I think I’ve mentioned Carrie Triffet before here. Or maybe not? Either way, she’s a badass. If you’re at all interested in the idea of Oneness and what that might look like as a living, breathing spiritual practice today (living on earth in these seemingly separate bodies), then she’s your guide. Start with her first book, Long Time No See. After that, read her second book, The Enlightenment Project. (And after that, read Gary Renard’s books, for what it’s worth. And then it’s time for the beast, A Course In Miracles). This is very powerful stuff. And specific and practical. And she’s hilarious. Hallelujah!
I finished The Enlightenment Project not too long ago, and instead of an Afterword (a Foreword, but at the end for those not in the know), there’s an Afterchat. It’s a conversation between Carrie and her friend Nouk Sanchez, a long time Course teacher (which is a Oneness teaching). In this Afterchat, each mentions how at some painful point in the past, she made a very firm decision that she would no longer need painful lessons to grow spiritually. As best she could, she would choose to learn her lessons when times were good, before the stuff hit the fan.
Many humans, perhaps most, have noticed that we tend to grow the most from the worst things that happen to us. When we do it in this way, and it’s not really a conscious thing I don’t think, life ends up having these awful periods from which we grow. These women got conscious about it and basically declared, “I’m sick of this roller coaster. My intention now is to learn all the time and have my eyes and ears open all the time so that these catastrophes are no longer necessary.” They used the term “gently joyous lessons.” I like that, and I’ve made the same intention in my own life. If there’s still more roller coaster, that’s fine, and I know what to do when that happens. But my intention is to learn and grow as much as I can 24/7 so it doesn’t take something huge to get my attention. There’s nothing wrong with that way; it’s just more painful. Anyway, I thought I’d share with you the idea of “gently joyous lessons.”
Aside from that, I heartily recommend Carrie’s two books. She’s just so funny, for one thing. A breath of fresh air. Long Time No See describes her spiritual journey, and it gets to Oneness at about the halfway point. She was peeled open by the same book that I was back in late 2006, Disappearance of the Universe by Gary Renard. It’s basically something that makes A Course In Miracles much more understandable. Pretty wild stuff. Some have called the Course the can and Disappearance the can opener. And Carrie’s books are right there too. Such specific, practical exercises for our conflicts, especially with other people. That’s where the real work is done.
Well, that’s all for now. And yes, I know that I told you I’d write a general post about the enneagram, and I will. Sometime. I’m so busy now, and it’s an awesome busy. It’s really been flowing something fierce. In fact, I just submitted my application for licensure (LCSW) a few minutes ago. That means the two-year post-Masters period of working at someone’s counseling practice is almost done and I’ll be able to rent a little office of my own. Woo-hoo! My boss, Karen Adams, LCSW, has been WONDERFUL! I’ve been very lucky there. I’ll have to take the big ass licensure exam and some online CE classes in the next few weeks. And I’m redesigning my counseling website, www.counselingpensacola.com, and making little videos and doing other marketing activities that I wish I’d done a while ago. That’s cool, though.
Speaking of videos, I just learned how to make a decent one this past weekend. My guitar player is a pro video guy, and he felt sorry for me after seeing my first effort. Here’s the second attempt, not perfect but we’re definitely in the game now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtbiKL0YPC8. (Yes, smile more and talk slowly. I will next time.)
So life is busy but good. And I don’t always say it, but it’s such an honor to be able to share this journey with you, both on this blog and on my next one, A Deep Mind, whenever that comes to being. End of the year? Can’t rush that one. Anyway, all the best to you wherever this finds you, and as always, let me know if I can help!