Q. Greetings, Just wondering, based on Abraham’s ideas about not worrying about where you have been … how does that concept interface with your maps of our past decisions? -Jayne
A. Hi Jayne. This is a really good question. And while the question can be asked in one line, its going to take me quite a few paragraphs to give you a comprehensive answer.
For those who don’t know of the Abraham that Jayne refers to… its the Teachings of Abraham, via the amazing work of Jerry and Esther Hicks (see www.abraham-hicks.com). And the ‘maps of our past decisions’ that she mentions, are the Life Maps contained in my SHIFT-IT Graphic Coaching Process (stage 2 of the process is ‘Harvest Your History’).
I was first introduced to Abraham around 2000’ish – and have been hooked ever since. I think their material is the best stuff out there on Law of Attraction. I’ve used it to create my own life shift and this philosophy deeply influences the work I now do with my SHIFT-IT clientèle. In fact, we use my favorite book of the Hick’s, Ask and It Is Given, as our focal point for my Merkley’s Manifestation Mastermind (new 12-week group is starting in September for those of you who might be interested in participating).
I agree that doing ‘history work’ of one’s past can be a tricky thing… and I have placed less and less emphasis on this phase of SHIFT-IT as time goes on (putting much more emphasis on the Focus on Your Future stage). However, I’m not ready to throw the baby out with the bath water quite yet. I do think that Life Mapping can be a very powerful process for some people, in some circumstances. And for others, its best to just leave it alone and move onto visioning and deliberate creation work. It depends on what your past is, the story you are currently telling about it and how that makes you feel (i.e. the vibration that that you emit when you focus on your past).
Some people find Life Mapping to be a very cathartic and helpful experience (it moves them ‘up the emotional scale’ to reference another Abraham device). Seeing their life from the big picture perspective brings them a new level of understanding and integration. They appreciate the flow of life moving through them and its helps them see that things do shift and have a way of working out and evolving. They usually come to me and SHIFT-IT work when they are at a crossroads of some sense, so its helpful to see and remember that they have made it through crossroads in the past. Brings reassurance that they will again.
Also, people come to SHIFT-IT work because they are wanting to shift a certain ‘IT’ in their life. Or a combination of ‘ITs’. For example, the ‘IT’ might be money/abundance. Or relationships. Or creating enjoyable work for themselves. Or any other issue that is consistently an issue of some sort or other for them. It can be very helpful to look at the evolution of that particular subject in their life over time. Particularly the beliefs that they have collected over time on it (because it is not the things that happen to us that are the issue… its the beliefs that we attach to them that are most important). In writing/drawing out your Life Map, you can harvest our your beliefs to literally SEE how you are creating the reality you currently are… and can make decisions about whether you want to keep those beliefs or SHIFT them in order to get different results.
For folks who have pasts that do not make them feel particularly good, I will either suggest they skip the whole exercise… or, do something even more profound (which is very aligned with Abraham’s teachings). I’ll get them to do a ‘rose colored’ Life Map – putting on their ‘selective sifter’ glasses and writing down only the ‘good things’. The things that were happy, good-feeling and enjoyable. Basically this is taking a ‘positive aspects’ or ‘appreciative inquiry’ approach. This can be such a strong and powerful experience for people. They look at their lives in a whole new way. A whole new energetic and perspective is created. A different story is created and hence a different vibration is emitted. Its all in how you look at things. This way of doing a Life Map can teach folks to be choiceful about the lens they look through at their life and the effect that their focus has. To get more conscious about the vibration and signals they are putting out and SHIFT them for the better.
And … finally … there is an even more profound way to do the Life Maps exercise … and that is to use these handy visual tools to tell your story the way you want it to be. To re-write history if you will. To draw out your past as if you got and had absolutely everything you could have ever wanted. This seemingly act of ‘make believe’ gets your vibration humming in new and provocative ways. It can help you ‘find the feeling place’ of a new you and a new story. Very refreshing! You’ll never quite go back to telling it the old way ever again!
I hope this gives you a little more perspective about the Life Maps process and how i think it fits into the Abraham teachings that obviously both you and i are so fond of. Thanks Jayne so much for asking me such a great question and one i have a lot of passion for! Feel free to keep the dialog going if you have more questions. Would love to hear your response to this.
Yours in SHIFTing IT,
Christina Merkley
The SHIFT-IT Coach
[tags]Christina Merkley, SHIFT-IT Coach, SHIFT-IT, graphic recording, graphic facilitation, Law of Attraction, Laws of Attraction[/tags]
