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The Journey Toward Integrity
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| Peter and Anne Selby Associates |
Human beings learn by making mistakes—a baby learns to walk by falling down and getting back up; adolescents figure out how life works through trial and error. Because everyone makes mistakes, it helps to walk one’s talk compassionately.
The process of learning through mistakes is time-tested, with many obstacles along the way. First and foremost is the fact that the mistakes we make can be habit-forming. We cross the line and then feel too bad to admit we made a mistake. Because we don’t address the original problem, we start to identify ourselves with the problematic behavior, which then becomes perpetuated.
As an example, someone lies, then they hide it, then they cover their tracks with a web of lies. Unfortunately, they eventually begin to think of themselves as a liar and lose track of their original identity. The habit is difficult to reverse because one begins to lie to oneself too, making the problem someone else’s fault because dealing with the truth has become too complex and destructive to one’s ego.
Name any human foible, and you will see the same tendency, the same pattern of dealing with it. To make matters worse, everyone has experienced shame, foisted perhaps by one’s parents, teachers, and authority figures in the name of encouraging “doing the right thing”—ironically, shame can back a person into a corner of denial.
But once the problem is fully out in the open, the opportunity exists to make matters right, to forgive oneself and to be forgiven, to grow and become strong in the area of life where there once was weakness or destructive behaviors.
Let’s pause a moment and consider the background context of what each of us is up against. We are creatures of habit, and that can work for us or against us, depending on the behaviors we are repeating.
As a clairvoyant healer, I see factors (parasitic influences called entities) in the human energy field which complicate our learning process, favoring and feeding on the pain and drama of problematic human existence. I am joined in my observations by mystics and shamans over the ages who have witnessed the same phenomena, observing that non-corporal entities promote and feed on negative behaviors and negativity in the human mind.
In his last book, The Active Side of Infinity, Carlos Castaneda deals extensively with the subject of the challenge humans face from astral entities which he calls fliers or predators. At one point, he says to Don Juan, “Predators are the way the Universe tests us.”
The ancients also believed in entities; reference to them can be found in almost every religion and in diverse cultures. According to one authority on the ancient Gnostic manuscripts found at Nag Hammadi in Egypt, fully 20% of the writings are concerned with non-corporal, otherworldly entities called “Archons,” explaining that they oppose human evolution and awareness and promote oppression and suffering on Earth through negatively influencing the human mind.
In the New Testament book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to resist the “wiles of the devil,” stating, “Our contest is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of spiritual darkness in high places.” Negative spirits are also referred to in the Jewish Bible. Hinduism is replete with references to demons and negative entities, as is true in a host of other religious traditions.
Based on our observations, entities exploit human weakness and tempt people to trespass on their own values. Thus they complicate our inconsistencies and lack of clarity and cause us to miss the mark and not walk our talk.
As humans, we often don’t do what we say but do what we want. Entities are attracted to and promote the lack of self-awareness of our inconsistencies. Once we become conscious of our wrongdoings, they feed on the associated bad feelings. Guilt is definitely on their menu and may even be the pièce de resistance. A lack of forgiveness for yourself or others who have injured or betrayed you is equally delectable.
To avoid being a menu item at the astral snack bar, one must choose to see oneself honestly and objectively. Even victimization offers an opportunity to find one’s own shadow. Walking your talk involves owning and healing your shadows. Most of us have learned about this the hard way. Honest self-evaluation and turning to Source for healing and renewal can be the coup de grâce for many well-worn negative destructive behaviors and the entities they attract.
Entities function like amplifiers, helping us to see our shadows. Rather than fearsome opponents, I like to think of the challenges they bring as helpful reminders that get our attention through difficult experiences.
Walking your talk involves a conscious connection to your values and can be helped along when you have friends and colleagues who know you well enough and feel close enough to be direct and honest with you concerning areas where there is misalignment with your own values.
Anne and I work with each other regularly using the same method we practice with our clients. (Before, when conflicts arose, we would duke it out.) This has promoted closeness and deep intimacy; we waste very little energy on friction these days. We actively, consciously, and positively process everything that creates potential conflict. This practice has accelerated our personal growth tremendously. Declaring “Divine Order” and trusting in it promotes detachment from trying to force desired outcomes and changes in the other person. Repeating in our minds the phrase “Love of God, Love of God”—instead of allowing negative and fearful thoughts to repeat themselves—changes the energy and promotes a more positive outcome. This vibration stymies the entities and magnetizes spiritual help.
Feedback is an essential part of learning. If you want to accelerate the development of mastery in your life, take life experiences as feedback and be willing to see yourself through the eyes of those around you. See negative patterns for what they are: dysfunctional and inviting correction. Instead of feeding entities through resisting change and feeling guilty, quickly own up to your shortcomings and love yourself into change. Relax—life itself will naturally help you awaken your essence and live free from fear and guilt. In the end, it is not about perfection but about love and love of life and everything it has to teach us. After all, we are all students, and learning is the name of the game on the path to mastery.
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Center for Empowered Leadership ®
Email: info@cfel.org
Phone: 1.609.259.7911