I’ve always had a particular fascination with time and I’m somewhat of a ritualist. I find I’m drawn to programs and calendars that offer the opportunity for daily practices and observations. Recently I picked up a book by Denise Linn – Soul Coaching: 28 Days to Discover Your Authentic Self.
This book is promoted as a 4-week program filled with practical, daily steps that lead to cleansing and clarifying different aspects of your life at the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual levels.
Part of the appeal for me is that each of the four weeks is dedicated to a particular element, and I always find this a useful and interesting perspective to work with. For instance, week one is dedicated to working with the energy of Air – and clearing your mental self.
The program is set up with an overview of what to expect task-wise each week, and then assessments, exercises, and affirmations are provided for each day. At week’s end there is time for an overview.
One of the things I particularly like is the program’s flexibility – it can be worked at different levels. So if you only want to participate at a level that requires 15-30 minutes daily commitment, that’s fine. If you want to dig deeper and invest more, you can do the additional exercises provided. And if you’re committed to going full tilt, you may choose to take as long as needed with each section, rather than completing them on a daily/weekly basis.
There’s a wide mix of exercises and suggestions. Some are quite simple and obvious and others require you to pull a bit more from yourself; but none are particularly difficult. I suspect that may in fact put some people off. But I prefer a looser framework that acts more as a springboard than a strict regime.
I found it a helpful lesson to spend a week at a time looking through a particular lens – a week of Air, a week of Water, a week of Fire, a week of Earth. And I particularly enjoy discovering how the week’s elemental theme manifests itself in surprising and unexpected ways. Linn particularly fosters this openness to look for signs – to be aware of the myriad of support around us always.
I heard about that book but haven’t read it yet. It seems well structured, but what did you learn? Did you experience significant inner growth?
I subscribed to your blog and look forward to read more of what you have to say.
Akemi –
Thanks for subscribing, and for your thoughtful comment. It made me smile as I realized I didn’t really share about what I’d learned. Clearly I have a ways to go before I’m as comfortable and skilled at blogging as you are!
I didn’t come away from the book with any life-changing insights, but rather a helpful focus most days. Like varying your exercise routine to maximize results and counteract boredom, I thought of these exercises as daily boosts to my spiritual practice. So for example, on one day (Day 9) the instruction was to “examine the meaning that you give your life.” This is a wonderful invitation to look at events in your life and really listen to the story you tell yourself about them. We can’t change the circumstances, but we can change the meaning and significance – those are internal choices. I recalled an incident from my childhood where I was falsely accused of doing something and it was a source of great shame for me, but it also was a defining moment in that I remember I felt like I could no longer trust in the fairness of the world. In revisiting that story at this current point in life, I was able to shift the meaning . I chose to see it as when I first experienced a chance to know that reality is different for each one of us. That’s certainly a more empowered and less anguishing view.
Deborah
Hi Deborah. Whoa, the synchronicity of this is amazing! I’ve added you to the list of participants and look forward to sharing the experience with you!
Jamie –
I’m delighted to participate in your The Next Chapter
http://tnc-soulcoaching.blogspot.com/
month-long delving into Soul Coaching. May it be a wonderful experience for all!
Deborah