 I remember so clearly the moment I got it – when I finally began to listen to the messages from my soul.
When I woke up that morning, I did not feel any different than I normally do. I shuffled out of the bedroom, stumbled into the bathroom, and squinted at my dishevelled appearance in the mirror. Yet as I gazed through my blurry eyes at my image in the mirror and splashed water on my face, fragments of the previous night’s dream floated before my eyes. Something about this particular dream struck a chord buried deep inside me. Suddenly it was as if an immense dam broke within me, and I felt something inside shout, ‘Enough!’
It was just one word, but it felt like a thunderbolt rolling through me. I started to sob. I did not really know why I was crying, but I knew that something was wrong with my life. My professional and family lives were good, but sometimes, when I was alone, a quiet desperation would creep over me. I felt like something was missing from my life. It was as if I were waiting for ‘happily ever after’ to begin and my real life to start. And I had been waiting for a very long time.
Tomorrow never comes
When I was in high school, I thought that when I finally moved away from the violence and sexual abuse at home, my ‘happily-ever-after life’ would begin. But when I moved out, nothing seemed to really change. Then I was sure that my perfect life would finally start after I got out of college ... when that did not work, I decided that happiness, security, and contentment would start when I got married. As you can guess, that did not happen either.
There was always some future goal that I had to fulfil before my real life began, such as owning a home, having a baby, writing a book, or travelling. All the time, I kept waiting for ‘happily ever after,’ but there was always some obstacle in the way or something I had to accomplish first. I thought that when I was done with my ‘to do’ list, then I could relax and do what I wanted, but somehow I never did. Consequently, I was never really content, and I always postponed my heart’s desire.
Time to stop waiting
But on the morning when I heard ‘Enough!’ I got a message straight from my soul. I knew it was time to stop waiting and awaken to the fact that I was living my real life. I needed to realize that life is never perfect and ‘happily ever after’ isn’t something that happens in the future – it is an inner state of being that must begin inside me.
My soul spoke clearly to me that morning. It was time to slow down the frantic pace of my life and begin to listen to it. It was time to stop living my life in accordance with the expectations of others and giving to everyone else without giving to myself. It was time to love, accept, and cherish myself, and take a deep breath and know that the Creator was by my side.
Happiness is the way
Out of the realizations that were initiated that morning came Soul Coaching, a programme that can help you listen to the heartfelt messages of your soul. If you are reading this, then perhaps the time is right to begin your journey into the realm of your soul.
There is no better time to start than right now, because if not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges, but you do not need to wait for everything to be perfect. You need only believe that you are on the right path, and you are on the right path – from a spiritual perspective, we all are. In fact, we always have been, even when we did not know it.
I believe that every experience that we have had, whether we judge it as bad or good, has been a vital part of our spiritual path. Every aspect of life is important and valuable. Every experience is essential for our growth as a spiritual being. The more I realize this, the more I understand that there is no ‘way’ to happiness – happiness is the way. It is a journey, not a destination. However, there are often blockages to knowing this. The 28-day programme I describe in Soul Coaching will help you clear them.
When you stop waiting until you lose ten pounds, you finish your degree, you find a new job, you get married or divorced, the kids leave home, you win the lottery, you retire, or you achieve self-confidence and self-esteem, then you can finally start to live a life that is truly fulfilling and authentic.
If you feel that you have to completely heal yourself before you can live your authentic life, you will never reach your dreams. However, if you accept yourself and know that within you is a place that is sacred, loving, and whole, then slowly your darkness will be replaced with light - because there is nothing that cannot be redeemed when it is washed with the sanctity of love and acceptance.
When you initiate your grand adventure into the realm of the soul and begin to clear the inner debris from the deepest place within you, slowly but surely, stress and struggle begin to disappear – your life was not meant to be a struggle. Softly and gently, you will find that love, inner peace, and joy begin to radiate from you out to others and the universe.
This is the essence of Soul Coaching.
From Soul Coaching, copyright 2003 by Denise Linn, published in the UK by Rider.
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