The Art of Evolution

The unexamined life is not worth living.
~ Socrates

Conscious evolution requires us to examine our life. Without this essential process there would be no evolution. As Socrates stated, our lives wouldn’t be worth much if we didn’t take a close look at them.

When I created the Soul Health Model I emphasized that it is when we consciously work to balance each branch—cleaning out what doesn’t serve us and “filling up” with what does—that we set the stage for our soul’s evolution. As you already know, it is not enough for me to help you heal from the challenges of the human condition; instead, I want to help you evolve beyond them. While examining the branches of the Soul Health Model will help you to realign your life within each area, you will still need a “plan” or procedure to help you decide what needs to be adjusted.

I created the acronym to the word “Evolve” in the fall of 2020, hoping to offer a conscious path to those who want to grow beyond their old circumstances.  This “procedure” can be applied to the examination of your branches of health to build a strong and vibrant “tree of life”, as well as to enhance the entire tree. Just as trees somehow know how to overcome adverse conditions, you can use this information to evolve beyond your own.

Below is a procedure or protocol you can follow to help you heal from the many layers of the human condition that prevent a more balanced and radiant life.

E—Examine—explore the factors causing disruption or blocking your path

V—Vision— imagine a bright and renewed future ahead

O—Observe—notice and perceive what is significant

L—Learn— grasp the information and details that will help you grow

V—Venture—do something outside your norm to get somewhere new

E—Elevate—lift yourself to higher and more radiant (brighter) ground

There are many challenging and even horrific things we experience in life, but perhaps the most difficult task is to turn the focus to you—to look at what in your own life needs to be healed to feel more balanced.  My primary focus for clients and workshop participants is to teach ways to look deeper into their lives to better understand their challenges, wounds and obstacles to creating and claiming their optimal life. We can examine the many branches of our human condition, but it isn’t until we also examine our soul—the essence of who we are—that we make sustainable changes. Once you examine and take steps to improve your life, future obstruction will be far less likely.

How do we examine?

As children, we aren’t taught to look deep within to understand who we are at the core level. Instead, we learn to live from the inside out—living our lives according to what the world around us expects and wants from us. The problem with this is that we never really get to know who we are, we only come to understand and act upon how we are supposed to act according to others’ needs—not our own.

The Soul Health Model is all about getting to know your inner truth—your soul. As you examine each branch to determine the viability of the factors you hold within each one, you learn at a deeper level what it is—or isn’t—that helps to align your tree. No two trees of life will ever look the same because your soul influences what you need and cannot reflect the needs of another’s. For those who struggle because they live their lives pleasing others, they will live misaligned and unhappy lives until they learn to understand and live for the needs of their inner self.

Suggestions for examining your life:

• By far, one of the more effective ways of examining your life is to begin to journal about it. Many avoid journaling because they don’t really want to face themselves, for it is when we write the words that represent what is going on inside of us that we see what needs to be changed. Awareness really is the key to changing what isn’t working. It is also the key to both our soul’s evolution, if we are willing to act upon what needs to be changed.

• Consider using the Soul Health Model as your guide to examine your life more fully. Often we think our overall lives are fairly balanced until we take a look at each component or branch that makes up the entire tree. Keep in mind that just one imbalanced branch can have a detrimental effect on all of the others. Without taking a deeper look at what is really causing misalignment, you will not reach or maintain radiant health.
• Look at life from a 3-D perspective. Instead of looking at the surface of your thoughts, actions and beliefs, look both deeper and wider to see what you are supposed to learn about yourself and what isn’t working in your life. For example, if you keep stumbling over the same kinds of patterns or “issues”, there’s likely something that needs a deeper look. This is why I often ask clients, “What do you think you’re supposed to learn from this?”
• Use your discomfort to guide your evolution. Remember, emotions are cues from your soul that something is misaligned. Instead of numbing yourself, allow the emotions to “teach” you how to listen to your inner voice. Our emotions represent the voice of our soul and offer essential cues about what we need to heal or change in order to evolve.
• Be brave. Muster up the courage to “sit” with yourself long enough to examine and discover what isn’t working. Most people are afraid of what they will see or hear if they actually tune into themselves. In truth, going within is the only way you will learn. Your soul holds all the wisdom you need to get you on the right track.
• Be patient. Many feel they are supposed to know themselves right away once they start listening to their inner ally. But because we aren’t trained to do this from an early age, it takes practice to sit, listen, watch and decipher what our inner truth is trying to tell us. Getting to know your soul is like building a relationship with someone else—it takes time. The only difference is that the relationship you have with your soul is the most important relationship you will ever have.

The process of examining your life might seem tedious, scary or even boring. But it is the most vital step in healing, creating your optimal life and, most importantly, your soul’s evolution.

The start of a new year is the perfect time to take a deeper look. Future newsletters will explore the other elements of the E.V.O.L.V.E. protocol. For now, spend some time observing and examining what might need to be adjusted in your tree of life to create a better life as you travel through 2022.