What if you deeply knew that you were already complete and whole?
How might your life be different?
I thought I knew that I was whole.
On my journey,
I learned that I knew wholeness as an idea,
A good idea,
And sometimes I had brief experiences of it as well.
I read a letter called The Secret,
Written by one of my mentors,
Mavis Karn.
She wrote this letter more than 20 years ago to kids in jail.
As I explored the simplicity of this message,
I began to more deeply know and live by the truth of wholeness for myself and all.
Experiencing wholeness,
Regardless of circumstances or situations,
Has been one of the greatest gifts I have received,
And I want to share it with you.
I'm grateful to Mavis for granting me permission to share this letter with the world.
Dear kids and former kids,
I have a secret to tell you.
Nobody meant to keep it from you.
It's just that it's been one of those things that's so obvious that people couldn't see it,
Like looking all over for the key that you have in your hand.
The secret is that you are already a completely whole,
Perfect person.
You are not damaged goods.
You are not incomplete.
You are not flawed.
You are not unfinished.
You do not need remodeling,
Fixing,
Polishing,
Or major rehabilitation.
You already have within you everything you need to live a wonderful life.
You have common sense,
Wisdom,
Genius,
Creativity,
Humor,
Self-esteem.
You are pure potential.
You are missing nothing.
The only thing that can keep you from enjoying all that you already are is a thought.
One thought.
Your thought.
Not someone else's thought.
Your thought.
Whatever thought you're thinking at the moment that feels more important to think than feeling grateful,
Alive,
Content,
Joyful,
Optimistic,
Loving,
And at peace.
That's the only thing that's between you and happiness.
And guess who's in charge of your thinking?
Guess who gets to decide where your attention goes?
Guess who gets to write,
Produce,
Direct,
And star in the moment you're in the middle of?
You.
Just you.
Not your past stored thought.
Not the future.
Did you ever notice that it never ever shows up?
Not your parents.
They think their own thoughts.
Or your friends.
Ditto.
Or school,
Or television,
Or situations,
Or circumstances,
Or anything else.
Just you.
Thinking is an awesome capability.
Like any capability,
It can be used whether as a tool or as a weapon against ourselves and others.
And just like with any other tool,
We can tell whether we're using it for or against ourselves by how it feels.
When we think against ourselves or others,
We get in trouble.
When we don't,
We usually stay out of trouble.
Feelings exist to warn us away from using our thinking to create trouble in our lives and to guide us back to our natural healthy ability to live our lives to the fullest.
So please remember that your thoughts are not always telling you the truth.
When we're in low moods,
Feeling down,
Our thoughts are not to be trusted.
Our IQ drops.
When our thoughts pass and we lighten up,
Our thinking is once again creative,
Positive.
Our IQ goes up.
The only way you can feel badly about yourself and your life is if you think badly about them.
It's up to you.
Every single minute you're alive,
It's always up to you.
This is the best,
Most liberating secret I've ever learned and I want you to know it too.
With love,
Mavis.
Even after reading this letter dozens of times,
I'm so moved by these words and the impact that it's had on me and so many of my clients.
What might the world look like if more people lived in wholeness?
How might your experience of life be different if you embodied wholeness?
Come join me on the exploration.
