The Lights On My Porch

The lights on my porch remind me of a couple of things. Every time I look at them, I’m reminded I still need to paint the porch. It won’t take long, but it’s one of those things like the gutters that I eventually paid someone else to take care of. The other thing the lights remind me of is one of the most difficult weeks of my life.

We hosted a Hawaiian party at our house about 2 years ago, so we bought some torches and the lights in the picture as decorations. This weekend and this party were the beginning of me being forced to deal with my inner troubles and stuckness that I had been avoiding for two long. The trauma that I had forced into the shadow was boiling out of me in ways I could not control. This is the way I described it in the opening chapter of my new book.

I could feel my heart beating through my chest. My head was spinning in that kind of way that thoughts don’t really run together or form coherent streams. The sensation I had was that my thoughts and imaginations were crashing into each other. Everything seemed like I was in a war.

Being: My Journey Toward Authenticity and Presence

All of us long for a more present and authentic life. My new book is about being and that is appealing to most of us; but the troubling part of the journey toward authenticity and presence is that we realize there is often some hard work we must do. Prior to the weekend two years ago, I had bypassed much of the trauma in my life (often through religious practices). But the trauma didn’t go away. Instead it surfaced again and again, until I just couldn’t keep it down anymore.

All of us have inner work we need to do. I am confident my new book will help walk people through healing by going with me on my journey, but it won’t be out until January.

One of the ways I help people now is through Focusing. I revamped my website and added a focusing section. It describes this process that I used 2 years ago that helped me get unstuck and visit those parts of me that needed attention. Whether you use focusing or another method, I hope you make it a priority to do the inner work that is necessary for you to find presence and authenticity in you journey.

I am pulling for you, contact me if you need my help.

Be where you are, be who you are, be at peace,

Karl