Powerful Shifts: Inevitable and Desirable

In today’s episode of Healing From Within, your host Sheryl Glick author of The Living Spirit Answers for Healing and Infinite Love which shares stories and powerful examples of our magnificent potential as human and spiritual beings to develop intuitive abilities and conquer ordinary and insurmountable challenges as we face inevitable and also desirable change leading to personal growth welcomes Steve Ahnael Nobel author of Personal Transitions who shows us how he made his own personal shifts to approach life in a courageous way and shows us how change is the opportunity for achieving our greatest potential to live a gloriously authentic and valuable life experience.

Steve will share his ideas on transition and how it differs from change, how global transition relates to personal transition, and describe how resistance affects this process…Steve will describe the spiritual dimension of a transition known as the dark soul, his Kundalini awakening process, and describe 3 different types of transitions. Steve Nobel is an explorer of the soul and offers a valiant and honest exploration of the mystical psychological and subconscious realms as we journey towards a clearer view of Self and our human condition. Steve Nobel is the founder of the London based non-profit centre for contemporary spiritual and personal development and is trained as a coach and NLP practitioner, teaches workshops and also works at the London based college of Psychic Studies.

A transition is more than a change: it is a crossing over from one state to another, from one way of thinking to a new more open and enlarged perception: from one reality fostered by societal belief systems to a multi-dimensional awareness of energy and possibilities for creation and renewal… It can amount to dying and coming back…a near death or perhaps new life experience…Steve shows us how to release what is holding us back, recover our inner compass and manifest a richer and more fulfilling life.

Steve wrote…” Personal transitions are at the heart of the global shift happening now and are a way that the soul gets us to wake up to the reality of the essential self and the delusions of the world. Because of this a transition is not something our personality or ego-mind welcomes. We are conditioned to seek comfort pleasure and the familiar yet….we are subject to evolutionary and spiritual forces that want us to open , grow, deepen and awaken. Change does not necessarily lead to personal growth or awakening. Change is two dimensional whereas transition is three-dimensional…which involves depth because our heart and soul are engaged…a change is merely external, whereas a transition on the other hand alters our psychology-the way we think, the way we feel and how we perceive the world. Transitions force us to address the important questions of existence; Why are we here? What do we want to do? What direction do we take? Where in the world do we truly belong?”

A transition alters our core beliefs which affect the choices we make; change may alter our outer circumstances without liberating us in any way. Transition is a liberating force that helps to make life lighter and easier. Change is purely material whereas a transition impacts our consciousness and spiritual awareness.


Personal Transition is linked to a much larger process… that of global transition Steve believes we stand together at a powerful and crucially important crossroads in human history. One way leads to a powerful evolution and flowering of soul and consciousness: the other leads to more ego, control, contraction and even possibly global tyranny. The planet as many people have been disconnected from this inner soul or Universal light for thousands of years and we can see the results…overpopulation loss of natural resources, diseases such as cancer as a worldwide epidemic, war, natural disasters, a world of technology but people living in divided class or economic structures, crime and people honoring their baser instincts as can be seen in some of the music media and deterioration of family life love and respect for human dignity. These problems and forces blocking spiritual evolution are part of the game of duality, seeing things as either black and white, feminine or male, rich or poor, but this is changing. Many highly vibration souls are being born and will bring about an awakening to a new resonance of life cooperation and sustainable abundance.

The four systems that need to grow up and enable us to do things differently now are;

1. Dogmatic Religion which has lost much of the original message of light and has many distorted ideas about suffering sin a judgmental punishing father and a unclear view of Energy and continued soul life beyond this physical life. Many religions are out of step with what many people now demand from a modern spiritual path.
2. Narrow Minded Science. Certain ideas here that are harmful are there is no reality but material reality: consciousness is a byproduct of the brain: nature is fascinating but purposeless: spiritual phenomenon can always be explained rationally and when they can’t they should be ignored ( How ridiculous is that…just like new DNA testing offers us more answers than 10 years ago, in any study or experience just because we can’t see it or answer it, yet, doesn’t mean the answer is not there..we just are not developed enough to assimilate it.
3. Biased Education. Much of education is strongly biased in terms of logic rationality memory and left-brained intellect relegating the heart and right brained abilities such as intuition imagination and vision to the position of poor relatives. Research has found high levels of anxiety depression and general cynicism among children whose parents insist on sending them from one learning experience to another often destroying their curiosity and creativity Education should be more than making nice little cogs for work down the road.
4. Heartless Capitalism. Capitalism the private ownership of goods and services for profit…while there is nothing wrong with this it seems the game rules of private ownership are not fair. Not everyone has equal access to possibility opportunity and advancement. Some groups are favored over others and it seems to have no heart except if money can be made….this promotes tremendous inequality and ignores the fact that human communities thrive more from a sense of cooperation rather than extreme competition which tends to me more destructive than creative in nature….Capitalism tells us that happiness is just a purchase away..For centuries we have put a high price on industrialization and a low value on human communities and nature. Heartless capitalism does not create abundance but rather poverty and is often a primary cause of war. Heartless capitalism is also behind corporations such as pharmaceuticals, energy and weapons and seek to maintain the privileges of a few over the many.

As a result of these problems stated above our planet is in a process of radical transition which cannot be stopped..The good news is many people are saying no to war…many people are standing up for the rights of the underprivileged …millions of people are exploring alternative lifestyles that take into account the finite resources of our blue-green planet…millions of people are turning to meditation and alternative healing methods…..what happens in the next 10-20 years is pivotal in the whole process of this global transition..The world needs us to change so the world can change: we are not separate from the world and the only real revolution and transition starts from the inside out.

Putting aside Steve’s birth, a difficult adolescence, and a painful entry into the world of work, his first big transition came in the mid- 1980’s…working in a career he disliked..married with one daughter and a son on the way he hit a crisis so Steve made preparations to press the eject button on his life. As he was losing consciousness he heard a voice speak inside his head… “There is hope.” The voice conveyed certainty and authority (a guide angel or God) so Steve aborted his attempted suicide and was carted off to the emergency room at a local hospital. He left the job, went into therapy and in 1993 left his marriage of 15 years and entered a vortex of change.. meditation, spiritual healing modalities and eventually left his second career in local government…Soon Steve had to align his career with his spiritual life.

Steve mentions a big transition kicked off for him between the death of his father in January 1991 and the ending of his marriage in 1993. This was his first experience of a spiritual transition in which he connected to his inner light (soul essence or heart). Within 6 months many of the spiritual teachers who would influence him for the next 15-20 years entered and Steve entered into a loving long term relationship and found a new career path that he loved. Steve thought he was done with transitions…and then in early 2010 he had a Kundalini awakening experience.

A kundalini awakening can be triggered by all manner of catalysts, but usually erupts via some intense spiritual practice. It is a curled sleeping serpent or coil of energy at the base of the spine between the root and sacral chakra and remains dormant until awakened…My own super-rough transition was via a beautiful Texan woman named Lisa..we had met 18 months before and became friends ..Lisa organized a workshop for me in Ireland. The night before the workshop I had a dream in which we were married by angels. I soon returned to England ..we did get engaged and then spent our relationship via skype while nothing physically was happening, psychically the intensity being felt was tremendous…we did a tantric meditation over Skype and when we stopped I felt pulsating waves of energy in my body unlike anything I had ever felt before and the effects of this experience continued long after the initial reaction.

In life we need a certain amount of structure..a structure may support our ego’s wants but not the deep yearning of the soul. In the outer world there are 3 main structures that hold together our reality: 1 culture 2 large systems such as government law and corporations and last 3 family. Just as we need external structure to give our reality stability we also need internal structure which we call our core beliefs and values. For greater self-investigation and personal development it is valuable to have a flexible ego to adapt to all the changes in the external world. An inflexible and negative ego is a challenge for a soul calling…

Typical resistant patterns are;

1. Blame This is a means of self-protection and self-preservation and blame also allows us to avoid taking responsibility for our life.
2. Busyness We can block or divert tension by focusing on constant doing..but it leads to burnout eventually
3. Comparison We are taught at a young age to compare and contrast. It is never wise to compare our looks talents or journey with those of others.
4. Conflict We are taught to defend ourselves by being right. Arguing leads to conflict which diverts our energy and prevents radical change. When we are in conflict we are in fight or flght mode and it is hard to pause for breath before speaking or acting
5. Control We are taught to control our lives but if we do that we will become dull and people may avoid us CONTROL IS THE ANTITHESIS OF TRUST
6. Doubt We are taught to doubt and excessive doubt will close the heart and stunt the mind and any necessary and desirable transitions.
7. Drama We are surrounded by drama everywhere: media television cinema and can create drama by ourselves in our own life story : it is an addictive resistance pattern which does not allow for mindfulness and reflection. Drama is one of the greatest deterrents to soul calling and necessary transitions.
8. Fantasy is a resistance to life and is a different than dreaming or vision
9. Fear The mother of all resistant patterns. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of condemnation, fear of success fear of intimacy, fear of your own light and power. When we embrace fear it can become the fuel for a journey without joy and possibilities for expansion.
10. Greed We are encouraged to mindlessly consume and accumulate. This makes life on earth heavy. Often beneath greed is unhappiness. We cannot be greedy and generous at the same time.
11. Guilt We are taught guilt from a young age. Religion teaches guilt Families teach guilt. Guilt believes in punishment and suffering. When we feel guilty it is hard to give any importance to our own values dreams and visions.
12. Helplessness Over attachment There is healthy bonding and there is unhealthy attachment Over attachment creates a fusion or clinging to people circumstances possessions status . Fusion makes it hard to let go and develop a healthy sense of love and personal responsibility.
13. Perfectionism is the opposite of spontaneity growth or adventure.
14. Pleasing Our need to make others happy first..this is completely impossible and keeps us stuck..makes it hard for us to say NO and set healthy boundaries
15. Rescuing Solving other people’s problems. Sometimes it feels right to help: other times we must allow other people to have their experiences and trust they will find the right way.
16. Security A lot of soul tension to move out of this comfortable life.
17. Self-Attack Self criticism keeps us playing very small in life and gives us no peace of mind.
18. Shame tells us we are flawed defective or not good enough and is connected to guilt and embarrassment and disconnects us from our authentic self which knows no shame

Steve gives some Radical Self-Care tips, which are important ways to safeguard our body-mind system.

1. Cut down on different types of garbage entering your system(media music people’s actions toxic food or medicines.)
2. Reduce the intake of news and information that revs up your fight and flight response.
3. Drink plenty of clean pure water. Eat an alkaline diet. Take appropriate minerals oils and supplements.
4. Wear clothes from natural materials-cotton and wool since these allow a free flow of energy around the body.
5. Slow down and be conscious of what you are doing rather than being on auto pilot.
6. Avoid spiritual abstractions and practices that take you out of the body and into the head. Find short periods of time for stillness and silence throughout the day. Practice being Mindful..notice when your energy dips or you feel tense scattered or distracted. Meditate on the natural flow of the breath and use this to stay in the moment.
7. Whenever possible visit wild places and walk on the earth barefoot. Open your senses smell the trees feel the wind and sunshine on your skin touch the grass and leaves and listen to the birds.
8. Practice meditating at sunrise and sunset.
9. Practice energy movement therapies such as yoga, tai chi or walk or swim …dance and sing…take steam baths and massage.
10. Practice appreciating your body
11. Learn to appreciate the power of touch giving and receiving hugs.

Steve describes Transition as a profound process of maturation and suggests integrity means not necessarily conforming to societal norms. Having integrity seems challenging for many people as rules distract us from our inner knowingness and authentic ways of being so choices based on integrity or self knowing which helps us resist fear and limited thinking is not available to lots of folks. Then Steve describes courage, coming from the French word “Coeur” meaning heart… ….so heart and soul are terms that often refer to the same essence.

SHERYL’S STORY “When I was going through my own awakening process about twenty years ago and feeling that deeper part of my soul being which cried out to me to stand my ground and continue to learn read grow find spiritual teachers and to write the messages or inspiration I was downloading in meditation for clients… I faced tremendous resistance from many people around me who didn’t want me to change.. It made me return to a feeling I had a remembrance of a time long ago- of horses and soldiers in the Roman Empire and the soldiers sat on their horses connected in their intention to hold true to their need to resist fear and wait for the appropriate moment to move.. I could feel the power and straining of the horses as they waited….it felt like working in sync with a divine force and felt so powerful to me…I think when one knows the true purpose of life is for our souls to refine and grow in beauty kindness and truth we have passed through a major restriction to our personal freedom and we begin a new time for our physical and spiritual energies to merge together and to live triumphantly no matter the outcome of any situation.”

It is possible to refuse the transition journey or abort it. When we resist the calling or soul tension we will continue to feel frustrated and unhappy but yet it is incredibly strong…Soul tension is connected to important aspects of our energy being…The physical world is made up of vibrating energy…the same is true of our internal psychic world…a soul calling is a deep current of vibrating energy…resistance to this deep current creates soul tension…tension is resolved through crisis or by aligning with the soul calling. Sometimes refusing this spiritual calling and growth happens even if we are fortunate enough to recognize the issue. There are many reasons for this…maybe we are waiting for the right time and it never comes. Perhaps we lack the courage to act or feel unable to do so in some way. Perhaps the calling feels too big or grand or we feel confused about our next step or we feel there are just too many demands in the way.

Sheryl says in her book The Living Spirit she addresses the choice to move forward with courage when change and opportunity knock on your soul memory and writes, “Embracing new opportunities can be intimidating. However, we must remember that the very reason you are being presented with them are for your own spiritual growth. The next time you are tempted to turn down that challenging position or potential romance, stop and ask yourself why. If the answer is a negative or limiting though about yourself recognize that Spirit is giving you this experience to help you stretch your spiritual wings, as well as improve your life on this plane. When the fear starts to creep in try to focus on the journey not the outcome. You might not stay in the job, and the relationship might not work out—what is important are the lessons you learn along the way.”

Steve suggests three different types of transitions; smooth, rough and super rough or night of the soul experiences. A transition helps us break through our fearful hardened heart so that we can feel and breathe the light or magnificence of spirit again. A transition is defined by the dictionary as a passage from one form, state style or place to another. Another word for this is a process of transformation. Transitions cause us to mature emotionally and mentally so that we can cope with living in a complex world. They involve a whole psychological process.

A smooth transition can emerge from a time of aimlessness frustration unhappiness or disconnection. WE recognize that something is amiss and start to explore different ways to do something about it. We choose the journey because our current reality does not reflect a desired reality. The desired reality exists in our heart somewhere..perhaps not conscious merely a seed waiting to germinate. Fantasies on the other hand do not lead to anything very much. Fantasies are a running away from reality not a radical engagement with life. A smooth transition is also initiated by nurturing and following an important dream. In a transition we get to often experience the great mystery of a higher force guiding the thrust and direction of our lives.

Rough transitions can take us on a difficult journey that leads us into a new phase of life..our old life is shipwrecked and we lose balance and lose our way…sort of like a do or die thing. Ex. loss of marriage home diagnosis with serious illness loss of child or work. Here all connection to the Higher Self and the Soul are served..we need to have faith and remember we are not alone and though life is turning upside down there is a light ahead and nothing lasts forever…Who knows that you may find a better result ahead than what was behind you.

A super-rough transition can include what has been called the dark night of the soul…Here nothing makes sense anymore and there is a loss of meaning and a great isolation and alienation. The dark night is the death of the illusionary self, the collapse of old limiting ego structures. This is a form of suffering like no other. The catalyst can be a psychologically challenging or traumatic event such as a major loss, a life threatening experiences or a reaction to a recreational drug. But it causes a major shattering of current reality and our ego-body consciousness struggles to make sense or meaning of the experience…it will be difficult in navigating many everyday challenges, such as work and relationships.

Sheryl and Steve have explored Steve’s personal Kundalini awakening process a clearer view of how personal transitions and global changes are now happening at massive rates worldwide and how though we always have free will and sometimes try to resist what is best for us because of past cultural societal and familial patterns of behavior our deepest SOUL needs and will continue to cry out for growth and personal development. Moving from the comfortable to the real with new perspectives and choices is now possible. A great opportunity to live authentic lives of joy and reach our greatest potential is available to each of you. Transition or transformation is quite possibly the reason any soul decides to take on the challenges of a physical life experience. As a result they can grow and refine their inner emotions with greater love humility compassion and offer that into the eternal circle of life improving conditions thoughts and actions that ultimately enhance us all.

Steve observed and wrote “As part of the global stabilizing of male and female cooperative ways for our children and societies to thrive the Patriarchal systems of the past have suppressed the feminine mystique through war, religion politics and economics for thousands of years and perhaps this resistance to a true soul recognition of the equalitarian nature of human dignity for all living souls whether male or female is now fueling the divine feminine which knows itself through love, holding sacred space and relations. And this theme is allowing women to awaken to their essential and natural core and burst through outmoded ways for expressing sexual and nurturing energies. This will mean embracing issues around power and vulnerability in a new way and for men and women to move forward towards a sense of being at Unity with our feminine and masculine resources improving all aspects of our cultural and societal structures.

Steve and Sheryl would have you welcome transitions that come to awaken us to our connections to our physical form and to our inner soul purposes dreams and goals and to relinquish the masks and realities of the mind and ego to allow the hidden light of the soul to bring about an era of personal and global transformation.