• Stage One
Stage One is the hardest stage to identify because it is characterized by vague emptiness. You feel bored with your life; this boredom breeds restlessness. And though you feel the hazy desire to have more meaning in your life, you can't pinpoint the source of these feelings, let alone what is missing from your life. Think of it as a spiritual itch that you can't quite scratch.
• Stage Two
The low-grade boredom you felt in Stage One deepens in Stage Two. Whether you realize it or not, you've taken on certain addictions to insulate yourself from the ensuing chronic emptiness. In Stage Two, these addictions and their inadequacies become readily apparent; they aren't sustaining you anymore. As you continue to go through the motions of your life, a pervasive sense of numbness can leave you actively depressed. You may notice yourself getting sick more often. As your old self is dying, your outer energy is zapped by your soul's attempt to get you to withdraw from how you are conducting your current life. This prepares you for the new cycle that awaits.
• Stage Three
The chronic numbness of Stage Two reaches critical mass in Stage Three. It does so in the form of some kind of upheaval. The depth of this eruption is in direct proportion to your need to "wake up." The more unconscious you've been, the greater the fallout. As you are forced to let go of your former self, you begin to learn adaptation to change.
• Stage Four
Stage Four is limbo. You are in transition; you've cleared the hurdle of your old life, but you've not yet landed anywhere definable. Stage Four requires simplicity, allowing you to focus within. Your attention will be directed to your Cellar Self, where all of your denied sub-personalities live. These sub-personalities include both fear based aspects such as rage and shame, as well as denied aspects of higher consciousness, such as intuition and creativity. By compassionately addressing and accepting all that is kept in your Cellar Self, you emerge with a sense of calling.
• Stage Five
The void of Stage Four gives way to the blueprint of Stage Five. However, constructing a blueprint for an authentic life is a trial and error process. You must be willing to reframe failure, not seeing it judgmentally as it pertains to the results of your efforts. You begin to experiment with choices involving lifestyle and profession. The changes you make will reflect a new understanding of what really interests you. It can impact every aspect of your life; what you do, how you do it, and whom you do it with. This may include finding a mentor or an apprenticeship in a new vocation. By engaging what has meaning and vitality, you cultivate faith in living an authentic life.
• Stage Six
The new life that started to take form in Stage Five crystallizes in Stage Six. The inner work you've done bears fruit in forms that are both tangible (i.e., fulfilling work, intimate relationships, balanced health) and intangible (i.e., joy and gratitude); you find grace in every aspect of your life. Judging yourself in terms of success and failure becomes a thing of the past, as your focus becomes the journey, not the destination. Your sense of responsibility to yourself expands to include your friends, family, and local community. You realize that a truly abundant life is not possible without the humility of interdependence.
• Stage Seven
Brimming with the fullness an authentic life brings, your awareness spills over to embrace the global family. Your definition of selfhood now includes the world. You understand how the daily choices you make now include you and the planet at large simultaneously.
If you identify with any of the first five stages of LifeQuakeT and wish to further explore this as a model in a workshop or through individual coaching, please contact me at 310-712-2600 or click on "contact" and submit your information to be added to my e-mail list.
