought

and behavior orientations that serve us to step into the forest beyond the familiar compound

where we used to live. As well, if we take on certain creativity strategies we better support

ourselves on the journey.

In my book Calling Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness, I documented

the path of what I call the Re-Membering Process. I overlaid a variety of world traditions,

transformational modalities and tied the process to examples of everyday people undertaking

the leap. The model I present in this article is drawn from my book, as well as additional

observation and research.

Mythologist Joseph Campbell named three phases to an unfolding: Departure, Initiation

and Return. From an intimate viewpoint of my own journey and my work with others, I’ve seen

that there are two other main developmental points to the path. While there is no prescription or

prescribed schedule, I’m aware of these stages: Sparking, Separation, Search, Initiation and

Re-Entry. Many of us are on this path, in different phases and timetables. We are being

propelled forward by the energetic momentum present with us in the world today demanding

transformation now. If we’re not involved and committed to the Re-Membering Process, then

we’re still anesthetized, betraying ourselves and deceiving others.

THE SPARKING


Sparking is what awakens us from sleep and an unconscious life. It usually happens

over a period of time, but can happen within an instant. It often occurs at mid-life, but if we’re

lucky or more conscious it happens much earlier. Even the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama,

who later became the Buddha or Enlightened One, was once asleep behind the castle walls. It

was only when he finally stepped outside the compound in which he lived that he began to see

the wider world. So, we all live within a container of some sort and are in a stupor to some

extent. We can’t escape it. It’s part of the human condition. The questions are: how deep is

the sleep? How big does the spark to awaken us have to be? What will jostle us out of the daily

shuffle? What will cause our heads, bent over so intently eying our shoes, to rise up?

There are some of us who unconsciously decide, without really knowing why, to look up

one day and really see the sky or a tree and the Sparking takes place. For others of us, it may

be a seminar we attend or a book someone gives us at just the right moment. Only a month

before, we wouldn’t have heard the message or heard it in a lesser way. Then there are some

who must be dynamited awake. These are the souls who have to experience a major crisis in

their lives. For them, it’s a significant illness, loss of a loved one or way of life that finally gets

their attention. The important point is that no matter how we receive our Sparking it happens as

it needs to for each of us. It’s at that point we begin to be more aware of how we have been

living our lives. In our semi-wakeful state, we slip ourselves these questions.

1) Where am I?

2) What am I feeling?

3) What am I lacking?

These are the unconscious mantras that run within our minds at this stage. A state of

confusion exists that seeks to reach out into the fog and grasp onto explanations. The task of

the Sparking is to wake up. We have an orientation to the present. Soon we may even become

hyper-aware of the state of our lives. At this point, we transition to the next phase in the

journey.


SEPARATION

The task of Separation is un-learning. Once we begin to wake up, if we are truly going to

continue on the journey, then leave-taking has to take place. It’s a prerequisite of the course.

We cannot travel a path toward authenticity maintaining a false life. The Separation phase is a

major sub-transition in the evolution of Re-Membering. Those who successfully carry it through

find within them the great internal resource of courage to hold firm against the forces internal

and external that struggle to re-establish homeostasis. It may be particularly dicey for

individuals who are externally motivated and used to dependence on others for validation of

their identity. What is required of Separation is a shift to internal motivation.

It’s at this point that we begin to look at our lives and notice what really fits for us and

what doesn’t. Having been metaphorically asleep for so long, it was very easy for things to

sneak in under the cover of night to nestle comfortably around and within us without our real

knowledge becoming a sort of prison containing our very self-expression. Through the

conditioning process we all received messages, verbally and non-verbally, regarding what was

“good” and “right” from our particular families of origin, schools and other societal institutions.

Needless to say, “good” and “right” varied greatly depending upon our environments. In order to

make sense of it all, the mind set up “look-outs” to filter out anything that didn’t conform to the

inherited paradigm. But during Separation the “look-outs” are somehow duped into guarding a

decoy instead and an opening is provided.

During the Separation phase, we wonder where we went in all the previous years and

what stranger is there instead. Operating in an away from metaprogram, the Critic becomes

resident and runs these metaquestions about the past with a slight consideration of the future to

move out of pain.

1) Who am I not?2) How did I abdicate?

3) How do I serve myself?

In fine detail, we examine our jobs, relationships, homes virtually everything in our

lives that matter to us. As we see how we haven’t been true to our own natures, discomfort and

disorientation increase until a shift occurs. That movement may generate drastic change such

as dissolving relationships, transferring career fields, or leaving a geographic location. There


doesn’t have to be a complete break with the pre-existing elements. However, discovery in this

phase will allow the loosening of old beliefs, which will in turn begin to alter attitudes, feelings

and behaviors to leverage possibilities to a new way of life. We are then brought to the next fork

in the path.

THE SEARCH

The quest of the Search is to widen choices. During the Search we are looking at other

perspectives and beliefs and trying them out. The Dreamer has been invited along as a guide

introducing metaprograms to explore options and move toward them.

1) Who am I?

2) What are the possibilities?

We will find ourselves investigating areas that are new and different immersed in the

present. The promise of a fuller life may seem endless. So, we undertake things such as

going back to school, inquiring into other careers, moving geographically, experimenting with

new relationships, trying out diverse spiritual traditions or religions; many things to bring in

additional data.

The Search can be as exhilarating as it can be scary. We may feel as though we’ve

jumped out into space with no safety net to catch us. This is the time to call on the great faith

held by the Innocent, the archetype who knows she will carry herself through to the other side

through guidance along the way. Otherwise, in fear we would find ourselves clawing at the

emptiness in attempts to head back to the compound. The dirty little secret no one told us

before we took the leap is that there is really no turning back. Even if we would choose to turn

our backs on the future, we’re still different than who we were before. The future is guaranteed.

It’s just how easy or difficult do we want to make it. So, we might as well press forward and

happily complete the road rally. In the meantime, our minds may expand and contract. But if

we pay attention, we will be directed by our intent to those things that fit for who we are at the

core. We will know when we have arrived to the herald of our true home not by the logic of the

mind, but by the response of the heart.

INITIATION


When the heart is warm, it will feed the mind and further direct intent. After having been

on the Search, the traveler comes to rest in the comfort of self-knowledge. The undertaking of

Initiation is assimilation. The Realist is introduced and experiences the present, to move toward

the future with options with procedures and queries:

1) What are my gifts?

2) Where am I going?

3) What do I need?

While many formal ceremonies exist the world over, the real Initiation starts and ends

inside where the self is finally proclaimed as whole and the wearing of masks no longer

necessary. In this stage we know and appreciate the old life for what it was. We have made

the decision to take the learning and discard the rest. We also intuitively know that there is a

new life on the horizon, a deeper one that stands apart from the one that passed before.

Having been on the trail for so long, we now stand apart from those who have not yet

awakened. We also know we have something to teach even if only by example. This is the

cusp of a real beginning and the fog has nearly lifted. We can nearly see. We are readying

ourselves for the journey back into the world. After a pause and full integration of who we now

are and what gifts we have to share, we will re-enter those places from whence we came

originally.

RE-ENTRY

The mission of Re-entry is immersion. Having tilled the ground with early questions of

authenticity in relationship, spirituality, healing, lifework and ecology and found some deeper

realities, we come back to a world often not even yet aware of any need for evolution. But by

holding the questions and the empty space where answers could exist, we will find ways to Re-

enter and fill that void. The Dreamer, Realist and Critic collaborate, still internally motivated but

include some external reference; and consider the future for options and procedures.

1) How do I return?


2) What gifts do I share?

3) What is the structure?

4) How do I implement?

This is the final tasking of Re-Membering, which furthers our own evolution as much or

more than it may impact the environments in which we exist. If we don’t come back, then we

haven’t completed the journey and we would remain floating somewhere without any real

grounding. This is the phase of our own transformation that can be equally as major a sub-

transition as Separation was. It’s not easy to enter places where what we have to give isn’t

always all that welcome. It can be frustrating and many of us will just want to give up and close

ourselves off. But we can drop hints where we may. We can watch with our inner eyes for those

who are ready for the Sparking, even if they don’t consciously realize it. These are the people

we can touch, even as we go deeper into our own transformation. These are the ones who will

receive the gifts, even if we have to carefully parcel them out over time.

Patience and intent are indeed the by-words of Re-Entry that allow us to ask our own

answers. Belief in ourselves and the possibilities of human potential cleave the way for what is

to come. Questers first had to adhere to the strong possibility that the path was so. Then over

time, the attractor of that energy created the magnet for events to align themselves to make the

reality.

THE PRIVILEGE OF OUR TIMES

Cultural Creatives, a name given to present-day change agents by Paul Ray, may be

paving a new world pathway. But evolution is an ancient road. As far as the common thread of

the human condition, we are very similar to people living in times past. Yet we are fortunate to

be born in this age when so many are waking up.

Even as we travel through the cycle of Re-Membering, the circle never ends. We will re-

enter the world and integrate our gifts. Over time, we will then again become anesthetized

while we rest on our laurels. But sooner or later, we will once again arouse ourselves to invite in

an even vaster existence. The larger the entity the slower is evolution. But Gaia is awakening

and will soon be in the Separation phase. Being residents within Her domicile, we are privileged

to further Her Re-Membrance as we do our own. Any of us cannot help but act on each other


because there is no division. There are only macro and micro interconnecting systems of

existence. One touch here will be a caress to a foundling across the globe will be a wind on

another planet in another galaxy.

REFERENCES:

Calling Our Spirits Home: Gateways to Full Consciousness by Carla Woody. Kenosis Press, Prescott, AZ, 2000.

The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1949.

Strategies of Genius: Volume I by Robert B. Dilts. Meta Publications, Capitola, CA, 1994.

Words That Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence by Shelle Rose Charvet. Kendall/Hunt Publishing, Dubuque, IA, copyright date omitted.


THE RE-MEMBERING PROCESS

SPARKING SEPARATION

Time: Present Strategy: CriticMetaquestions: Time: Past, Future Where am I? Metaprogram: Away from What am I feeling? Internal What am I lacking? Metaquestions: Who am I not? How did I abdicate? How do I serve myself?

Major sub-transition point Major sub-transition point

RE-ENTRY SEARCH

Strategy: Dreamer, Realist, Critic Strategy: DreamerTime: Present, Future, Past Time: FutureMetaprogram: Toward with Away From Metaprogram: Toward

Options with Procedure OptionsInternal with some External Internal

Metaquestions: Metaquestions: How do I return? Who am I? What gifts do I share? What are the possibilities? What is the structure? How do I implement?

INITIATION

Strategy: RealistTime: Present, FutureMetaprogram: Toward

Options with ProcedureInternal with some External

Metaquestions: What are my gifts? Where am I going? What do I need?


PRESUPPOSITIONS THAT SUPPORT YOUR JOURNEY

The world is more than the ordinary reality we have been presented.

We exist in systems that integrally affect each other.

We are all students of Life. What you choose to do with your lessons is up to you.

The map is not the territory.

You always have choice.

You are a gift.

What you focus on, you become.

The real action is in non-action.

The more flexibility you allow, the more expanded you become.

Behind every resourceful behavior resides intent.

Behind every non-resourceful behavior is a positive intention.

Everyone does the best they can given whatthey hold as true in that moment.

You are not your behaviors.

The meaning of a communication is the response it elicits.

There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.


OUR WORK

Is in un-learning and Re-Membering.

Integrating body/mind/spirit.

Marrying our feminine and masculine sides.

Cultivating wisdom.

Bringing non-ordinary reality into ordinary reality.

Living through the Core Self.


TENETS OF INTENT

Intent is.

Expectancy is the state of being following intent.

Impeccability is the result delivered by intent.

Intention tries.

Expectation follows intention.

A mis-take and defense come from intention.

Behind a mis-taken thought or action is a positive intention.

Life’s purpose is to live through the Core Self, therefore aligning with intent.

In the core of positive intention is intent awaiting discovery.

Intention clouds intent.

Part of intent is moving through intention. This is the underpinning of the spiritual path.

Intent is always pure.

What may live around intent can be convoluted until alignment occurs.

It is possible to be aligned in some areas of life and not others.

A particular theme of misalignment is your learning meant to be undertaken in this lifetime.

Areas of alignment are your joys that are meant to be exposed to greatest light.


SETTING INTENT

One of the major teachings that I’ve gleaned from my work with Don Américo Yábar and

Andean mysticism has to do with intent. This concept didn’t originate in the Andes necessarily

but is also present in other spiritual traditions. You will find it emphasized particularly in books

by Carlos Castenada.

Some people call it intention. To me, intent more clearly resonates, even in the crisp

sound of the word, for the description of this concise state of being. For teaching purposes, I

use the term intention to describe what can block intent through some limiting belief.

Intent is. Intention tries.

At the start of every journey, I urge people to set their intent. The “journey” could be a

retreat, a spiritual travel undertaking, beginning a transition — this coursework. Just as I did for

a number of years, folks wrestle with the meaning.

We usually attempt to comprehend it with our minds when it comes from another place

entirely – the Core Self. The mind will never understand intent completely, but can be directed

by it so that the precise thoughts, words and actions are generated that align to it. An authentic

life can be led as a result, where nothing is held back.

Subtle energy being the basis, it’s possible to discern what’s present at any given

moment if you tune into your own body or sense the environment around you. Intent has a light,

pure quality. Intention has degrees of heaviness.

No matter what, intent always resides at the core. If intention is present, it’s an

encrustation surrounding intent. This is where release and alignment processes for the mind,

physical and energy bodies can work wonders.

With continued commitment from our hearts we don’t have to register intent with our

minds. It will naturally provide the fuel that propels across the threshold to freedom — in ways

well beyond the imagination.

This is our work and our play.


EXCERPT

Portals to the Vision Serpent

Her loom graced a nook in their living room just as her garden brightened a corner of

their yard during the years she was there. Things grew from her hands just as they did from her

little plot of land.

Mama Luna spent about as much of her free time at the loom as she did in the garden.

While she occasionally gave a belt to Preston or a colorful shawl to his mother, usually she

wove lengths of cloth and put them away in a drawer in her room.

Once when she was busy at her handiwork, Preston had asked her, “Why do you weave

so much, Mama? You don’t do anything with the things you make.”

“Oh Solocito!” she laughed and stroked his head. Then holding one end of the dangling

threads waiting to be entwined, she’d fingered them thoughtfully. “These strings are like things

we do. I weave the threads and I see how a life is made. I see my own life. Everyone has these

threads. Mostly they don’t think about it!”

She motioned him to stand closer. “Look how if I would bring this color in here and wrap

it around there, it changes the cloth. It’s not the same anymore. It could be good or bad. The

cloth shows me how things will be.”

***

Excerpt from Portals to the Vision Serpent by Carla Woody (novel in process).


THE BRIGHT HOPE

With the close of each year, our minds create a demarcation and a heralding. Depending

upon our circumstances, we look back with gratitude, bid the past farewell with relief, or perhaps

a mixture of both. Then we cast the bright hope of the coming year. Through this imaginary

marker called time, we formulate yet another beginning toward potential.

It would be an unusual person if the tradition of New Year’s resolutions didn’t at least flit

across the brain waves. And why not take that opportunity for reflection of what has been and

what could be? Otherwise, we’re just destined for the status quo when, at some level, we all

truly hold out for evolution. The pull of what’s familiar is strong. But it’s only through harnessing

the courage to look at the quality of decisions we’ve made that we can grow into the future.

Regret belongs to the past. Leave it there. Otherwise, the event that brought it overlaps

into all time. Regret is like a knapsack we carry on our shoulders full of worry stones. We take

out the stones to release our heavy feelings into them. But everything just goes back into the

knapsack and onto our backs. We continue to weigh ourselves down and eventually become

paralyzed, which is all that regret can do.

However, we could look into the center of regret and find the jewel. The jewel is the

learning, and mindful decisions and actions that come from it. Now that we can easily carry

along! We can add the jewel to the repository, with all the others gleaned from the past that

have added fullness to our lives. Then we can enlarge upon them by stepping into the bright

hope with the treasury intact. That’s the way possibility evolves into a new reality. And it doesn’t

need an imaginary demarcation. It happens in every moment.


READINESS

The point of readiness is exactly that. It’s a pinpoint in time, a moment of decision when

we are poised at the threshold and intent’s power can move us to the farther path from where

we’ve been.

Hopefully, readiness endures. Some people dance back and forth, or even all around it.

Others try to ignore it, but it’s hard not to notice a strong wind at your back urging you to go

somewhere, to fly over the landscape.

Still others go willingly, pausing for a moment and then stepping deftly through the

doorway. But they, too, had to come to that marker called readiness, even if more subtly, the

love of the journey being built into their personality.

This is the path called evolution. We’re all on it. Some of us rest on the plateau longer

than others. Most of us take a series of leaps in our lifetime. The question here is to consider:

how do we know when it’s time to go? To jump? To move through? To evolve?

The movement entertained or undertaken may not even be visible to those around us.

Yet there is a part of us that is restless, that’s weary of standing still—or worse, running

in place. It’s this part that asks us to determine what needs to be in place in order for us to come

to readiness. Is there something to be settled? Or maybe a little used quality to be called into

service? Perhaps it’s opening to something not yet experienced instead of settling for what has

been.

I invite you to reflect on your own readiness and the questions here. Add more of your

own. Then allow your unsung songs to emerge. Announce yourself.

Notes:


THE CYCLE OF FULFILLMENT

The foundation of Navigating Your Lifepath is built upon the principle that you are a co-

creator of your own experience in the world. Whatever you hold in your mind will come back to

you. In this way, all of us collaborate with each other to provide for an evolution for certain

realities. You will automatically find a match for your map of the world by drawing to you people

and situations that agree with it.

Therefore, you can see how it becomes very important to hold inside what is of the

highest nature through setting intent. This way you are setting a direction that is of the utmost

benefit to you. Through consciously setting intent you cleave the way for that intent to return to

you. Develop expectancy, a kind of faith, that the universal law of attraction will be fulfilled. You

can then hold yourself in a state of kenosis, or emptiness, for guaranteed delivery. Be alert and

institute mindfulness as you go about your everyday life. You then become even more of an

attractor for intent to enrich your life; and the cycle of satisfaction will continue in ways you

perhaps previously hadn’t thought available to you.

INTENT ATTRACTION EXPECTANCY

MINDFULNESS KENOSIS

Notes:


THE THRESHOLDWhere are you on the evolutionary path called the Re-Membering Process?

What is the nature of Your Quest?

What is the central theme?

What were your hopes and dreams from childhood?

What got put aside or supplanted? What do you still carry within you?

Are your carrying any regrets with you?

What levels of learning have you gone through up to this point? What are the jewels?

What is your intent?

What metaquestion will inform your journey?


UNDERSTANDING YOUR VALUESWe are so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget that the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it's all about.

- Joseph Campbell

Values are the qualities with which you resonate at a core level. They are those

elements present in a particular context that let you know what it is good and right for you. If you

are not meeting these deep needs, then you will feel an underlying discomfort and even great

pain in the areas of your life where there is a mismatch. Incongruence causes stress. If the

incongruence has been resident for some time, it will come out in various ways in your daily life

that are usually detrimental regarding behaviors, health, relationships, and so on. As you have a

match in the various components of your life, you will experience a rich satisfaction that will

draw to you more of the same.

Because we sometimes allow ourselves to be distracted or act through fear instead of

love, most of us have areas where we are not yet being true to ourselves. That’s the nature of

our individual journeys. When you realize any incongruence, experience it as a gift. Therein lay

opportunities for growth. Awareness is the first step. As well, when you discover areas of

congruence, congratulate yourself. This is one of the ways in which you have thus far sustained

yourself. Through modeling your abilities to be true to yourself in those contexts you can

support further development in all settings.

Below you will find listed five lifestyle components. The ambiguous nature of their titles is

intended. They will mean different things to different people. In order to know yourself better and

gain the greatest relevance during the next phase of discovery, define what these terms mean

to you in your life.

Lifestyle components:

Your Source:

Your Instrument:


Your Allies:

Your Prosperity:

Your Place:

Lifestyle Components According to Personal Importance: Evaluate the order of importance in your own life, (1) least to (5) most. There is no correct sequence. Just be sure to be honest with yourself.

Lifestyle Component Criteria:

1. In relation to each lifestyle component, ask yourself this question: “What do you want

in your (lifestyle component)?” For example, What do you want in your Allies? What do you

want in your Instrument? Ask yourself this question until nothing else comes to mind. Record

each criterion on separate stick-it notes.

2. Sort as to importance asking yourself, “If I had to choose between and

, which is more important?” Arrange stick-it notes in a hierarchy according to the

answers you give. Do this with all criteria for each lifestyle component.

3. Record final answers below with criteria noted in ascending order of importance.

Life Component #1


Life Component #2

Life Component #3

Life Component #4

Life Component #5

WEIGHING IN

Ask these three questions of each of your criterion in a lifestyle component:


1. In what ways are you already experiencing (criterion) in your (lifestyle component)?

For example, In what ways are you already experiencing reciprocity in your Prosperity?

2. What do you want more of in the way of (criterion in lifestyle component)?

3. What do you want to fall away from your life in this area in relation to (criterion in

lifestyle component)? Another way of asking this question would be: What is stopping you from

fully having (criterion in lifestyle component)?

Keep your answers of each criteria grouped with that particular lifestyle component.

4. Record your present level of satisfaction with each criterion of lifestyle component on

a scale of 1 (least satisfied) – 10 (most satisfied).

Lifestyle Component #1 In what ways, are you already experiencing ?

Lifestyle component #1 What do you want more of in relation to ?

Lifestyle Component #1 What do you want to fall away from your life in relation to ?

Or, what stops you from having ?


Rate your present level of satisfaction for each lifestyle component criteria.

Continue on additional sheets of paper for each lifestyle component.


COMMITMENT

Alignment and honor are inherent in commitment. It means you are honoring yourself, as

well as others by adhering to your own inner truth. It builds the foundation that causes you to be

mindful of your thoughts and actions so that they mesh with your intent. Making a vow toward

your own development brings sound decision-making practices to the forefront—and that leads

toward mastery. Sooner or later, you will reach a plateau in your growth before the next leap

forward. That’s the nature of the journey. Faith in yourself and the workings of reciprocity must

be present. Pay heed. You are already making choices to re-member and this is the path of the

master.

My level of commitment to having my desired lifestyle is 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

I am willing to begin moving in that direction by (date).

One new thing I can begin to do this upcoming week is:

Other agreements I make with myself are:

My signature Date


JOURNALING AS AN ALLY

Whether you recognize it yet or not, you are on a journey. If you have truly engaged

yourself to this work, there is no going back to the way your life was before you began your

pilgrimage. You have begun the Re-Membering Process. You have already received the

Sparking to wake up. You have recognized the longing within your Self—for something more—

and have had the courage to step onto the path toward fulfilling your own potential. In your

discovery, you will find your direction and bring your gifts home.

Raise your level of awareness regarding your quest to that of the mythological hero and

you will resonate somewhere deep within to the Mystery that guides you toward your authentic

Self and fuller living. Those who undertake the journey are always provided with allies to assist

them in their process. You need only recognize them. Journaling will be an ally to you— if you

really use it.

You have come to the point now where things are beginning to take shape. Somehow,

life is starting to seem somewhat different for you, perhaps full of deeper meaning and added

insights. Use your journal to free whatever is inside. You may be surprised by what emerges.

Here are some areas to journal to document your added awareness and increased

understanding. You will thereby find inspiration to propel you forward.

Overall differences...Real transformation takes place at an unconscious level. When

change takes place at that level, it lasts. There’s nothing you have to remind yourself to do or

say, it just becomes a part of who you are. Sometimes it’s a challenge to recognize the change

going on inside because it seems so natural. More often than not, these changes take place

over time in a subtle way. In your journal, note what you find different in your life. You can use

the differences as markers of your progress. They tell you where you’ve been and where you

have yet to go.

Thoughts and feelings...You will discover yourself thinking new thoughts and feeling

new feelings. You will likely open to expanded emotions, sharper mental clarity and increased

physical health. You will find yourself responding differently—in positive ways—to old hooks

that caused stress and blocked your progress. Become your own Witness. Observe these

transformations and acknowledge your Self. It could also happen that unfamiliar “negative”


thoughts and feelings may arise where they never seemed to play before. Should this happen,

it points to what was always resident, but lodged at a more unconscious level. There are levels

of learning. When you begin to heal areas that are most apparent to you, others will then have

an opportunity to rise to the surface to be recognized and transformed.

Resistance...You will be asked to expand and try out new thought patterns and

behaviors. Or, you may be asked to do ordinary things by the people in your life. Should you

find that feelings of resistance emerge, journal about them. Consider your exploration as an

encounter with your dragons. Find out for yourself if the opposition you experience is due to an

old pattern. Or is it an authentic matter of discernment? Are you recognizing that something no

longer fits for you, even if it perhaps felt right only a few weeks or months before? If this is the

case, when you solidly say “No!” it becomes a heroic act.

Creativity... As you empty what no longer belongs within and around you, it will leave a

void. New ideas and possibilities will crowd your mind as you leave an opening for them to

emerge. Document and explore them. As you continue on your Search, you will find which ones

fit for who you truly are. You can then begin to mindfully anchor them into place as you deem

appropriate.

Dreams ... Recognize that, by virtue of undertaking this coursework, you are giving a

profound signal to your higher consciousness. During times of transition such as this, you will

dream in ways you may not under ordinary circumstances. You will tap into archetypal images

and stories that have been present since the beginning of humankind. These archetypes are

common to all, but apparent to few. They speak to the unfolding of higher awareness and the

trials encountered in order to travel back to the place where we all began. You may also find

yourself working through some of your problems during your sleeping hours. It will be

particularly important to record your dreams during this time. I encourage you to take the

content of your dreams not so much literally as metaphorically. Look for the symbolism present

and write about what it means to you personally.

Synchronicities ... You will begin to notice coincidences happening more frequently in

your life. These aren’t coincidences at all, but a phenomenon called synchronicity signaling your

commitment to your own potential. Whatever you hold in your mind, will rush back to greet you.

Some of these ‘seeming coincidences’ that you will experience may be of little consequence


and seem as though the Universe is having a bit of fun with you. But most of them will be

opportunities presented to you to further your own growth and align to your true destiny. This is

a profound form of guidance being given to you. You need only be open to the possibility that

this kind of assistance is available. Then, be alert. When it comes your way, evaluate how the

synchronicity may meet your needs and where it may take you if you act on it. Keep track of

these occurrences, your thoughts about them and the results as you engage the chance. You

will usually note a common theme that will give you further insight to open even wider-reaching

occurrences.


IT’S ABOUT FISHBy Patrick Heltman

It's about fish.

The old man had lived his life in so many ways; the experiences of his lifetime, both

good and bad, had left him where and what he was today.

When he was asked what he thought of himself, his situation, the life fate had left him,

he replied, "I sell fish."

He continued, "I had to find love for and within myself in order that love might find me.

That road is long and filled with chaos and adventure. The hardest part is seeing the adventure

in chaos and ignoring how long the road is."

Not to be put off, when he was asked again to offer something of himself, he replied,"I

don't know just yet what it all means, what I'm all about or why I am here. Perhaps you can ask

me again tomorrow. But, for right now I sell fish and that's ok."

©2001 Patrick Heltman. Used with permission.


ASSIGNMENTSSection One

1. Finish the Weighing In exercise.

2. Fill in the Commitment form. Fulfill your agreement with yourself in the one thing you can

begin to do this coming week.

3. Read all material in Section One of this manual and begin journaling this week.

4. Read:

a. Calling Our Spirits Home – Chapter 2 “Awakening to Consciousness.”

b. Standing Stark – Preface and Chapter 1 “Origins.”

5. Form a metaquestion for yourself for your journey in this coursework. Use it in meditation and

recall it to mind frequently.


NAVIGATING · Web viewThe word kenosis comes from the Greek and means to empty. With the continued emphasis in Western culture for “faster” and the push for “more” at the

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