From breakdown to breakthrough: How the energy Codes® Changed my life
The Energy Codes came into my life when I was at a very low point. I was about a month into a burn-out leave from my job, which at the time I euphemistically referred to as "medical leave." Aside from one or two close friends, I was too ashamed to tell people what was really going on. I was experiencing extremely high levels of anxiety and depression and with the pandemic in full force, check-ins with my family doctor and twice weekly Zoom calls with my therapist were my lifeline. I knew the situation was dire when I watched my shaky hand write down the suicide hotline number my doctor dictated one sunny July morning last year.
From my teenage years onward, I was always interested in self-help and personal development. So much so, that I spent over 15 years dedicating my career to facilitating growth in others: everything from teaching high school kids about diversity & inclusion to running large scale learning programs at two of Canada's big banks.
But with everything I had learned about self-improvement, here I was at age 49, isolated and disconnected from hope.
What I know now is that life had created the perfect circumstances for me to give up the story I had in my mind about who I was supposed to be. My mind, in fact, was done. Done trying to prove myself, done with expectations, done trying to run my life. I realized in that darkest of moments that I was not my out-of-commission mind, that the real me could not be broken. This other version of me had been there all along. It was my authentic Self, waiting to be discovered by my mind.
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"
~Tao Te Ching
There are no coincidences in life. In the days that followed my breakdown I heard about a free webinar by Dr. Sue Morter. The decision to attend was an easy one -- I had nothing but time and an empty space where my constantly strategizing mind used to be. When the day of the webinar arrived, I sat in front of my laptop, transfixed as Dr. Sue (as she is known to her students and clients) shared her own story; a story of being caught up in one's mind, perfectionism, exhaustion, of feeling like there must be more to life but not knowing where to turn.
That day, I downloaded Dr. Sue's audiobook, The Energy Codes. I spent hours walking around my neighborhood, listening and learning about embodiment, about moving from victimhood to creatorship, about chakras and higher consciousness. It was like Dr. Sue had synthesized western medicine, quantum science, eastern philosophy and the past 40 years of self-help wisdom into a single book. I would soon learn that the knowledge she had to share went much deeper.
I enrolled in Level 1 of The Energy Codes coursework and when it was over, I went right into Level 2 and then Level 3 (there are currently 4.5 Levels). Each program lasts 6 weeks and consists of breathwork, embodiment practices and reflection exercises that serve to ground the participant in their body, open up their mind and inspire transformation. Dr. Sue teaches her tens of thousands of students and readers of The Energy Codes around the world how to build the energetic circuitry to experience life as what she calls the "Soulful Self."
From this true, authentic Self, I gained clarity of purpose. l know what I came to this life to experience and most of all I am deeply connected to the vibrational frequency of love.
In one class towards the end of Level 1, I asked Dr. Sue why I couldn't feel love. In the previous class, we were given homework to spend one day feeling love more than thinking thoughts. I found this nearly impossible. I thought maybe love just wasn't in the cards for me. In fact, this was a belief I carried with me for most of my adult life (I can point to the exact passage in a journal entry from 1995). In response to my question, Dr. Sue led the class, over 300 international participants, through an exercise called Generating Loving Presence where we get very still with the sensations in our body as we think of someone or something that we love. I called to mind my beloved dog Daisy who passed 18 months prior. Within a few minutes, tears of joy were streaming down my face and my heart felt a fullness I had never experienced before. The weeks of connecting to my body and building energetic circuitry had brought me to a new, beautiful awareness:
Those people and things that we love and that love us are here to reveal the love that is already within us. I don't need to seek love outside of myself - I am made of love.
When we're aligned to the true self, we start to experience synchronicities; the way the universe is always supporting our highest good. At this point, my life was getting back on track, I had just started a coach training program at Concordia University and I was opening myself up to what life was showing me. Towards the end of the Level 2 course, Dr. Sue announced that for the first time ever, she would be offering a certification program for coaches who wanted to work one-on-one with clients using the practices and techniques from the Energy Codes coursework.
I graduated from that program in early 2021 and it has been my greatest joy to share this work with my clients. I love seeing the leaps people make after just a few sessions working with the practices and principles found in the Energy Codes book.
A few weeks after being certified as an Energy Codes Coach, I enrolled in and eventually completed Dr. Sue's Certified Facilitator Training. I'm so thrilled that I can now share the wisdom of the Energy Codes with groups of people, whether it's single workshops for organizations or in multi-week book study programs (see the Announcements section for more details on how you can participate).
It's been just over a year that has passed since I discovered the thing that led me out of darkness. And I realize now the scariest time was not when my world came crashing down around me. It was actually the weeks, months and probably years that built up to that moment. I often wonder: When was it exactly that I gave up hope for a happy life? That I settled for "just ok" and "it could be worse"?
If you feel like you're always caught up in your mind or like something is missing in your life, please don't ignore that feeling. Take it as an invitation to go inward and pay attention to the subtle sensations in your body. As Dr. Sue says: "The soul speaks to the body and it's the mind's job to pay attention." This is the first step to connecting to your true self and living life from a place of wholeness, perfection and magnificence.
*If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide please call: 1-866-277-3553
Announcements
Take a deep dive into the Energy Codes® with my first ever 10-week Book Study!
I am excited to launch this program at a low price of $20 per class* or $180 if you pay all at once (that's one free class!). Meet me and a small group online once a week for 60-90 minutes to learn the principles and practices taught in the Energy Codes® book. Email jeffrey@silverstonecoaching.com for more info. *Special pricing available for students
website & Social updates
expand your field
'The Wisdom of Trauma' Movie & Speaker Series. Not too long ago, one of my clients recommended I check out the work of Dr. Gabor Maté who has contributed so much to the world's understanding of the connection between childhood trauma and addiction. A documentary about his life and work, 'The Wisdom of Trauma' was released for a limited time earlier this year and it is being made available for streaming between October 4th and 10th. I was so moved by this film and Gabor's Ted Talks on The Power of Addiction and Addiction of Power that I recently applied (and got accepted!) to learn Maté's technique of Compassionate Inquiry in a year-long program. I'll be writing more about trauma and what I'm learning in the program in upcoming Notes From The Field. For now, please check out the Wisdom of Trauma. If you sign up to get access to the movie, you'll also get access to a speaker series featuring conversations between Gabor and over 30 trauma experts, MDs, authours, visionaries and artists. Click the image below for a preview and link to sign up to receive the movie on October 4th.
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