Lesson 2 – Shadow Self – Self Sabotage

“The Shadow Self is all about looking the parts of you that are creating sabotage and holding you back.” It’s plain and simple that we are human beings. There are so many things in our lives that have happened and we have buried so deep down in that part of our mind that we don’t want to surface ever again. But a part of us is always going to remember those memories and we can’t suppress them forever. The best thing you can do is bring them up, forgive them, the other person, the situation and yourself, and let it go. Stop letting it hold you back anymore. Until you learn to forgive and move past these emotions and feelings, you will always be held back from achieving your highest potential.

The very first time I read Twelve Lessons, so much stuff came up to the surface. I was a miserable wreck, because these emotions that you have suppressed for years, well they make you emotional. And I had suppressed anything that made upset, hurt, unworthy, all those emotions that you don’t want to feel, mainly because I didn’t like those memories or how they made me feel. Some of them came to the surface to be forgiven and released for good. But I had to feel these feelings then in order to get past them. This lesson, in and of itself, was a very big one for me personally. And I’m sure it will be a big one for anyone who has had programming from their parents growing up about issues they have.

While I was growing up, I was the oldest of 4 children. I was always blamed by both of my parents for something going wrong or missing, when I’d never even touched the missing item or I wasn’t even around what happened that made something go wrong.  And to this day, I’m still compared to my younger siblings by my parents. They are more successful than I am, they know how to manage their money, they, they, they. I have to listen to this spiel at least once a week because in my parents’ eyes, I’m unsuccessful, taking up space in their house and eating their food. But I also have 2 college degrees in a subject that I absolutely love. I have an amazing business as a lightworker helping others to heal and enhance their lives. And frankly, I just love life right now. It’s better than it has ever been before and I’ve never been this happy! I’ve made so much progress of getting rid of self sabotaging thoughts, yes I do still have a lot more to get rid of, but I’ve gotten rid of ones that have really held me back. I know I’m worthy of everything I have ever wanted in my life now. I may not be my parents’ definition of success, but I am successful. And I don’t give up! I keep my faith and I keep pushing through, even when I can’t see over the tidal waves coming towards me. I won’t work another job that I absolutely hate anymore! And that is why I’m still unemployed, as in working a normal job, my own business is more of a hobby at the moment because I love it so. I could easily go out and get a job in a warehouse or as a cashier or a customer service representative, but I hate all those jobs. And I won’t put myself through the torture of working them ever again. I know I’m worthy of the jobs I want and know that I can do. I know I can be successful and make really good money doing what I love.

So what is holding you back from achieving your greatest feats? Do you have programming from your parents about not being good enough? Do you have programming from bosses or coworkers about not being able to do the job correctly because you do it a little different than they do to save time? Do you just have self limiting behaviors that are holding you back because of a fear you may have?

You may also start to discover the aspects of yourself that hold you back and even sabotage your behaviors. By discovering these behaviors, is the first step to healing and overcoming the influence of them. No one else’s opinion matters in what you do. If it is something you love, then go for it! Don’t let anyone else hold you back anymore. I let others hold me back for years, and I’m not doing it anymore and I have gotten to a place where I love my life more than I ever have before, even with all of the work I still have to do ahead of me.

So right now it’s time to free yourself from those limiting beliefs and behaviors that you have been carrying around for years. These beliefs do not serve you and they never have. So release them and reach your fullest potential possible. Sit down with a pen and paper and start to ask yourself what beliefs you have that sabotage you and your dreams. Write down your answers, then start working through them one by one to release them and their hold on you in this lifetime. You’ll be amazing at free you finally feel once you release those blocks that have sabotaged you for years! I know I did!

Check out my book review for this book as well. Or you can also book your own 12 Lessons reading to get your own set of 12 Lessons for the next 12 months.

Lesson 1 – The Phoenix ~ Be Open to Change and Possibility

When I first read Kate Spencer’s book Twelve Lessons, this book resonated so much with me. In a way, I felt like Kate was telling me my life story from a different point of view. Well, only part of it. Not all of it is completely relatable for me in the same context, but I learned so much from reading this book and I really wanted to share the 12 Lessons Kate shares in her book and her journal as a blog series. I just never got around to actually doing the work to make the blog posts before. Well, now I am, so over the next 12 weeks, I will share information from the book and each lesson. Who knows, this may help you more than you think!! This book has been compared to The Secret. Personally, I think it’s a more human experience version of The Secret, and more relatable to what we as humans experience on a regular basis. It is a book of fiction, but the lessons that Stephanie goes through and experiencing a year in her life makes us feel like we are right there going through it all with her. At least that’s how I feel, you should check out this book and see for yourself. It’s available on Kindle and paperback!

The first lesson that Stephanie is taught is to be open to change and possibility. In this life so many people are resistant to change and the possibility of something new happening. I have seen this so much in my time here on Earth, from people I interact with every day to the people in line at the grocery store. Change happens daily and there is no stopping it! So the best way to overcome it, is to accept it and embrace it! Personally, I love change. I’m always looking for something new, a new way to do things, a new way to learn something, a new job, a new place to live, new friends to add to my circle, and the list could go on and on. Yes, sometimes change is forced upon us by natural causes (i.e. fire, flood, and other acts of nature), and that change isn’t exactly wanted, but it also teaches us lessons that we have been resistant to learning.  This life is all about learning lessons, just like this book teaches us some very important lessons as well.  

Several months ago, I had to learn the lesson of change being forced upon me, by going through a fire. I strongly feel that that fire was the universe telling me that I had not listened long enough and the universe was stepping in and forcing the change upon me. This was a change I had been practically begging the universe for, for several months, but nothing that I wanted came to me.  I became a completely different person because of that fire. I let go of physical belongings because they were ruined by smoke damage, but I also let go of people that I thought were friends and in reality, had only been using me for my knowledge and abilities. And I think that was the real lesson that was being taught here, the release of people that were only using me and weren’t real friends.  But I did resist this change of letting go because of the fire for a few weeks. It took me over a month to really grasp the lesson the universe was trying to teach me here. But once that lesson came through, it came through loud and clear and I had a major Ah-ha moment and things started to fall into place. Now that I’m back on my feet again, loving life to the fullest, and experiencing everything fully every moment of every day, I’m ready for the final aspect of this change to take place, so I can really spread my wings and fly away!

We all need to learn to stop being so resistant to change. The more resistant you are to change, the more change will be thrust upon you. It is like you are telling the universe that you basically like being unhappy, so the universe will continue to give you situations that make you unhappy. Make changes in your life that will give you a better life today and tomorrow, not just yesterday. Accept the changes that are coming your way. Who knows, by accepting these changes, you may get more changes that you like even more coming towards you as well.

Check out my book review for this book as well. Or you can also book your own 12 Lessons reading to get your own set of 12 Lessons for the next 12 months.

Book Review: Twelve Lessons

The book Twelve Lessons by Kate Spencer can really change your life! I loved this book and totally could not put it down, the first, the second or the third time I read this book. I will also be reading this book many more times in the future and get something new out of the book each time I read it. Kate has a way of really keeping the reader intrigued and wanting to find out what happens next. If you pick up this book, I promise you will not regret it!

The first time I read this book, I was on a very rocky path and I found the book at a time when I really needed it. I spent three days reading this book, the first time through and just couldn't put it down. I'd read The Secret before. And while I've seen several people compare this book to The Secret, this book is so much better! It actually takes you through a basically real life example of how to use and apply the principles in The Secret, but in a more easily applicable form that we can each learn and apply to our lives starting today! And to help you apply these lessons, over the next 12 weeks, I am going to write a post for each lesson in the book, giving examples of how to apply it and how it has helped in my life. Kate is also posting these lessons on her blog as well.

On the cover of the book is the simple question, "What if you had one year to change your life?" This question applies to anything and everything life can throw at you, but you need to learn how to deal with it all and take it with your best foot forward. Stephanie, the main character in this book, starts out with what she "thinks" is a very happy life, but soon admits its all a facade to keep up with the Joneses. Is life really that important to you that you need to impress everyone around you and not yourself? Do you really need to have the best of everything the second it is released on the market? In the beginning of this book, that is exactly what Stephanie thought. She had to have the best of everything, which also included a mountain of debt she couldn't even pay!

Well, on New Year's Eve, she meets a psychic, who pulls 12 tarot cards for Stephanie, representing the 12 lessons she has to learn over the next 12 months. But that night, she only sees the first card, because everything the psychic said scares Stephanie, because how is it possible that someone who doesn't even know you, knows more about your life than you do?! When things start unraveling more and more for Stephanie, and she learns how right the psychic was, she has to go back to see her and find out what the rest of her lessons are. She then does apply these lessons to her life over the next 11 months and it's like her life changes miraculously!! And you can also apply these same 12 lessons to your life and watch it change as well!

So go pick up the book today! It's available in both Kindle and paperback. Kate has also prepared a Twelve Lessons Journal to go along with the book, also available in Kindle and paperback.  Or if you would like your own 12 lessons to apply over the next 12 months, purchase your reading.