The 7 Arenas of Progress + Self Healing

This is a breakdown of the 7 areas I feel we are all progressing/healing in one way or another.

Some of these may become themes in our overall lives or at different times in our lives. It's ultimately up to us to embrace reflection in these areas to maximize the productive progress in our journey.

They are...

Self Love + Acceptance

Like the chicken and the egg, every success comes down to this question; what came first? Self-love or proof that one is worthy of self-love? I’ve seen many situations in which someone believes the worst, expects the worst and is rewarded with love. I’ve also borne witness to when people are clearly internally self-sabotaging despite speaking, living, and breathing concepts of self-love and worthiness, which then manifests feelings of failure over and over again.

So who is correct? Who is better off? Who is more likely to succeed?

Similar to the chicken and the egg problem, it depends. It depends on what angle you’re looking at. And for this particular question, it depends on whole lotta angles. We may say one thing but feel another, we may contradict belief systems depending on what situation we’re in. We might even believe that a bad attitude is important to “not jinxing” an outcome.

So why is Self Love & Acceptance first on the list? Because while no arena is more important than the other, it is your sense of self-worth, self-love, and ultimately complete acceptance, that you are here. All roads ultimately lead back to you, your experience, and exploring just how deep the

self-discovery journey can go.

Manifestation + Gratitude

The greatest reflection that the self has purpose is our creative power. Our ability to not just create but also become conscious of our creative process is a perfect vehicle for the self-discovery journey. As we become more aware of who we are, we become more aware of what we create in our life.

The key to strengthening this ability is our macro clarity that we are in fact creators of our own destiny. Working through that opens the doors to acceptance and ultimately gratitude. With gratitude we don't just half-assedly jump into anything, we accept responsibility for our creative power. For this reason manifestation and gratitude go hand in hand. All action comes from oneself but the quality of our action determines the satisfaction with our outcome. And for that, we need to appreciate the power we have.

Emotional Power + Control

The human experience is one wrought with storytelling variability and the tentpoles to a good story, regardless of the premise, is emotional evocation. Emotion is one of the tentpoles of being human. Throughout the history of time, as long as there have been humans there have been innumerable ways in which an event can happen based solely on the nuance of emotional response. Of course, the saying "history repeats itself" is one that also creates a baseline for understanding how human emotions range and are typically triggered.

However basic to human existence, there are still plenty of conflicting beliefs around how to "manage" and approach the emotional self and others. Besides understanding how our emotions work is the natural hand-in-hand desire to "control" them. From the time we are little, we are told to "get a hold of ourselves" or self-regulate in order to reflect control and reduce the unease for those around us. Through these strategies, we falsely feel that by suppressing our feelings are we in better control because we can overcome them instead of succumbing to them.

The lifelong relationship with our emotions is like a soda can with carbonation. We can either ignore it, all the while shaking it until it explodes - or we take time to understand and feel the pressure inside to help us further understand our own spectrum of existence. This ultimately

brings us clarity which helps us recalibrate our own internal compass.

Forgiveness + Understanding

In life, we are bound to be unsatiated. By design, as humans, we are never in a perfect state of complacency. As soon as we are born we are cold, hungry, and well just simply uncomfortable. For that reason, we are bound to experience trauma in some way shape, or form. We are designed for it. And thankfully due to the completion of the human design, we're also enabled with the features to counter that trauma through reflection and understanding. Many times however it is not just a matter of understanding but also of forgiveness.

In an ecosystem built on relationships (either with society, cultural norms, family, friends, colleagues, etc.) we constantly explore what it means to be in relation to all things beyond ourselves. So inevitably we will fail something or something will fail us. When we find ourselves in this kind of conflict we find it difficult to detach. We don't experience trauma just to let it go, or else it would be trauma. No, we respond by learning a lesson around that trauma and adopting a belief system to help protect us from further conflict in a similar capacity. But how long then does it take to unravel the inevitable constraint that we've placed on ourselves? That is the question.

It is only through the act of forgiveness and understanding (either with ourselves or the other involved party) that we truly give ourselves permission to be released from the tendrils of our fears and negative emotions around our trauma. Once we arrive at this point, we are free to move without boundaries ourselves. Exploring beyond our fear and discovering more and more about our true wingspan.

Duality + Divine Balance

Have you heard of Divine feminine or divine masculine? Tao te ching and the yin and yang? Right and wrong? Winners and losers? Good and bad? All these things have one thing in common. Duality.

But just so, in Duality there is another layer - balance.

Duality is the false assumption that there is a strict choice or outcome from the state of any given thing. When in reality there is a balance of all things. We struggle with this concept because of the cultural and societal pressures that compound a need to be placed in high regard. All the while we hide, ignore or try to beat out of ourselves and others the undesirable parts.

The conflict though is a juxtaposition we struggle to overcome. While we are all things and all

things exist within the same state... we must still choose. We must still operate solely on our core tool of free will and choice. And so through choice, we must dictate to ourselves outwardly "am I this kind of person or am I this kind of person?". It is what propels us forward and catches us in our tracks. A blessing and a curse. It is what we make of it and so it is through our grace and clarity in self knowing that we lessen the burdening curse and instead embrace the blessing of being all things while exploring all avenues we create for ourselves.

All That Is + Oness

This is the most cosmically simple and yet most humanly difficult thing to grasp and understand. In one respect it is scientifically simple, we are all made of stardust. While on the other hand, the consciousness of all things can be a much harder thing to connect with. When we admit consciousness of all things we must also admit other truths, such that we are all connected and we are all co-manifesting day-to-day life together. That we are all one and therefore on an equal playing field of worthiness and value. We must also admit that we are not just creating existence together but also in charge of our own destinies and choices. There is no backseat living.

Deeper still is this truth only when we experience it physically. This is a whole other realm but

people have experienced it, and talked about it at length and the truth is definitively clear to them. Getting to that point clearly creates space for inner peace, deeper self-knowing, and more meaningful decision-making. It is important to note that sometimes it first creates a sense of the massive upheaval in one's life too. And it's a wonderful reflection of just how powerful the experience is. You reach a reckoning and are put on notice: choose meaningfully and honestly or else you continue a life burdened with the expectations and half-truths of others. Who are you ready to show up as today?

A powerful process that ultimately comes down to freeing yourself from the chains of strict unforgiving living. Instead, you are given permission to embrace all that you are and free to choose a life that is most meaningful and true to you.

Day To Day Joy

And finally what it all truly comes down to. Success is defined by many things but one truth is constant, if there is no joy then there is arguably no point. Some of us work very diligently on ourselves and strive for betterment at every possible turn. We hope to understand the nuance of success and growth so that we can replicate it over and over again.

It feels elusive but we can't help but desire it, joy and happiness. We chase it through the pursuit of different things. Why? In reality, it's because we don't understand what it actually means or is.

Many people have written about it and even when one says they're happy, is there any deep truth to what they're saying? Joy and happiness are a byproduct. It's the sensation once one is unburdened of certain heaviness and enlightened and expanded with other things. What those burdens and other things are is up to us... and exactly why the self-discovery journey through self-awareness is so pertinent. If we do not do the work to look within then we miss the opportunity to unburden ourselves of the things that weigh us down and replace and fill them with clarity around what brings lightness and purpose to our day-to-day.

When we feel purpose, lightness, and clarity in our day-to-day we achieve joy and happiness.