THE CALL: Living the Life Only You Were Born For
When you’re feeling stuck in a rut and finally decide to make a change going alone can be challenging. You see we don’t live in a society that nurtures authenticity or uniqueness. By authenticity I mean being faithful to internal rather than external ideals. So when you decide it’s finally time to move away from doing what you’ve always done; which perhaps has never made your dreams come true, you might be hard pressed to find support to help fuel your momentum.
Are you at a place in your life where you’re thinking “I would rather have my teeth pulled out than go back to my office ever again,” or “Why did I accept this horrible assignment when my gut was screaming no?” Perhaps you are feeling like things just are not going the way you had planned. Perhaps you are feeling like it is time to do what you have always wanted or perhaps you are confused about what that is. You may begin to share your feelings with the people in your life and discover that this is not something people are unconditionally willing to listen to. The idea that you need to make a change may trigger fear or concern in some of your close friends and relatives. In our society people are generally not acquainted with those of us who want to follow our unique calling. For most people this is often relegated to hobby time.
We all came into this life with unique gifts and talents we are meant to share. This is our calling. More often than not it is also our dream and the thing we do that makes us feel alive and jump out of bed in the morning. The great news is that what we are born to do in this life is also how we serve humanity. I believe when one of us misses our calling there is a negative ripple throughout consciousness.
As children we are deeply connected to ourselves as divine beings; therefore, still related to the truth of who we are meant to be in this lifetime. When a child announces, “I want to be a firefighter!” it would be good for this to be heard deeply by a parent. Whether or not the child actually wants to grow up, don a firefighter uniform, and carry around a big hose spraying fires is not the main point. The main point is that there is an intuitive voice in that child that knows deeply that the qualities of a firefighter are qualities he was born to bring forth to serve humanity in this lifetime, e.g. courage, heroism, teamwork, etc. However, let’s say this child makes this announcement to a father who almost died in a fire as a child and has held onto the dread associated with that circumstance. What may result is stifled self-expression. The child may then put this dream in the “DO NOT PURSUE” file.
As a child I remember making announcements like, “I want to be a rock star!” or “I want to be a movie star!” I did discover the one thing I excelled at and loved as a pre-teen and young man, which was acting. Although my family and parents were very proud of me when I starred in community plays and musicals the general message I always received was that you cannot be an actor and make a living. In my mind this got translated to the irrational belief “You can’t do what you love and make a living.” At 35 I have finally resolved that belief and I am pursuing another dream. I had to do a lot of mental work to get to this place.
My calling is to empower others to be their best on their unique path to living the life they were born for. This is why I am still doing The Call seminar that I co-created eight years ago. The seminar directly addresses these issues of authenticity and following our calling in an environment imbued with love, spirit, and mutual support. Also, the seminar specifically addresses the issues that gay men face being disconnected from their true selves.
First hand experience has taught me well that the gay community facilitates getting deeply caught in ego endeavors with ease. My past experience is that getting caught up in these has left me wondering where my life is headed and severely disconnected, particularly, from myself. My experience working with other gay men has taught me that these feelings are universal. The ego endeavors I refer to include circuit parties, drugs, youth obsession, materialism, the bar scene, sex obsession. It also includes not being fully self expressed because we are more concerned with looking good or keeping the job that seems perfect on the surface. One clear example of this is people who stay closeted out of fear of what their co-workers might think if they come out. No one should have to go to work and leave 75% of who they are in the car with the hot sun beaming down on it. Alas, many of us do. Also, as illustrated previously we often disconnect from ourselves in childhood as a result of events that may leave us feeling less loved or accepted being who we really are. This is why it becomes critical as adults to consciously engage in exercises and practice to reconnect at the authentic level of consciousness.
The main purpose of The Call is to support the participants in reconnecting with their authentic selves, unique gifts and visions they are meant to realize in this life. In the first two and a half hours of this seminar I ask the men to take a journey through their life up until the present. Where are they succeeding? What have they neglected? Where have they been less than authentic? By looking candidly at where the men are now and beginning to understand that what got them to this point is a series of choices they can move into unconditional acceptance. Through accepting current reality and realizing that we are always making a choice we can see that it is within our realm to make a different choice. However, we can’t choose something else until we place our consciousness on Here and Now and accept what we have already chosen without judgment. Making different choices could take us closer to the realization of our goals.
At this point in the seminar I ask the men to do visioning work! This means that I ask them to bring their imaginations to the seminar with them. It is in the imaginary realm that we allow our authentic self to hold the vision of what we desire and begin to see the ways in which they can be brought down to earth. The remainder of this eight-week seminar facilitates the implementation of tools that support their visions becoming reality. This includes creating very specific action plans. Without action visions are just visions.
Through the honor and privilege of previously facilitating this work I know directly the difference that people can make in their own lives and in the world when they enter this level of consciousness. Also, I know that when people do evolve into their authentic self they don’t go back, at least not indefinitely. When we experience and come to know ourselves as authentic beings we automatically begin to see others this way. Seeing others and ourselves at this level of consciousness brings more peace and joy to humanity.
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To learn more about THE CALL and enroll you can call Scott @ Gay Men's Medicine Circle @ 818-400-2432. You can also access further info at Jason's website: http://www.jmannino.com/EVENTS.html
The seminar is facilitated by Jason Mannino and Johnny Burke.
Jason Mannino is a Personal Coach and Seminar Leader in Hollywood, CA. He is available for one-on-one coaching and group coaching in addition to his seminars: The Call and Being Love. You can learn more about Jason and contact him through his website at:
www.jmannino.com
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