Thursday night, 7:00 pm
It was October 20, 1987 and I found myself sitting in a room with some 40 other people who wanted something different in their lives. I was referred to the Lifestream Basic Seminar by a good friend of mine, who simply said, “It will help you get more out of life, you should do it.” I trusted my friend’s judgement, so I paid my $395 and enrolled into the experience of a life-time.
The facilitator’s name was, Jim Quinn and he opened the Basic with a question, “Why are you here?” The answer to that question started me off on a 10 year in-depth experience into myself and my relationship with the world around me. It was also the beginning of a 10 year friendship with one of the most “centered” individuals I ever met. This is really his story as told by Jim Quinn, in his own words, over 4 magical days.
The facilitator opened the seminar with these thought-provoking questions:
“Why are you here?” “Where are you at?”
What does that create in your life?
How important is it for you to do something about it? and If I could show you a way to do something about it, would you do it?
When is the right time to do something about it?
What’s one thing you can do today, about it?
Remember the movie, “The Wizard of Oz?”
The beginning and the end of the movie are filmed in black and white and the middle is in colour? Ever wonder why?
Well it’s been said that the black and white parts of the movie represent our reality and the coloured part is our dream. This short book is about bringing our dreams and reality closer together.
What was the name of the girl? That’s right, it was Dorothy.
Remember how the twister came and started to shake the house loose and Dorothy got hit on the head with a timber and she fell unconscious and went on that magical journey to Oz. And, while she was in Oz, what did she want to do? That’s right, She wanted to go home. So Dorothy started down the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz.
On her journey, who did she meet first? She met the Scarecrow or Straw man. And what did he want? That’s right, he wanted a brain. But why did he want a brain? So he could make better decisions.
Ask yourself, “What area of your life do you want to find direction and make better decisions?”
Exercise: Start a Journal and write in detail…
List those areas of your life you want to improve:
- physical (health and wellness)
- emotional (relationships)
- mental (work, education, play)
- spiritual (values, sense of life, community involvement)
Later, down the yellow brick road, Dorothy met another character on her way to see the Wizard. She met a “Tin-man”. And, what was his issue? He wanted a heart. But why did he want a heart? So he could feel, express his emotions, to give and receive love. Remember how Dorothy and the Scarecrow found him? He was all rusted up and stiff! They had to oil him up just get him moving again.
Exercise: Journal in detail…
- Who do you want to give more love to and whom do you want receive more love from?
- Make a list of those individuals and remember to include yourself.
After they met the “Tin-man”, whom did they meet next? They ran into the “Cowardly Lion”. Remember him, singing, “If I were King of the Forest!” Remember how frightened he was, “Oh my god, there’s a mouse!” But it wasn’t a mouse, it was his tail…he was afraid of himself!
It’s been said, that the single greatest fear in people, is the fear of taking charge of their own lives!
Exercise: Journal in detail…
- What areas of your life do you want more courage and leadership?
- Make a list of your goals, desires and dreams.”
So off they went, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin-man and the Cowardly Lion, down the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of Oz. But what did they discover about the Wizard when they found him? They learned, he was a fraud, a con-man with a bag of tricks.
And, do you remember what the Wizard told them? He told them, that they already had what they were looking for! And you know what, I didn’t learn anything new in Basic either. What I did learn is that, it was part of me all along. Everything I needed to know I already had, I just had to clarify it.
Concept: There’s only 2 ways your life is going to improve…
- “Others will change how they treat you.” (I’m still waiting for this to happen!)
- “You change how you react to the world around you.”
Concept: “If I always do what I’ve always done, I’ll always get what I’ve always got.”
In order to get something different…, we have to…do something different!
Exercise: Journal in detail…
- What’s one thing you can do today that’s different from way you always do things?
- Write it down, make a commitment to yourself to do it.
- Visualize what you’re life will be like when that happens. Reflect on it.
- If you don’t like the result, do something different again.
We will examine different concepts they may be new to you and they may even challenge you or cause you to react strongly against them. That’s a the natural reaction to change. Resistance and avoidance.
Concept: Ways to avoid life
What are some of the ways you can avoid experiencing life?
FIGHT
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RUN AWAY
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DO NOTHING.
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HIDE
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Exercise: Journal in detail…
- Expand the list by adding ways you avoid experiencing life.
Concept: Ways to create maximum value in life
Ask yourself, “Do I want to get maximum value out of life? Do I want to get the best of life?” Maybe you only want to get 50 percent out life?
What are some ways to we can create maximum value?
- Be courteous to others:
- Be on time
- Listen when others are speaking
- Be supportive of others
- Have integrity:
- Be congruent.
- Keep your agreements. Is it important to keep our agreements?
- Remain open:
- Be honest.
- Suspend judgment.
- Be accepting
- Give others eye contact
- Be here and now.
- Keep an open body position
- Change your perspective
- Avoid consciousness altering substances like alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, sleeping pills, and other mind numbing drugs. This does not apply to people using drugs prescribed by your physician.
- Have ethics:
- Maintain absolute confidentiality of others experiences.
- Give a 100% participation in everything you do.
- Give a 100% commitment. “100% commitment is a cinch, but 99.9% commitment is a bitch!”
Exercise: Journal in detail…
- Expand the list by adding ways you can maximize experiencing life.
We are going to explore various life skills and concepts and we are going to tackle them in a particular way. First, we will define the concept. Then, an exercise to explore how it relates to our life.
The first concept that we are going to explore is TRUST.
Exercise: Journal in detail…
Ask yourself and reflect on these questions:
- Who do you trust?
- What is trust?
- Why do you trust?
- Why don’t you trust?
- What does it feel like when you don’t trust?
- What does it feel like when you trust?
- Which sex do you trust?
- Do you trust people with authority?
Continue to explore it and go deeper with it. Note what you are experiencing about it.
- What do you feel when you don’t trust?
- When you don’t trust, where are you at with that?
Remember to clarify and identify the feelings or emotions you experience?
Ask yourself, What is “not loving”? If you really think about, it comes down to “FEAR”, doesn’t it? The only real trust is unconditional.
Ask yourself, ” Do I want to be TRUSTED/LOVED unconditionally? But, how often do you give it?
Parable: “The stove says to the wood pile, Give me some wood and I’ll give you some heat. AND the wood pile says to the stove, Give me some heat and I’ll give you some wood.”
Why are we afraid to trust?
You either trust or you don’t trust. (The lights are either “ON” or “OFF”) Fear and lack of trust tends to go hand in hand. And, what goes hand in hand with trust? Love. If you don’t trust yourself, How can you trust others?
Do you think you are trustworthy? Do you think others may think they are trustworthy?
TRUST Exercise
When it comes to Trust, which Formula do you use A or B
Formula A: Think about people in your life and in your own way, visualize that person and say, “I love you and I accept you even though I don’t understand you.”
Take a few moments to try that and reflect on it. How did it feel to say it? How much do you do that? If someone were to say to you…”I love you and I accept you even though I don’t understand you.” What would that feel like? How much do you need that in your life?
Now, let’s explore “Formula B”.
Think about people in your life and in your own way, visualize that person and say,
“I don’t understand you. Therefore I don’t love you, I don’t accept you and I don’t trust you and I build a wall.”
How does it feel? Which formula have you been living? Reflect on this and remember, anytime you resist anything, LOOK AT IT!
Let’s change perspective: Say to yourself, “I don’t understand myself therefore I don’t love myself, I don’t accept myself and I don’t trust myself. Say that to yourself, several times.
What does that do to your energy? What did you experience? Now say, “I love myself, and I accept myself even though I don’t understand myself,” several times over to yourself.
What difference is there? What is the difference in your energy?
In day two of the Basic Seminar, we will explore concepts that will show us how to center, balance our 4 natures, relax our bodies, enrich our emotions, calm and still our minds so that our minds can be in focus, and release our true spirit so we can experience being centered people.
Then we are going to explore some of the things that sabotage our balance. We’ll also look at how to break through the fears and barriers and experience freedom. We will also explore where did it all begin? The programs, the habits, the survival vs. nonsurvival programs and how to move beyond those programs. We don’t always have to do what we’ve always done.
Exercise: In your journal address the following questions. Remember to be laser and specific.
- What areas of my life (ie. relationships, career) do I want to change, or improve?
- What feelings, issues, behaviours, and circumstances of mine prevent me from making those changes and improvements?
- What will my life be like in 5 years, if nothing changes?
- What’s my next step?
Remember to use Trust Formula A: “I love you and I accept you even though I don’t understand you” or “I love myself, and I accept myself even though I don’t understand myself”, for at least a day before going on to day 2.
Danny’s Poem
To a very special person, Jim Quinn.
They come with their arms and legs crossed in doubt,
With fears that their real self might just slip out,
And what people might think, when they burst from their shell,
But nothing else is working so what the hell.
Some are observers and sit there and gloom,
While others are open and they start to bloom,
And as they are growing they finally see,
What beautiful beings God meant them to be.
Written by Danny Schael at 13 years old, right after he completed the LifeStream Basic Seminar.
Article: Day 2 of the Lifestream Basic Seminar – What’s that doing to your life?