The fourth gift was the missing link I didn’t know was missing from the book. This opened my mind for the fifth, which revealed the real missing link: the answer to why humans haven’t evolved further by now when we are obviously capable of so much more; of being so much better.

 

The basis for some of the original introduction expressed my discomfort with the contradicting duality of the word selfish. I felt the definition and the important word ‘self’ had been co-opted before we could even grasp the meaning, better yet apply it to our own personal growth.  As an SLP, much of my work required me to me to be a model for impeccable speech, vocabulary and language, (and the language got taken to another level thanks to books by don Miguel Ruiz and Yvonne Oswald), but I was also responsible for labels, synonyms, multiple meaning words, defining, categorizing, comprehending, interpreting, etc…

The current prevailing definition, interpretation and applications of the word “selfish” are the negative ones which create self-judgment and guilt, and give oppressors a word to control the behaviors of those they seek to oppress with guilt and shame. I strongly believed, and still believe, the belief  that it was selfish to put yourself first and be self-nurturing would be a hindrance to getting people to take more personal responsibility for their own development, health and wellbeing.

 

Gift #4 – Summer 2014

I had created a photo post for Facebook stating:

Selfish literally translates to “with self,”

so, how can anyone be or do anything without  self  or Self?

 

While rereading this post before sharing it again, I literally got an answer.

So, it was updated to the following:

 

(If you can’t read the image text:

“Selfish literally translates to “with self.”

How can anyone be or do anything without self – or Self, I asked my-Self?

When the ego is in charge, it answered!)

This galvanized my search to understand the ego: another important word that confused me since reading, and rereading, Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. He refers to the ego as the “false self” and the “collective human dysfunction.”

 

Late 2015

My best friend died suddenly. He was the only friend I kept in touch with by phone long after moving to NC, the one who went with me to see Deepak Chopra in Manhattan, and the only one I could really talk to about my research and plans for the book.

Gift #5 – The Real Missing Link

Soon after his passing, I was staring at my working ascension whiteboard and two words in the third chakra almost literally jumped off the chart for me. (It was more like highlighted or made bolder.) The words were self-esteem and identity.

The ego defines the identity via self-esteem.

The chakra system is one of ascension, indicating a series of stages to pass through to get to the next.

The fourth chakra – the heart chakra – is the link between body and mind, between physical and spiritual.

 

These questions came to me:

How can we ascend to fourth chakra – heart chakra consciousness – without self-esteem?

How can we get a positive and healthy self-image without self-esteem?

Are people with low self-esteem just doomed?

Enter the purpose of the nine steps.

Continue reading: New Eyes.

 

If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

(I reply to all comments personally.)

May you perceive and receive all your blessings.

With Much Love,

Rev. Michele

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