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| "I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to
provide the conditions in which they can learn." Albert Einstien | ||
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True North™
The True North™ Program is designed to help you discover your true self -- who you are underneath acquired attributes such as your educational level, life skills, job title, social position, intimate and professional relationships, physical body and appearance, childhood wounds and other people's opinions.
Rich or poor, we each have a life mission written within us, unique to our talent, skills and personality. Just as our finger prints are different, so are our gifts and life purpose. Until we can identify WHO we are minus our acquired attributes, and follow our hearts, we often sense something isn't quite right, even if outwardly everything appears okay, even successful. Even though we are not given maps for our lives when we are born, each and every one of us has an internal compass set to our own unique True North.
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| "There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose -- the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it." Napoleon Hill | ||
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How do we determine what we want? First, we need to identify what we feel driven to do -- in the words of Richard Bolles, "that talent, that when we use it, causes us to lose all sense of time." Then, we need to learn the different ways using that talent fits with (a) who we are, (b) what we value, and (c) what we enjoy. The end result will be what we want, even if the idea leaves us feeling a bit breathless and frightened -- after all, who are we to hold ourselves in such high esteem, to have such lofty dreams and goals?! A child of God or the Universe (however you define that sense of a Higher Power or Higher Self) -- no more, and no less (see Shine). We will then be led to where we can to the most good for the most people, including ourselves.
Knowing what we want isn't sufficient. Passion is the power that moves us forward. Without passion, it's as if we've set our destination, but are just sitting in the car with the engine running, and not putting our foot down on the accelerator. On the other hand, if we have passion for too many different things, and therefore, no clear direction, we just end up driving in circles or spinning our wheels in place. The key to moving forward is having both - clear "on course" direction and passion about getting there.
If you don't feel passion for anything, does that mean you no longer have a mission? No -- if you are still here, your mission is unfinished. You may be learning lessons that develop character traits that are necessary for the next phase of your mission, such as gratitude, patience or resiliency. You may simply be resting, pausing on a steep climb or enjoying a scenic plateau. You may also be exhausted from what life has handed you so far, or from swimming upstream for so long, and temporarily unwilling or unable to go forward. It's okay to rest and recover. When you're ready to move forward again, the restlessness and passion will return. Do not dispair. As frustrated as you may feel, you are exactly where you need to be. God is never late. It's our own clocks that are off when it feels like God is late.
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| "Know that everything in life has purpose.
There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross | ||
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Dr. Phil McGraw (aka Dr. Phil) says, "Life leaves us clues." At an unconsious or subconscious level, and sometimes even at a conscious level, we know who we are, and that is why we feel so frustrated when we sense we "should" being doing something different than what we are doing. We know when we are "off course", even when we don't know how to get back "on course".
Sometimes, it feels as if our internal compass is set wrong -- we believe we are following our intuition, yet we still feel like Phil Collins in "Groundhog Day", waking up, again and again, to Sonny and Cher singing "I've Got You, Babe," and a repeating reality that does not fit who we know we are, at a core level.
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| "A rusty nail placed near a faithful compass,
will sway it from the truth." Sir Walter Scott | ||
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Ironically, the word compass also means, "to make a circuit of; circle". If you keep ending up where you didn't want to go, even though you thought you were following your intuition, you may need to declinate your internal compass, or identify and remove whatever is interfering with your ability to read your compass accurately.
The two most common "rusty nails" are defenses created by childhood wounds, and a lack of trust that everything is happening for our best and highest good. When we think we are at Point A and want to get to Point B, but our intuition is sending us to Point E, many of us become distrusting. "No, no!" we think, "You didn't hear me. I asked for Point B, not Point E!" We decide that God must be hard of hearing, or no longer cares about what is written in our hearts.
We need to trust that Point E is a better place for us than Point B, at least at this moment in time. Perhaps we need to pick up something at Point E before we can really enjoy Point B. I may want to go straight to the beach, but as a redhead, if I don't stop and pick up some sunscreen before I arrive at the beach, it's not going to be a pretty picture after I spend some time at the beach. God knows that I need sunscreen before I go to the beach, even if I don't know, or forget.
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| "Be the change you want to see in the world." Mahatma Gandhi | ||
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Simple doesn't mean easy, yet the Truth is simple -- what we think about ourselves and the world is reflected all around us. If you want to be loved, you must first be loving, and the first person you must love before you can love anyone else is yourself - your true self. The key to recognizing your true self lies in peeling away layers and layers of what others may have told you was important or valuable about you. The only value system that matters is your own, and the things that have the most value are the things that cannot be taken away from you. If you haven't been able to find yourself yet, you may simply need a little outside assistance, and a block of time solely (souly) dedicated to getting unstuck.
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| "What our deepest self craves is not mere enjoyment, but some supreme purpose that will enlist all our powers and give unity and direction to our life." Henry J. Golding | ||
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Contrary to what Oprah and Dr. Phil believe, I do not believe your life experiences change who you are -- they only change your outward behavior, your perception of who you are, and what you think your worth is to others. If someone abuses you, or you witness your parents fighting, you may become defensive, angry, self-protective, fearful, outspoken or silent to cope with it. Your soul itself has not changed - you are still who you are, with the same God-given talents and mission.
Are you ready to throw out what you've been told by well-meaning, but possibly dysfunctional or self-serving romantic partners, teachers, coaches, parents, grandparents, religious authorities, and other "experts", and reclaim your own true worth and values?
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| "Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." George Bernard Shaw | ||
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In order to change what we do, we first need to change our thinking. Why? Our thoughts influence our emotions, motivation, perceptions, self-esteem and behavior. Often, our thoughts are focused on the negative. When it comes to our character traits, most of us can list our faults far more quickly and completely than we can list our virtues. Just because someone else doesn't appreciate one of your traits, doesn't mean it isn't a valuable part of who you are. When viewed from a loving perspective everything shifts: stubbornness becomes tenacity, impatience transforms into eagerness, and fickleness converts to flexibility.
We can move from heaven to hell just by the thoughts we think. One of the most diffcult parts of changing our mind can be admiting that our initial or long-held thoughts may be inaccurate or flat out wrong. Until we are willing to acknowledge that our way is not working, or at least consider that there may be another good solution, we remain stuck. Thought always preceeds action, so we have to change our mind before we can change our emotions and behaviors.
This program is about providing you with an environment and tools that allow you to reclaim that which you've hidden, even from yourself, when you adapted as best you could to your past or current environment. It is designed to help you unlearn things you decided were true, when, if fact, they were only opinions, and probably not even fact-based opinions.
This program is not about adding something new -- for you are perfect just as God created you. Using the tools of the program, you can chip away everything that does not belong to who you truly are. Just as the statue of David was buried in all that excess marble, you can uncover the you who is currently hidden inside.
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Design, Content and Images © Joy Koenig 1999 - 2008 All Rights Reserved. 
