The secret meaning of an "Aha!" moment

We've all had them, although we may not have known that's what they're called. It's a pristine moment of clarity that makes us stop whatever we're doing and say "I get it. I really get it!" We're fascinated with these moments, whether they happen to us or to someone else. Even Oprah finds them worth writing about. She includes a feature at the end of each issue of O Magazine describing an Aha! moment of a celebrity or respected figure.

What is the foundation of an Aha! moment? What makes them different from an ordinary moment of understanding? The difference is in the quality of our thoughts and our sense of self in the moment we receive the wisdom. I was looking at the word Aha and had my own realization. The secret is hidden in the word itself.

A - Authenticity. An Aha! moment happens when you tap into your genuine self. This is your deep self who rests beneath the outer layers of personality and ego. Your authentic self is the heart of Who You Really Are. When you connect with your true self, the wisdom you receive is untainted by the surface worries and thoughts of everyday life, what some call the "monkey mind". It is the voice of your purest wisdom and when it speaks you cannot help but listen.

H - Humility. These moments are filled with the humility of recognizing the smallness of your understanding and the immensity of the greater Intelligence that surrounds us. It is that age-old paradox of knowing that you really don't know anything at all. Even in our most insightful moments, we only touch the surface of a very deep pond. Kumu Etua Lopez often tells his students, "You look into the pond and see only yourself. You don't know how deep the water is. " When you have the humility to let go of how much you know, the Aha! moment let's you glimpse deeper forces, a greater Intelligence and mysterious order that exists beyond us.

A - Awareness. An Aha! moment comes when your awareness, your attention and your presence is in the Now. Without you giving your awareness, the moment passes you by. When your Conscious Mind acknowledges a new learning, it creates immediate integration with the deep level of understanding in the Unconscious Mind and essentially reprograms your beliefs in an instant. Your conscious awareness allows the shift to occur. Ekhart Tolle in his book, The Power of Now, teaches us the power of living in the present moment. Your awareness empowers the moment and sets the roots of the learning deep into Who You Really Are.

Aha! moments become more frequent as we nurture authenticity, humility and awareness in our lives. These characteristics build a foundation of integrity that supports a life of eager anticipation for the next new experience and the next new learning. With each Aha! moment, you become more attuned to your purpose, your wisdom, and your connection in the matrix of life.

Unexpected Reminders

During a break from my own training schedule, I coached and assisted at my mentor's prestigious Master Practitioner NLP training. As always, it is a amazing process to watch students transform themselves and their skills. I've known no other means to achieve such a deep and lasting level of results so quickly. In the midst of this training, I had an unexpected reminder that is still sending ripples into my life.

It was near the middle of the training. I was preparing to break a board that represented achieving my goals and, on the reverse side, breaking through the limitations I had placed on myself. I held my board and focused my intention while my assistant positioned the cement blocks where the board would be placed. I handed her my board and she gently set the board on the blocks, an inch on each side overlapping the edges of the blocks. As she adjusted the board's position one last time, it suddenly popped and split into two halves, dropping with a clatter to the floor.

The look on her face was priceless. I'm sure mine mirrored hers. We stood there stunned for a moment, voiced our surprise, and then she apologized profusely for causing the board to break. In the first moments, I admit I was a little irked because I had really wanted to break that board. The things I had listed on it had been ongoing challenges for me and I was eager for this symbolic break through.

In the next breath, the emotion was gone and in its place was an intense curiosity about what had just happened. I had handled that board for several days, carrying it with me to class, writing on it, rapping it with my knuckles and otherwise proving its structural integrity. I had seen no cracks in the board during its time with me. How was it that it just broke like that? Was it just a coincidence? An unfortunate timing of events?

The answer came through the lips of my assistant as we talked about the incident the next day. "Maybe it just means you don't have to do it all by yourself anymore," she said casually as we were observing students during a hypnosis exercise. It was an Ah-ha moment. Pristine. Crystal clear in a heart beat.

The goals and limitations I wrote on the board had been about my business and the tasks that needed my attention in order for it to continue running smoothly. The symbolic meaning of that board breaking without my touch (but every bit of my intention) was so obvious that I laughed instantly. So incredibly obvious... and yet so incredibly unconscious until she spoke the words aloud.

That day's learning continues to bubble to the surface more than a month afterward. Not only did I gain the insight to develop a talented support team, but I was reminded of the delight I felt when I was a student long ago, learning to open the doorway between my Conscious Mind and Unconscious Mind, learning to integrate their intentions and communicate each one's distinctive wisdoms. I savored, once again, the joy of being a life-long student to the art of human development.

Opening to Channel

It has always intrigued me, but I was nervous. I have a healthy caution about dabbling in the spirit world without some knowledge. I started digging. I wanted to get a sense of what was being said and what quality the messages were. Some highly publicized voices are Seth, Ramtha, and Abraham to name a few. There are many, many more. Some impressed me with their insightful messages. Others seemed to offer nothing profound and in fact seemed a bit self-serving. Quality and consistency of the message became my markers of a good guide and I felt more confident about the whole thing. I could feel when the message was vibing at a high level.

I picked up a book called Opening to Channel, by Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer. Good stuff. I did my first channeling session today. I think I might have made contact and I'm looking forward to more.

The coolest thing I got from the reading was that the Earth is magnetically coded for a specific purpose, and all those who are born of this planet have within them the same coding. In fact, according to my Guide, every planet supporting life is coded to produce a specific end result. Earth, according to the impressions I received today, is coded to create beings who live in compassion and forgiveness. When I asked for some examples of other types of planet codings, I got the impression that there was no way at this time to show me as I wanted, for it would just be too alien. Perhaps when my abilities to understand improve, then I'll get a better explanation. I thought it was an intriguing concept.

A breath of fresh air

One of my favorite sources for spiritual renewal has been reading. Finding a good book that really makes you think about, say.... thinking, for example....is like finding a flower-filled meadow at the top of the mountain you just hiked. A sweet perfumed surprise, well earned and thoroughly enjoyed. Books that have brought that sweet breath of fresh air to me include:

• Oahspe, an old bible-like story of man's physical, social and spiritual evolution
• Bringers of the Dawn, by Barbara Marciniak
• Think and Grow Rich, by Napolean Hill
• The Secret Science, by John Baines (a Rosicrucian-based publication)
• Initiation, by Elizabeth Haich
• The Hermetica, by Timothy Freke & Peter Candy
• The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz
• Conversations with God, by Neale Donald Walsh

Some of the above titles are more controversial than others, but thinking about new ideas stirs the imagination and prompts growth beyond what you were able to accomplish before. I say go for it. I'd love to hear your comments on any of them. Or, feel free to recommend a few titles of your own.

Coming from the source

I get reminded of this often enough that you'd think I would have it down pat by now. Perhaps this time I do.

The true source of my ability to create the life I want comes to me from within, from that source of knowing that has no name. I could call it God. I could call it Intuition. For some, the former would strike a chord, for others, the latter. As a hypnotherapist, I might call it your Unconscious Mind. And as a student of Huna, I might say my ku, my na'au, or even my aumakua. Whatever you want to call it, it's the voice of knowing within you. Some are so completely unaware of that inner voice (as I was in my younger days) that they don't even realize it's speaking. They simply respond to it without conscious thought about what it is to which they respond. No matter the name we use or the awareness we have of it, it is an inner source that guides us and one that we can trust unfailingly.

Abraham's Perspective on the Source
I don't know if you've read or heard about Abraham-Hicks. Abraham is the non-physical spiritual guide that speaks through Esther Hicks. Abraham describes this voice as our "inner being" who speaks to us in the form of emotion. When we experience a negative emotion, our inner being is telling us that our thoughts are not in line with Who We Really Are. Emotions guide us toward creating what we really want in our lives.

Personally, I've found the trickiest part isn't understanding Abraham's explanation. The trickiest part for me has been to identify the thought I'm having that is causing my emotions to give me negative feedback. It's helped me to become more aware of what I'm thinking. Surprising to me was the realization that I have a constant train of thought going on in my head that is not originating from the current moment and its happenings, but from past events and experiences. My thoughts tend, if I'm not being attentive to them, to mull over what past experiences mean or how I should behave now so that I can avoid pain, anger, disappointment or sadness. Here I am, Ms. Progressive, and most of my time is spent looking backward! That was an eye opener.

Externalizing the Source
When I'm not mindful of my thoughts I tend to externalize the decision about whether I am acting in a right or wrong fashion. In those "auto pilot" times, I find myself looking to others for confirmation that I'm doing OK. I fall into the trap of externalizing my guiding voice, looking outward for the source of my direction rather than inward.

A perfect example of this came to mind this morning as I was writing in my journal. A dear friend who I respect immensely gave me feedback once that I allowed to alter my self-perception. This friend, let's call her Sue, is a very talented career coach. She has a knack for helping people focus in on innate talents and find work that uses them. I confided in Sue one day that my deepest desire is to transform my software training skills into personal & spiritual growth training. Her response was lukewarm at best. In fact, she changed the subject! I was devastated.

Believing that she may not have understood how important this was to me, I tried again to explain it to her a few weeks later. The same response; lukewarm, polite "ahs" and "how interesting", then a subject change. Now I was getting angry. How can she call herself a career coach when she can't see what I long so deeply to create in my life?

Months have past since those conversations. My upset continued throughout as I internalized her belief that I couldn't do my dream. I faltered and became depressed, trying to focus on my current job in the hopes that my success there would rid me of my blasted hopes for another career. Everytime my dream would resurface, turning it's trusting face toward me for encouragement, Sue's face and words as she expressed her doubt echoed in my mind, bringing an immediate sense of hurt and loss. How could she steal my dream that way?

The true stealer of dreams is probably more obvious to you than it was to me at the time. Rather than ask how she could steal my dream, I should have been asking, "how could I allow her to steal my dream?"! I believed her when she expressed her doubt. I accepted it. Buy why? Why was it so much easier for me to believe her doubts than to believe in my own dream?

Reflecting Our Inner Voice
it was easier to believe the doubts because her doubts were actually my own, reflected back to me. She served as a mirror to my own internal fears, and I accepted her doubt because it struck a chord within me. A little voice inside said, Yeah! She's right! You're not good enough!

When I realized from where the true source of doubt came, I felt an instant lightening of my spirit. If it was truly coming from within me, then I had the power to change it. Again, my thoughts returned to Abraham's message that emotions are messages from our inner beings. Negative emotion (as I felt toward Sue) is often projected outward as blame. I felt angry and wounded because of what she said, or so I thought. Truthfully, I felt angry and wounded because my own thoughts were undermining my dream. The thought came from within me and my emotions alerted me. What a wonderful gift Sue gave to me. What a wonderful mechanism of learning and awareness our Creator has given us!

Identifying the Source in All Its Disguises
The tricky part in coming to the awareness that Sue was not the stealer of my dream was in recognizing and accepting my role in the experience. I knew the negative emotion was there, but I mistakenly looked outside of myself for its cause...as if someone else's thoughts could speak for my soul. It was only when I identified the source as coming from within me that I found my way out of the doubt and fear and back on track to my dream.

The source always comes from within us, no matter its disguise. Remembering that we can only respond to and recognize words and actions that mirror our own thoughts and experiences will help you to bring your focus back to your inner voice. One cannot recognize a yellow boat if one does not know what "yellow" and "boat" are. Be aware of this and claim your power.

And so we begin...

As every journey begins with the first step, so does this personal journey begin with its first post.

Wisdom
For as long as I can remember, I've craved wisdom. I want to know how we grow into being who we are as individuals. I want to know how we learn to recognize our foibles and faults...and ultimately, how we learn to change them, mature them. I want to know how we can consciously evolve ourselves.

I know I'm not alone. It's nearly impossible to list the number of books written on the subject of personal growth. Each has its focus. Each has its perspective. Some are very practical and others delve deeply into spiritual realms. I've found every sort of topic helpful over the years, as I'm sure you have, too. What interests me most, though, is the spirit.

Spirit & Personal Growth
The spirit survives all other elements of our life here. We can focus on very solid personal growth, such as leadership skills, and get that great job with the nice six-figure paycheck. But when we die, the paycheck ends and we're left with our spirit. The spirit has also grown in the skill of leadership and can carry forth that skill to its next adventure. The same can be said for almost any personal growth that first begins as a means toward earthly reward. It seems that the most satisfying personal growth happens when, at its core, the growth is truly spiritual. It has been my observation, both in my own life and the the lives of others, that it is the person who creates long term spiritual growth who finds the most all-encompassing happiness.

Logic and Intuition
You'll discover as you read these writings that I often wander between logic and intuition. Logic serves well when it comes to organizing and ordering thoughts. We all are probably most familiar with its tenets and methods. While logic is well-rewarded in this science-based world, intuition often suffers sneers and dismal as a valid tool for personal growth. Intuition, I've learned, is a human's best friend. It is that inner voice that speaks in the language most perfectly matched to our own thinking. Given the powerful role it has played in my life, I expect you'll hear a lot about it over the upcoming span of time.

Work calls, so I'll end this for today. I truly hope that these wanderings are a contribution of value to the many that have come before and the many that will be written in the future. I cannot promise to be so perfectly phrased over time, but I do hope to be easily read.