The Journey of a Sage

It’s been said in various incarnations through the years that we are the sum of our experiences. Author B.J. Neblett once wrote that, “like a flowing river, those … experiences … continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and the person we become.” How many of us, though, take the time to not only consider and process our experiences, but to unravel the deeper meaning inherent to life’s vignettes? How many of us simply plow through life’s challenges without trying to reveal truths about those episodes—truths that have the potential to liberate us? If I’ve learned anything during my own journey, it’s that the path of unfolding inner freedom is within everyone’s reach. But that first step, a step made with pure intention and awareness of what lies ahead, is often the most difficult. The Journey of a Sage not only will help you take that step, but it will open doors you never knew were closed. It will help you live beyond your fears and all that limits you. It will allow you to master your life instead of floundering in its shadows. How do I know? For more than 25 years, I’ve incorporated my tool that’s central to my practice and my teachings. The tool, which I named The Sage’s Template™, was developed throughout my own healing and the healing of others. Time and again, I’ve had the honor of watching people use The Sage’s Template™ to master their most crushing challenges, unveil their wisdom, and revel in the understanding it brings. All of us can heal in this life, but only if we’re willing and open to it. Of course, for some, that’s easier said than done. Putting a mirror to one’s experiences, especially difficult ones, can be daunting. Trust me, I know. There have been times in my own life when the pain felt all-consuming and too much to bear. … Even in a challenging moment, the opportunity for continuing education exists. If you’re available to it. … The more I explored challenges by looking for the gifts within, the more I understood the truth of life unveiled. Not long after graduate school, I started my private practice. My original practice was steeped psychoanalytic psychotherapy. But a few years in, my clients started asking different questions, questions that broke the ceiling of traditional psychology. They were curious about life beyond fear-based thoughts and surface-level feelings. It wasn’t just, “Why did John cheat on me?” It was, “Why am I involved in the same relationship over and over again?” “How do I open up my relationships; they feel so limited.” “Where do I find happiness?” My patients were leaning into their challenges, just as I was in my life—and they were asking all the right questions. I soon found myself having access to answers. There was a synergy developing between my personal journey and my professional journey. Those early years with my patients helped to form the foundation of The Sage’s Template™. This book represents the core of my teachings. Often, life’s truths are very simple, but the mastery of those truths requires us to walk toward the fire. All of us have inner wisdom just waiting to be tapped. But are we able to endure the pressure or the pain that comes with a life experience and find the deeper meaning of that episode? Furthermore, can you grow from it? And heal from it? You can. And this book will help you discover how. Lao Tse Tung, Buddha, Christ and other enlightened souls knew that life mastery was attainable through willingness and belief. Indigenous people of many lands believed that injury and illness came from the internal imbalances with Self, Spirit, and Earth. They mastered life with the help of a medicine wheel. The Sage’s Template™ incorporates several familiar philosophies and teachings, minus the medicine wheel, and combines them into an accessible blueprint, one that allows you to stay in the present while learning from the past. You’ll begin to understand the purposes of different challenges in life. We’ll explore your Soulful Self and the external “Other” factors that produce internal reactions. You’ll gain insights into your physical experience and your energetic experience. You’ll better understand love-based and fear-based emotions, and how those feelings are the language of the soul. You’ll learn that being out of tune can lead to illumination, and that transcending fear allows you to live in the greater truth: love. It’s no secret that relationships define this lifetime, and communication defines relationships. The Template can lead to a style of communication that opens you to your soulful purpose, that guides you to growth in your relationships, as well as inner growth. … It’s through the communication with Self that you will move through challenges and begin to love the company you keep. It’s through the communication of Self that you will become more present and in “the now.” As you begin to live with compassion for Self, you also will live with compassion for others. As you begin to explore your Self, you will learn to explore others. Through the knowing and loving of Self, you will move into the awareness of The One and the infinite. If none of this makes sense yet, trust me, it will. The Sage’s Template™ is a tool that can assist you in growing beyond assumptions and expectations. It can guide you to the answers within that help you move beyond taking things personally. Imagine the empowerment that comes with being a confident observer of life—someone who can see an episode for what it is, feel it, process it, and, ultimately, find the wisdom in it—instead of someone who only reacts to an experience but never grows from it. It’s time to lose your fears and discover the healing freedom that comes with life mastery. Let the journey begin.