Soul’s Code

A Fortune 500 exec has seen this movie before:  She lost her job, her health, even her husband. Now she is a therapist and life-guide with an international clientele

BY RONDA LARUE — What does one dedicated to a soulful life do in the days following a layoff or the termination of a job? What does one do with the shock, the feelings of betrayal, and the confusion — and the paralyzing waves of fear? How does one survive, find hope, stand strong, and create new opportunity? How can one dare to meet life in a new way — to stay open and not cave in? As someone who never intended to become sought out as a teacher, but rather, as one who has lived and walked through the devastation of life crisis and its very real de-footing, I am humbled and in awe at what I have discovered about life at its deepest core, and what it means to be “eyes wide open” fully human, while also steady in-love with the still-point of a deeper intelligence on the path of true purpose.

Harnessing fear

The paralyzing waves of fear are very real in the moment of shock. Yet if you succumb solely to its voice, you will remain imprisoned — merely applying yet another band-aid to what is an opportunity to mine your deeper soul’s gold (or soul’s code as this web site calls our true grounded-ness). Fear is a great teacher when we learn to look and see how and why it works, and what lies beneath it. Fear is a catalyst for growth and new seeing power. The times in our lives that bring crisis, fear, and upheaval to our current security, most often herald the possibility of a true breakthrough to renewed purpose  if we but take the quest. We’re meant to take on our most challenging life situations and use them in service of a deeper soul’s quest. We’re asked by life at times of radical change to make a determined and conscious quest to discover what it means to be successfully in the world, but no longer imprisoned by our own gripping fear at life’s ever-changing nature. As my friend, Fran, says, “We’re all gonna die.” So the question becomes, how can we learn the art of being truly and fully alive even when we know we can’t always be in control or keep ourselves out of harm’s way? How do we take the very difficult “bumps and lumps” of life that threaten our survival (or at least our desired level of security), and discover from these very real hardships the art of being abundantly, creatively alive? Feel the fear, yes. . .and then take it on as a sacred quest to finally meet your true potential — before you die. That’s a bold statement. But it is true for each one of us. To be truly alive is to feel the fear and carry on anyway, as the artist of one’s own life.

Let your crisis become your teacher

When I lost my job and my husband and my health several years ago (whew!), I was devastated and overcome with fear and loss. What did I do in this time of terrible fear? I suffered with it. . .and I honored its presence and learned how to pick it up and use it as a sacred quest to show me what ultimately matters in life. I used the fear and loss as an ingredient to craft an amazing new menu for living more fully awake and free. My crisis became my teacher, leading me to become more whole in myself, less victimized by circumstance and unshakably alive to life in all its manifestations. It wasn’t easy, but it was truly miraculous. How can you make this bold move toward inner freedom?. . .By honoring (not caving into and yet not denying) your fear. Don’t wallow in it, but meet it outside of yourself and let it become your teacher, leading you to new and much greater possibilities awaiting you.

Five steps for transforming a layoff into a sacred quest:

1. Sit down with a pen and paper and soul-search. Sketch six main “personalities” in you that have run your life. These should be the six key voices that run through your life and that you are aware of right now in the midst of this sudden crisis. Give each one a name. Some examples might be: Polly Perfectionist; Ms. Oh-So-Not-Worthy; Valium Victim; Nelly Needs Approval; Majestic Mystic; Callous Critic, etc.

2. Find, make or buy something that stands for each one of these voices. This should be something that actually looks like how they feel when they are active inside of you. Be playful and allow them to come to life in an outer physical form.

3. Place your six inner voices, now given physical form, in a special place in your home that shows an honoring willingness to hear and see them out in the light of day. By your giving them a playful name and form and special place in your life, I guarantee that you will start to notice more clearly how their voices run and obstruct, or help your daily life. Simply let them become your teacher and tend to them with curious observation and playfully creative dialogue. Nothing is denied or disallowed — just curious dialogue.

4. As you engage in this way, you will start to notice the role of fear and all its voices of compromise. You will also find your place of courage and its voice of playful allowing. And something will start to open in your life that is unshakable: Your soul’s own wisdom and flow with life will begin to emerge as your seated authority of self.

5. As this inner seeing strengthens (as it will, if you engage these little voices with creative, playful reverence) you will start to recognize that life and all sorts of new opportunities are literally rising up out of the ashes of your current crisis. You will discover how to become an alchemist of your life and how to step boldly into each moment of life from a place of authentic truth. You will be in the “soulful zone”. And as you start to come more and more freely from a place of your soulful authenticity, you will naturally find and follow the path of your vocation and purpose in this ever-changing world.

Ronda LaRue is an internationally-acclaimed spiritual author and teacher who lives in Ojai, California. Her first book, Remembering Who You Really Are, is a contemporary classic on the journey to true self-realization.

Learn more about her private retreats and small group programs at OjaiSoulArts.com. Read Ronda's previously posted Soul's Code articles: A 9/11 prayer and What is a mystic?

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