Personal Mastery

The Things We Cling To

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

The journey toward self-actualization, enlightenment, individuation, and personal mastery (all words meaning essentially the same thing) is rough. In our western, capitalistic culture in which personal development has been commoditized, we’ve been told to expect unicorns and rainbows, when instead, we are faced with hellfire and brimstone. Personal mastery is not for the faint of heart. Neither is it for the weak. Instead, it requires persistence, discipline, and the willingness to confront and lay down every attachment and mask that hides us from our true selves.

Our true self is LOVE. Period.

Another way of describing the journey is the transformation of every single thing within us that has forgotten we are love. In doing so, we are simultaneously remembering how to love ourselves for all that we are – warts and all.

Self-actualization is not about perfection. Instead, it is about becoming increasingly aware of our human frailty and loving even that.

In coming to recognize, acknowledge, accept and love our imperfect perfection, we are invited to identify and release all the things we cling to that stand in the way of radical self-love. Much of what we cling to has been beaten into us by our culture. Some have surfaced out of past woundings. Many emerge out of trauma. Others we cling to simply because we are human. Here is my list of the things we cling to that are often the most difficult to release:

  • The desire to belong.
  • The need for approval from others.
  • The longing to be seen.
  • The yearning to be heard.
  • The need to be right.
  • The desire to know.
  • The need to be in control.
  • The yearning to be desired.
  • The habits, patterns, behaviors, status to which we have become familiar.
  • The illusion of success.
  • Conditioned beliefs about value and achievement.
  • Our health.
  • Life.

The truth of the human experience is that everything is temporary and nothing can be controlled. We are not here to make other people happy. Neither are we here to gain other people’s approval. Belonging is an illusion, and it is only the false self that needs to be seen, heard, or loved. Our value is not dependent on any one else’s definition or rules of measurement.

We have value, and are loved, simply because we are. When we remember the Love that we are, and release these attachments, only then are we free enough to love ourselves for all that we are, and to see that love in others – no matter how broken we or the other might appear.

Releasing the things we cling to most stubbornly brings us into the field of personal mastery. There might not be unicorns or rainbows here, but there is true and enduring freedom.

Tools for Releasing Attachments

Ground Your Light Video-cast

/ Lauri Ann Lumby / Leave a comment

A huge thank you to Lauren Kimberly Moore who invited me to participate in her “Ground Your Light” video-cast. Please enjoy this heart-felt conversation!

Learn about Lauren and her work with Sacred Living Arts:

Learn more HERE

Lauren Kimberly Moore is a Certified Spiritual Director having trained through the Spiritual Guidance Training Institute (2018-2020). Her training groomed her to be a supportive, loving and non-judgmental companion along the spiritual path for those who seek deeper meaning, purpose and understanding in life. Spiritual direction is a non-directive contemplative practice that carries one into present, intimate and holy spaces. Lauren’s aim in this work is to be a compassionate listener and to help support the creation of sacred moments in daily life.

In her deepest inner being, Lauren’s work is a ministry. She has had a lifelong calling and practice to help illuminate the Soul. Lauren feels strongly that we are here to walk alongside one another, to witness each others healing and authentic truth. As an initiated Magdalene Rose priestess, Lauren walks women through ceremonial and transformational experiences to reclaim the sacred feminine within. From this feminine energy of opening, receiving and remembrance, we return to our whole self embodying divine power, love and wisdom.

Lauren is a Registered Yoga Teacher with over 500 hours of training through Alignment Yoga (2015/2017), Holy Yoga (2017) and the Vivekananda Kendra Yoga Research Institute (2001).  Along with teaching yoga, Lauren has been facilitating mindfulness meditation courses, retreats and workshops since 2014. She enjoys using her collective skills to compassionately support the well-being of others. Lauren teaches privately, to small groups and continues to work within various school districts supporting mindfulness practices for both students and staff alike. 

Lauren is also a Wisconsin Licensed Massage Therapist (432-146). She graduated in 1996 from The Humanities for Allied Health in Pinellas Park, Florida. Specific to bodywork, she has trained in the modalities of Therapeutic Massage, Swedish Massage, Neurovascular Therapy, Thai-Veda massage, Reflexology, Reiki, and Raindrop Therapy.

Lauri Ann Lumby

Has over twenty-five years of experience as an educator, facilitator, spiritual counselor and soul-guide. She has supported hundreds through her one-on-one guidance, books, workshops, retreats, online classes and community.

Lauri is an author and a poet and has published eleven books including Authentic Freedom – Claiming a Life of Contentment and Joy, and her popular novel Song of the Beloved, the Gospel According to Mary Magdalene.

Lauri earned her master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology from Sofia/ITP University, is a trained Spiritual Director in the Ignatian tradition and has certificates in Adult Education and Psycho-Spiritual Development. Lauri is a Reiki Master Practitioner in both the Usui and Karuna traditions and is an ordained interfaith minister. 

Featured Course: Soul Gifts

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13 online lessons with facilitated discussion

Done in your own time and at your own pace

To learn more and enroll click on image above.

Soul Gifts – Discovering Your Unique Gifts and How They Support Your Soul’s Calling, created by Lauri Ann Lumby supports you in knowing the truth that YOU are uniquely gifted to experience meaning and purpose in your life and to find fulfillment in the use and engagement of your gifts, first for yourself, and then, in service to the betterment of the world.

Your gifts were given to you so that you might enjoy happiness, and your gifts are meant to be shared so that the world can become a better place for all of us to enjoy. You cannot become the person you were meant to be – achieving your greatest potential – without discovering, cultivating, nurturing and then sharing your gifts; and the world cannot become what it was meant to be without the gifts you have to share. For your own sake, and for the sake of the world, I thank you for giving yourself the permission and the time to explore and discover your soul gifts!

Over the course of thirteen lessons, you will have an opportunity to first explore the calling that has set you on the path to exploring your gifts along with the importance of understanding that while your soul gifts may be grand in such gifts as leadership, music or the arts, your gifts may also reside in what you might judge as weakness, imperfection or failure. Ultimately, all that we are and everything that we have has the potential for being a gift that provides for our fulfillment while supporting us in helping the world.

Next, you will have an opportunity to explore what the ancient, sacred traditions, have identified as unique and special (spiritual) gifts. Some of these gifts we will draw from the Western Judeo-Christian tradition, others from the Vedic traditions of India, specifically in the writings of Patanjali. I have added some additional gifts that have arisen in support of our current stage of human evolution. In this discovery, you will have an opportunity to explore such concrete gifts as hospitality, craftsmanship, encouragement and leadership; in addition to the more intuitive gifts of discernment of spirits, spiritual hearing, spirit vision and clairempathy. You will also explore some very non-traditional gifts such as invisibility and time-walking.

Below is a list of the gifts that you will have an opportunity to explore and entertain:

Traditional Spiritual Gifts in the Western Judeo-Christian Tradition (charisms):

Administration, (voluntary) Celibacy, Craftsmanship, Discernment of Spirits, Encouragement, Salespersonship, Faith, Giving, Healing, Helps, Hospitality, Intercessory Prayer, Knowledge, Leadership, Mercy, Missionary, Music, Pastoring, Prophecy, Service, Teaching, Voluntary Poverty, Wisdom, Writing, Speaking in Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues

Intuitive Gifts common to the Vedic tradition and beyond:

Clairaudience, Clairempathy, Clairevoyance, Clairsentience, Telepathy

Non-Traditional Gifts:

Invisibility, Flight, Trans-dimensional vision, hearing, Time Walking, Inter-dimensional travel, Hosting, Mediumship, Manifesting, Elasticity, Time Morphing, Blending, Exorcism, Soul Retrieval

A Note on Western and Eastern Scripture: Please note that I do not approach scripture from a dogmatic or doctrinal perspective. Neither do I use it as a way to instill fear or manipulate specific actions or behaviors. Instead, I approach scripture as the ancients did – as a collection of symbolic and metaphorical stories (myth, poetry, etc.) which have the opportunity to reflect back to us aspects of ourselves. In this way, scripture becomes a vehicle through which our highest self can speak to us – providing guidance, support, inspiration, nourishment and even healing. When we pierce through the veil of other people’s interpretations and allow our Soul to speak to us personally and directly through these ancient texts, we discover the transformational power of The Word as it was originally intended – as a tool to guide and sustain us on the path of self-awareness and personal growth.

Learn more and enroll HERE

Featured Course: Victory of the Holy Bride

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What is your current understanding of the Book of Revelation?

Doomsday Prophecy?

Historical Reflection?

Heavenly Vision?

Big Fat Mystery?

To learn more and enroll click on the image above.

Come and explore this mysterious and often confusing book of the Bible from a different perspective while reclaiming the role of the Divine Feminine as the true heroine of this epic mythological tale. 

Victory of the Holy Bride shatters over 2000 years of patriarchal dogma that cast the Book of Revelation in the role of doomsday prophecy and presents to you the tools for discovering a profoundly simple truth that is the key to inner peace and the formula through which we endure the “times of tribulation” while building a whole new world – one rooted in peace, understanding, wisdom, harmony and love. 

Discover the secret of the Book of Revelation and learn how to apply that secret in your everyday life so that you might know peace.

In knowing that peace, you will have the freedom to begin creating a whole new world for yourself.

Course Outline:

Lesson One: Introduction to the Book of Revelation

Lesson Two: The Structure of Revelation

Lesson Three: Alpha and Omega

Lesson Four: The Mystical Seven and its place in Revelation

Lesson Five: The Time of Tribulation

Lesson Six: The Dragon and the Woman

Lesson Seven: The Fall of Babylon/The New Jerusalem

From the course introduction by Lauri Ann Lumby:

Victory of the Holy Bride shatters over 2000 years of patriarchal dogma that cast the Book of Revelation in the role of doomsday prophecy and presents to you the tools for discovering a profoundly simple truth that is the key to inner peace and the formula through which we can build a whole new world – one rooted in peace, understanding, wisdom, harmony and love.

The inspiration for this course came long before its birth in a tiny whispering voice that said, “There is something in the Book of Revelation…..there is something in the Book of Revelation.” This something was somehow connected with the 7 chakras and the trademarked protocol that I created (was given) that I call Authentic Freedom. For years this whispering continued all the way through the development of Authentic Freedom, Deepening Freedom, Living in Freedom and the other examples of the “secret of seven” that is hidden in the depths of the Judeo-Christian tradition and as it is communicated through scripture.

I approached the Book of Revelation many times before it yielded its secrets to me, but once they were revealed my mind was blown! Not because what I was shown was complicated or profound, but because it was so dang simple! Then I wondered, how is it that in 2000 years no one had uncovered the simple truth revealed in the Book of Revelation? Maybe someone had, but nowhere in my Catholic-Christian upbringing (including almost 12 years in Catholic school) or in seven years of ministry training had this simple truth been explained. Instead, the Book of Revelation was either spoken of as doomsday prophecy or ignored all together. It was as if the Church had no use for the Book of Revelation unless as a tool for manipulating others through fear and if there might be something more to it, they would rather not know (or would rather we didn’t know).

But here’s the secret: there is absolutely nothing to fear about the Book of Revelation! Instead, it is a message of profound hope – the simple truth of the human condition, along with the even simpler formula for enjoying the peace and freedom brought forth by this truth.

It really is that simple. But first, we must comb through the layers of symbolic language and metaphor used by its author (attributed to St. John the Divine) to veil this simple truth from those who are not yet ready, and perhaps to protect those who would know this truth from those whose power might be threatened.

For those in patriarchal power, there is much to fear in the simple truth of the Book of Revelation for when we understand and do the work of embodying the truth revealed in this book, we are no longer subject to the fearful manipulations of the outside perceived patriarchal authority. Instead, we discover our own sovereignty and the Divine power within that guides us on the path to our truth and which frees us to live that truth fully. Here we discover a whole new world of peace, contentment, empowerment and joy dwelling within us and which seeks to be known in the world through us.

Learn more and enroll

Testimonials from past students of this course:

I’ve enjoyed Lauri’s course as much as any I can remember. She is insightful and very well informed, but often with an original take on the material. I enjoy that she both understands Christianity, from her years as a Catholic, and Judaism, but also the priestess path. So her work is a hybrid of understandings, both historical and fresh. Her lecture delivery is clear. She has innovative activities and reflections which she invites us to do.

This course especially feels very timely, as is all Lauri’s work. I also really enjoyed interacting live, but the course is engaging on its own – so much so that I stayed up to the small hours (due to the time difference) to be able to participate.

I also love Lauri’s pricing policy, her generosity, and her values. This is a spiritual leader and teacher (though she’d probably be too modest to call herself as such) who is rooted in soul and heart work first before the ‘I’m worth it’ high charging mentality of other spiritual businesses. This is why I’m doing courses with Lauri. I heartily commend her. ER, United Kingdom