Living
the Vision
One
woman's journey
By Karyn
Altman
Had
someone told me a year ago, that a past life
regression experience would inspire me to leave
a 17 year career and jump head first into
creating a brand new company, I'd never have
believed it. It's not that I'm not a proponent
of past life regression therapy, or any
supervised introspection with a professional
psychotherapist. But to give up a paycheck,
health insurance and "all the comforts" in
exchange for a jump off a cliff into a totally
unknown venture, was certainly not something I
had ever considered doing.
Was it
my imagination? Maybe. Did I make up the story I
witnessed during that journey into what I
assumed was a past life? Perhaps. All I know is,
that whatever it was, this guided excursion into
my consciousness, under the expert guidance of
Linda Adler, LCSW, changed the course of this
life, forever.
It
happened last August. My life at that time was
in chaos, mostly because of my job. Stress had
become a "normal state of affairs". No matter
how many hours I worked, there was never enough
time in the day. Clients needed my attention,
business associates needed my support, and,
since I was in the travel industry, I was
constantly on the road. As I never had the time
to notice my overwhelmed state, I ignored the
signs that my life was completely out of
balance. On some intuitive level, however, I was
paying close attention and knew that it was time
for a major change.
Linda
Adler's office was next door to mine. I had
heard about her through a friend, and was aware
that one of her specialties was past life
regression work. As someone who has been
fascinated by past life regression work for many
years (I even experienced it a few times in
years past), I was very interested to have this
experience again. So, one day I wandered in to
Linda's office for a visit and to check out her
"vibe". I found her to be calming, loving and
extremely qualified. So, I made an appointment
for my past life regression for the following
week.
Linda's
gentle voice guided me into a quiet, peaceful
state. I wasn't in a trance, was still aware of
the background noises, but felt relaxed and
comfortable. As I relaxed into her voice, she
asked that I go to wherever my mind felt like
visiting. I soon found myself looking down at a
young woman. She was barefoot, wearing very
little in the way of clothes, and the setting
was definitely tropical. like in a jungle. It
was interesting because I heard Linda ask me to
describe her and for a moment, when I looked
down at her feet, I could feel the ground below
her. Almost as if I could sort of "jump in' and
feel her -- from the inside. I watched her as
she proceeded through her day. It appeared that
this woman was some type of healer, as people
were bringing their children to her. She would
touch each child on the head, close her eyes and
hand the children back to their parents. At one
point, while watching her do this, I once again
found myself viewing this from "inside" and, as
she held the child, I could feel the earth sort
of spin around. Within a few minutes the child
opened his eyes and was passed back to his
mother. Clearly some sort of healing or energy
transference was occurring, although I could not
explain just what it was. Only that, as if by
magic, I seemed to have the option of watching
this women work, or feeling her work from
within. It was very strange, indeed, but
certainly not unpleasant.
Linda
suggested we move to another time in the woman's
life. Now the woman was on a platform,
surrounded by a huge crowd of people who were
pushing their way towards her. There was lots of
noise, vibrant colors and everything was moving
at a tremendous pace. I didn't dare try to go
"inside" at this moment; it was just too busy
and almost frantically packed with people
clamoring at her for attention. Definitely not a
pleasant experience, yet she seemed to be
managing it well, keeping calm, at least that's
how it looked from the outside. She looked tired
however, you could see her exhaustion in her
eyes, and the non-stop barrage of bodies and
hands kept coming at her. Yet she stayed focused
and determined to do whatever was needed to help
these people.
We moved
later into her life, to the time of her death.
Now the scene changed dramatically; it was
desolate and gray. The woman was completely
lying on the ground, surrounded by weeds and
brush, awaiting the end of her life. There was
no noise except the sound of her shallow breaths
as she prayed to be taken from that horrible
place. Linda asked what had happened to her and
I explained that her life had become out of
control. She was unable to keep up with the
demands that were being placed upon her. Too
many people needed too much from her and
although she did her best to keep up, in the
process of trying to take care of everyone that
needed her help, someone had died. As punishment
for her mistake, she was banished from the
village, sent to live the rest of her life
completely alone.
At that
moment, I realized that the reason I was viewing
this particular woman's life was because it had
many parallels to mine. I took this as a warning
that if things proceeded at that same pace. I
too could make a major mistake or suffer some
immense personal crisis if I didn't slow down.
My professional life was out of control --
non-stop stress. My personal life was in ruins
because there was never any time, in between
projects or business trips, to even stop for a
small break and relax with friends. My days were
a non-stop frenzy, dodging one crisis at work
after another, feeling like everyone needed me,
as if there were never enough hours in the week
to even attempt to get things done. I had
stomach problems, head aches, anxiety filled
dreams or sleepless nights. It was time to stop.
Under
Linda's guidance, I buried those parts of the
woman that I wished to let go of in my life --
feelings of being overwhelmed, my need to be
"responsible" for fixing everyone and their
problems and the feeling that everything was
unmanageably out of control. I took with me her
gifts as a healer, and her love of people, and
honorable intentions and integrity.
When I
opened my eyes, it felt like a great weight had
been lifted. I was ready start a new path, and
although I had no idea of where it would take
me, I knew it was time for a new journey.
Within a
few months, I had left my job. Much to the shock
and surprise of my friends and colleagues in the
travel industry where I had worked for the past
17 years, I'd resigned without another job
waiting in the wings. At first, they responded
with amazement and said they admired my courage.
Most actually believed that I was secretly
holding out, and that in a few weeks, a press
release would appear in the trade publications
announcing my new position.
But
those who took the time to chat with me realized
that it was indeed true. I had left a
successful, 17 year career because, quite
simply, it was time for a change. My job was not
in alignment with my life work. I would then
explain how things had become out of control,
how I'd always wanted to make a difference in
the lives of others, but, because of the pace of
my life, I could barely make a difference in
mine!
Then
they started opening up and sharing their
stories. One after another, stories about how
they never had time any more for fun, or family,
or children, or friends. How headaches and
ulcers were already part of their everyday
existence. How, in spite of the fact that there
was plenty of money coming in, there was never
any time to actually enjoy it, because of how
much time was devoted to creating it. I realized
then, that we were all caught up on the same
type of treadmill. Rarely did we allow ourselves
the time to stop, breathe, enjoy or just be
present. There just wasn't time.
A new
path did in fact, emerge. In fact, it happened
far more quickly then I would have ever imagined
-- as if by magic! Before I knew it, I'd created
a new business that combined my expertise in
travel with my desire to help others find their
own inner peace, through workshops and seminars
focused on spirituality and inner guidance.
Suddenly, my company had a name, CenterPeace,
and a website! Four months later, we were
producing our first major event, a two day
conference on holistic health for women, which
took place in August. I was writing poetry,
enlarging my circle of friends to include many
new people who are also on a spiritual path and
enjoying all sorts of exciting new
opportunities.
How is
it different now to be living the vision, when
compared to a year ago?
For one
thing, although my days are busy and filled with
numerous tasks, I've learned to take more time
with each of them and to take more time for
myself. Whether it's a daily walk or meditation,
or to simply to realign and focus on my "to do
list", I am more balanced and more in touch with
that inner part of myself that knows all. It's
from that place that I am constantly reminded
that everything is fine, that my life is
proceeding perfectly and that, although it may
be a bit unconventional to be so unconcerned
with long term goals, this is for me, how it is
supposed to be. It's as if I've let go, for the
most part, of my need to control the outcome of
everything in my life, focusing more on the
present, which of course, is all that is real.
Sure it's important to turn present ideas into
action, and making plans comes into play when
turning action to reality. But, what's different
now is I'm learning to trust myself, and my
power to manifest what I need when I need it.
Today my
life is filled with many different types of
projects, mostly involving combining all of my
personal talents and resources, and all of the
parts of myself that shine. There are still
moments when I catch myself worrying about what
will happen next, or where the money will come
from to pay my expenses. But then I remember
that I'm living my own vision, and that if I
just relax and refocus, whatever I need will be
provided. Is everything exactly how I'd like it
to be? Probably not. I still have a "wish list",
and hopes and dreams like everyone else. But now
what is especially clear, is knowing now that I
have the power to manifest those wishes and one
by one, make them a reality. So, stick around
and watch the show! No matter what, it's going
to be an amazing journey!
Do
you have a comment on Karyn's story? Want to
share your own story? Send a
letter
to the editor.
The
next Wise Woman Conference sponsored by Center
Peace will feature Joan Boryshenko. It will be
held July 15-16 in Miam Beach. See the Events
page for details or go to
http://www.center-peace.com
To
contact Karyn Altman, send an e-mail to:
centerpeace@mindspring.com
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