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WORK-IT-OUT
WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND
“Where do I start?” Richard asked.
“The best place to start is to be clear on what you are doing
and why. The people who really use these worksheets tell me
that they become the best friend they ever had. Note, the
emphasis is on using the tool. What the process does is give you
an opportunity to confront directly your pain and the parts of
your mind and life that don’t work; with them you will
experience how you sabotage yourself, and give away your
power. Then, most importantly, you will learn how to. The
Reality Management Process is a way to uncover what perhaps
you have hidden from yourself all your life and reclaim all of
your hidden power.”
“I feel a little resistance to the pain part, michael.”
“In the ancient teachings, resistance’s name was satan, and
you are not alone, nobody wants to feel their pain—until they
understand. ”
“Understand what?” Richard asked.
“Pain takes its toll even when it is not consciously felt.”
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“How so?”
“Recall our discussion about pain? Pain is the reflection of
stored destructive energies. When people deny and restrict access
to pain, the only thing they have accomplished is keeping it out
of direct sight. Hidden or anesthetized pain is not removed from
experience through denial or drugs. It is felt as the aches and
pains of so called ‘aging,’ the twinge of emotional upset that floats
in and out of our experience, the irrational outbreaks that destroy
relationships, the ‘accidents’ that occur, headaches and body aches,
degenerative dis-eases and the thousand irritations that subtract
from the possible quality of life.
“There is an old saying that the brave die once, the coward a
thousand times. When you are fortified with actual tools to face
and heal whatever is hidden, trauma and pain are dismantled and
removed from life. As you do this work, you will find your
enjoyment of life, your sense of well-being and your aliveness
increase in proportion to the amount of Forgiveness you do. In
the past, if life was lived without tools, most found that facing an
old trauma meant reinforcing it and being powerless to change.
The True Forgiveness process changes all of that. Shift happens!!
The issues of life can be faced and healed.”
“Okay, michael, I see the why of doing the Reality
Management process, I’m not sure I understand the what.”
“The what is simple. If someone triggers anger, fear, rage,
hate, vengeance, gossip or any other dis-integrative reality in you,
it is your opportunity to heal yourself—not by letting them off the
hook, but by changing the pain producing reality in your own
mind.
“Whatever your experience of life is, every reality in your
mind is changeable. You cannot directly change what happens in
the outer world. People become frustrated and uptight when they
continuously try to control life. The way to change the outer
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world is through indirect influence—by changing the realities
in your mind you shift your whole energy field and the patterns,
realities and resultant behaviors that cause the responses
people present to you in your life. As the pattern of your life
shifts, the ripple effect changes everything you attract. If
abundance is your issue, pennies turn into dollars!
The traditional translations of the Scriptures speak of the fall of
man. Aramaic Scriptures refer not to a fall, but say we, ‘forgot how to
live in abundance.’ Heal the poverty realities in your mind, whatever
the form of poverty—relationship, money, work, joy, personal power,
health or abundance—and a change in outer circumstance is pulled in
automatically through the Law of Resonance.
“It is interesting to note how many will spend thousands of
hours to learn and get good at a skill, but the most important skill
of all, taking charge of and changing their own internal
conditions, the conditions out of which their lives flow, rarely gets
a second thought. This tool is one that, should you choose to
master yourself, must be used on an ongoing basis. One worksheet
around an issue just scratches the surface. This is a tool that
requires ongoing practice!”
“Okay, I understand what it is we are about to do and how
important it is. How do I pick a topic? What kind of topics are fair
game for a worksheet?”
“You can do a worksheet on any person, place, thing or event
that resonates a painful reality in you. It can be a present moment
event or something from your past or even a future, anticipated
event. You can also use your own emotions or yourself as the
subject of a worksheet.”
“I could do a worksheet on conflict with women. I’ve had
conflict with my mom, my sister and almost every woman with
whom I’ve ever had a relationship, including waitresses!” he said
with a grin.
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“That covers a lot of territory, Richard. I would suggest you be
very specific and choose a mildly disturbing topic for your early
worksheets. A narrowly defined subject will produce the best
results,” I recommended. “The first time you use this tool, it is best
to start with something less than your bigger issues in life. This tool
is designed to bring up unconsciousness and since lifelong issues tend
to have a lot of unconsciousness attached to them, and it is best if
you can start with something small enough you can stay relatively
conscious. As you build strength through doing Reality Management
Sheets, you can move on to bigger issues and situations.
“I suggest you keep a journal of your work and an ongoing list
of ‘worksheets to be done.’ You will find it productive to do many
sheets around your conflict with women and as you do them, watch
how those relationships change.”
He was deep in thought before he spoke. “A worksheet on
being close to my sister, Amy, might be a good starting point. It
seems being close to people is a little less of an issue than conflict
with women, though that is still a fairly big issue for me.”
“Normally I would suggest you wait until you have used the
worksheets for a while before tackling that kind of issue. Since we
are doing this together and you have support rather than doing it by
yourself, let’s go ahead. You might want to date and number your
sheets. (See worksheet form at end of this chapter, page
XXXXXXXXXXXX-183.)
“I suggest you get a three ring binder and keep your
worksheets in it. In the future, each time you look back at old
sheets, they will give you new gifts and new insights. Step 1 on the
sheet is about getting clear on the source of your reality. When you
start each sheet with this reminder, it is easier to get past the
externalization of pain and the inclination to either blame others or
yourself. Blame, aside from a way to give away your power, is an
avoidance mechanism.”
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“Step 1A acknowledges what seems to be true and gives you the
space to write down your thoughts. You get a different perspective
when you go through the action of detailing your thoughts, the basis
of your realities, the output of your mind on paper.
“If there is not enough room, use another piece of paper. Some
people write the entire form out in longhand each time they do a
worksheet. In the first blank, in 1A, you name the person, place,
thing or event that triggers your disturbing or painful reality.”
“I put my sister, Amy, in this blank?” he asked.
“In this case, yes. If you did a worksheet on, let’s say, your car
not starting, ‘car’ would go there. If you were to do a sheet on the
idea we processed earlier today, ‘being stupid,’ you would put your
name in the first blank. Next, you place your own initials between
the brackets that follow the object of your attention, as a reminder
that this worksheet is about you and a reality in your mind. You
then write a brief description of what you perceived as happening.”
1. A. My mind convinces me that my trigger (“them,” “it,”
“self” or the situation - name the object of your attention) my
baby sister Amy (R.S.) causes my feelings (Describe what
happened) was the favorite. (BREATHE) The Truth is: my
reality is strictly internal, unique to me and is created out of
my own thoughts! As I learn to accept responsibility for and
change my dis-integrative thoughts, my realities will change.
“I’m seeing more and more of the Truth of that thought,
michael, and am liking it! It is actually starting to feel like an
empowering idea. I’m realizing that each reality I experience
exists only in my mind and is totally changeable!”
“In the next blank, 1B, write your feelings. Be sure to use
words that describe your emotions, not your thoughts. In our
intellectually oriented culture we are often taught to substitute
thoughts for feelings. For example, many might say, “I feel she
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was the favorite.” You can’t feel ‘she was the favorite,’ because
that is a thought, not a feeling. In some family systems feelings
were not allowed expression, so it is difficult to find words for
them. Sometimes our feelings come from preverbal experiences,
before we had words for them and it is difficult to say what your
feelings are. The box on the right is a place to draw and visually
describe them,” I offered.
1B. My feelings, also internal, Draw Your
triggered by this situation anger. Feelings
“This is easier than I thought it
would be, michael.”
“Good! Sometimes, the next step
is a little more of a challenge. The
idea with Step 1C is to identify the
thought you use to cause your
feelings of anger.”
“I remember we talked about this
earlier, but I’m not sure I quite get the idea yet. What does
‘identify the thought I use to cause my anger’ mean?”
“Recall the exercise we did earlier where you ran through a
series of thoughts and discovered that our feelings are caused by
our own thoughts? This step is about teaching your mind to be on
the lookout for unconscious, disintegrative thoughts, reflected
only as feelings. Habitually searching your mind for thoughts that
cause disturbances gives you the opportunity to catch those
thoughts before they do damage. The earlier you catch them, the
easier it is to change old thought patterns.”
“That makes sense,” Richard said agreeably.
“What thought, specifically, do you have to think in order to
be angry about your sister being what you perceived as your
parents favorite?”
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“That’s a cinch. She had it easy, I got beat up all the time!”
His voice went up a couple of octaves as he spoke. It was clear
that his emotions were still right on the edge from the processing
we had done earlier in the day. He had accomplished something
uncommon for a man in our culture; he became safe enough to be
open and vulnerable.
1C. My thought(s) that cause my feeling(s) Amy had it
easy, I got beat up all the time!
“I’m still not quite sure how that thought causes my anger,
though,” Richard added.
“You really don’t need to know how it happens, Richard, just
that it happens. For example, if you held the thought, ‘How sweet,
my sister had things so much easier than I did. I’m so happy she
was Loved did not have to go though the tough times I did!’ how
would you feel?”
“Delighted, I guess.” he answered.
“So, the actuality is the same. The only thing that changes for
anger to become delight is the thought you think, right? And
changing that thought changes not only your feelings but your
reality as well. And you physiology. Notice the difference in
your body.”
“I’m sure more relaxed . . . actually peaceful!” he exclaimed.
“And its all your choice. Notice you are the only one who
has the power to select and maintain the thoughts you think. It
always amazes me how many people think thoughts just because
those thoughts are in their minds! So many have no idea that they
have power over their thoughts, and the power to change them,
even if those thoughts have been passed on from a hundred
generations back. And, of course, who suffers from your negative
thoughts?” I queried.
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KEY THOUGHT—Just because a thought is
in your mind does not mean you are forced to keep
thinking it. On a practical level, grace is the ability to
change your mind any time you like!
“It’s getting clearer for me that I’m the one who causes me to
suffer and it boggles my mind that I do it so automatically.”
Richard grimaced. He paused as his thoughts jelled. “You know,
I understood this concept about two hours ago when we were
talking and was amazed by the whole idea. Now, it’s like I’m
hearing the it for the first time. I am understanding, all over
again, how my thoughts generate my feelings and it amazes me
just as much now as it did two hours ago!”
“I can relate to that, Richard. It amazes me each time I teach
it. Life works so differently from the way most of us were trained
to think and, unless we retrain ourselves, we can slip back into
the old blame realities easily. Our unconsciously held blame
realities simply need to be undone, Forgiven. There is an
unlearning process here and each time you rediscover
responsibility it is because you have undone some of the old and
added new brain cells to understand the idea of total ownership
for the output of your mind. An important question to
continuously ask is, ‘Who is in charge of what I think and feel?’”
“In the past it has been everybody but me! I am ready to take
charge of my mind and be responsible for the thoughts I think. I’m
finally taking in the idea that my feelings are a result of my
thoughts and the words I use. So I guess I’ll also start taking full
responsibility for them. I’m going to be more careful of the words
I use and have more integrity in the way I act. Hopefully, all these
things together will improve the results I produce in my life.”
“Great! Step 1D is pretty straightforward. You simply
describe what it is you want to do to punish or avoid the trigger
in Number 1A. Punishment might be anything; a sneer, a
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degrading thought, leaving, or emotional, verbal or physical
abuse—pointed at yourself or others.”
1D. I want to punish /avoid by yelling and getting rid of Amy.
“Many hide their punishment from themselves in many
forms. They pretend they would never punish with thoughts of, ‘I
just don’t want anything to do with them.’ All the while,
abandoning someone can be the greatest punishment of all.”
“I never thought of avoiding someone as punishment, but
when I think of my wife leaving, in essence, avoiding me, it sure
feels like punishment from where I sit!” Richard lamented.
“I hear that loud and clear. Lets look at the effect of
punishment and blame on the one who engages in it,” I
suggested. “While each may bring apparent relief in the short
term, the consequences of punishment and blame are always
destructive to your personal power, your physiology, the way
your mind works and your happiness!”
“Can a little anger really hurt you that much?” Richard was
definitely not convinced.
“I’m not sure how to tell the effects of a ‘little’ anger, but I
suspect if we were to quantify it we would find that anger is one of
the major destructive forces to the body and the mind. It is an
internally produced drug that suppresses pain and proper mental
function. Often, we are so good at suppressing, we don’t have the
opportunity to directly confront the effects of our hidden feelings
until it is too late and we are facing a major degenerative condition
or relationship trauma brought on by chronic anger.
KEY THOUGHT—“The release of Noradrenalin
(from anger) . . . we get stupid. When you are angry you
loose access to up to 80% of your effective intelligence .
. . is maladaptive and dangerous to your health.
Timothy Wilken, MD www.SynEARTH.net
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“When angry, one tends to demonize whomever the anger is
pointed at, a major internal lie, and a dynamic that never plays
well in relationships. Anger shuts down digestion and immunity
as it elevates blood pressure. Chronic anger is such a destructive
drug, physically and emotionally, that it invariably leads to
additional addictive behavior due to the need to suppress its
painful effects.
“Richard, fear/hostility, punishment and blame are not your
friends, they are a ball and chain. Each time they rear their heads,
the mind tricks us by using corrupt data to form our realities
which, in turn, gives us a false picture of what is going on in the
actual world.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Have you ever been accused of saying or doing something
you absolutely did not do or say?”
“Yes, but I’m sure we have all been unjustly accused!”
Richard came back.
“Sure have, and what was the emotional state of your accuser?”
“Hmm. Every time I can think of, they were angry. I’ve never
made that connection before!”
“And, notice how clear it was, in your mind, that they were
in error. Obviously the person who accused you was not seeing
correctly. Their mind, though they were convinced of the truth of
their statement, had a defect in perception. That is what
fear/hostility and blame do to the mind. Those energies are
markers for corrupt data and, when the mind is using them it
presents realities that are simply not accurate.”
“Man, is that ever the truth! I’ve had that kind of false
accusation made toward me too often. It is cool to have a
comeback for the people who pull that kind of stuff!”
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“Of course, Richard, the important thing to get is that the last
time you were angry, and accused someone, your mind was not
telling you the truth. We all, at some time suffer from this disorder
called Blockage of Truth and its greatest ally, hostility. It is an
opportunity for new choices.”
Richard looked a little embarrassed. “Let’s look at Step 2,
where you acknowledge that:
2. Fear/hostility and punishment distort my realities - they
come from corrupt data and always show me a lie. With
blame I hide my power. I now choose to end projection by
accepting responsibility. I choose to see every part of my
mind accurately, heal, and free myself . (BREATHE)
“Remember, the mind always believes it’s right. In Step 3, it
is time to put aside being right and acknowledge that even if you
are right, the way you are feeling is self-destructive and it is time
to let go of those feelings and release the blocked capacity to heal.
Verbal release is a powerful way to initiate moving out old
energies.”
“Wait a minute, michael, this sounds like I have to give in to
people even when I know they are wrong. Being a doormat
doesn’t sound any more appealing than having destructive
energies rolling around inside of me.”
“Richard, feeling like a victim is just another way of giving
away your power and covering your anger. Remember, this is
about healing the destructive energies we carry and stop being so
identified with them. You can still hold others accountable for
their behaviors, however, through Forgiveness, you will be able
to hold others and yourself accountable from a clear, functional
mind and a Loving space that supports relationship rather than
creating separation.
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“To do Step 3, reference your answers from Step 1, check off
the boxes and at the same time think the release thought or speak it
out loud, if practical.”
3. I choose to let go of identification with my hostility or fear. I
willingly release — my feelings (1B) , their cause, my
thoughts (1C) , — my need to punish by (1D) — and my
need to be right . (BREATHE)
“Remind me again. Why would I want to release my
thoughts?” Richard asked.
“If you inflict pain on yourself with a thought, you let go of
it so you can heal. If there is rage or fear in you as a result of that
thought, it is your work to heal the rage and fear. Remember, you
get the original, she gets the carbon copy. Many of us have been
taught we need to be angry to get what we want. — who taught
us that insanity? In Truth, getting what you want is easier to
create from a space of Love, peace and clarity than from a
space of anger.
KEY THOUGHT—Getting what you want is
easier to create from a space of Love, peace and clarity
than from a space of anger!
“With this step you initiate release of the stress of anger held
in your body and make an important move toward high level
wellness and aliveness in the process. Health is not the condition
of being free of symptoms. In this work we define Health as the
state of Conscious, Active, Present Love. An absence of that
state is dis-ease and the beginning of all organic degeneration.
This is knowledge that true healers have held for countless
centuries! Health does not originate in the body, true healing is
not initiated with anything physical. True health is the active
presence of Love, our True Being!
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“Other benefits of letting go of disturbing thoughts are that you
will have peace of mind and your mind will no longer need to
create scenarios that justify your being angry.” He seemed satisfied
that these ideas made sense and relaxed more with each step of the
worksheet. The resistance that had shown up time and again earlier
in the day vanished and he completed the verbal release process. I
think it was a relief for both of us. Working with someone who is
willing certainly is easier.
“Step 4 is the act of acknowledging how you want to live. It is
a commitment to live from Being - our True Nature. It is
important to fill the void that is left whenever you release
something. Recall we spoke about the power of words? When
word phrases show up with ease in our speech, it tends to be more
natural to create those circumstances. The person who uses angry
words will tend to easily find circumstances about which to be
angry. The person who regularly uses peaceful speech will find
peace comes easily. Our words reflect the realities contained in
our minds and what we are resonating or attracting into our lives.”
“It seems bizarre — I used to search for trouble —
purposely! I consciously, or maybe unconsciously, went looking
for it and behaved in a way that guaranteed I got it! When I think
about the realities I had accepted in my mind, realities that were
the source of my words, behaviors and the language I used to
describe women, the body, intimate interaction and even myself,
it is amazing I held a relationship together for even a week. I had
no verbal respect for anything and blamed everyone else for
being hostile, while the truth is I had goaded them into it! I
always blamed them, but it was I who was cruel!”
KEY THOUGHT—“All cruelty comes
from weakness.” The Roman Playwright Senica
“Word patterns and realities are structured in our minds at an
early age and relate to the Power Person dynamics discussed in our
Co-Dependence To Inter-Dependence Workshop. Becoming
conscious of, taking charge and changing those patterns takes
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intelligence and commitment. A decent, intimate relationship is
impossible if the words we use to describe ourselves, the body, the
opposite sex or our relationships result in degrading feelings. In the
Aramaic Scriptures, it was said that he who could rule his tongue
was mightier than he who could take a city. It takes someone
willing to live a big life to clean up on that deep a level.”
Richard admitted his language had been pretty “raunchy” for
most of his life. He could see that his thoughts caused his
feelings and decided he was ready to feel better about life, his
body and those with whom he had relationships. He liked the
idea of maintaining the condition of Love in his mind and
voluntarily took time to do the exercise on restoring the space of
Love. (PagesXXXXXXX-72) He made a commitment to
continue that exercise as a daily practice.
4. I connect to my Original nature — Love. I choose Serenity
, Happiness , and to source my reality through Love
(Rakhma) . I willingly go through the
physical/mental/emotional symptoms of healing .
“I recall what you said earlier about the symptoms of healing
(Pages XXXXXXXXXX-136) and I’m willing to do whatever it
takes to heal. I feel lighter than I have felt in a long time. I’m
relieved. When I think about what is happening in my life, it
seems as though I can handle it.” He had a slight glow, and it was
great to be part of, receive from and watch his transformation.
“So often, we turn the way we feel over to an outside source. It
would be good to rid yourself of that habit. There are lots of people
who want to run your mind—the media, advertisers, movies,
governments, religious leaders—just about everyone. It’s time to
take our power back! I recall the words of George Washington
Carver, the genius who spawned the peanut industry, a black man in
the South in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He suffered much
abuse, yet retained awareness of who was in charge of his mind.
His comment on personal power was, ‘I will never allow any man
to so defile my soul so as to cause me to hate him.’”
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KEY THOUGHT—‘I will never allow any man
to so defile my soul so as to cause me to hate him.”
George Washington Carver
“That is pretty powerful! You know, michael, there are a lot
of sayings out there about what ‘real men’ do. It sounds like ‘real
men’ are in charge of their own minds and lives and operate on
Love. That’s a whole new definition for me!”
“I agree. The need to play the tough, macho roll, cutting off
another’s head in order to appear a head taller, is a sure sign of
weakness masquerading as strength. The truly powerful do not
yield up control of their behaviors to the environment and are
powerful enough to uplift even their apparent ‘enemies.’”
“Step 5 is designed to restore Love to your mind and confirm
that you have done it successfully. If hostility or fear remains
active you will not be able to see what you Love about a person
or situation. When you can see what you Love, it is because the
condition of Love is in your mind. When the condition of Love
is in your mind, then you can Love what you see.”
5. I choose to Love Truth and restore the condition of LOVE
(Life) to my mind . Self-test—a Loving thought I have about
(1A) is: Amy, in spite of my behavior, still reaches
out to me often, Myself: I’m becoming responsible.
He looked a little sad as he processed how he had pushed his
sister away. Several minutes passed before he spoke of the loss he
was feeling and the deep Love he touched into, a Love for Amy he
had long since lost to his ever-present childhood hostility.
“Take a breath, Richard, and let go of your thoughts and
feelings of loss and perhaps you will no longer transfer those
expectations onto your relationships with women.
“In Step 6 you identify what you want. It is important to be
aware of thoughts of avoidance and make sure you use only
words that reflect what you actually want.”
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“You mean ‘What I really want is not to be angry at Amy.’ Is
that an appropriate answer in Step 6?” he asked.
“What is it you want? You sound like you are really clear on
what you don’t want, but the more you don’t want it the more
powerfully you will create it in your world.”
“How so? I don’t see what’s wrong with what I said.”
“You heard something I did not say. It has nothing to do with
being wrong. Remember, there is an energy dynamic in focusing
and it is a creative act; your words reflect what you are creating.
What you focus on you create. Focus on what you don’t want
and, through avoidance, you automatically resonate or draw
into your space what you are avoiding. It doesn’t matter
whether you focus on something out of Love or out of hate—if
you thought it, you got it! This is an issue we cover in depth in
the workshop, On Creating Consciously.”
“How would you suggest I word what I want, michael?”
“Sounds to me like you want to be Loved and appreciated as
much as your sister.”
“That’s it! That’s exactly what I have always wanted!”
Emotion welled up as he thought about the possibility of actually
being loved and appreciated as he said his sister had always been.
6. I want # 1A to: (state, in positive words, what you want
from # 1A) to be loved, appreciated and cared for as
much as Amy.
Richard agreed that he could see the difference in the energy
he was putting out with the two different thoughts about what he
wanted. He was particularly impressed by the change in the way
he felt as he switched back and forth from what he wanted to his
avoidance thought, ‘I don’t want to be angry with Amy.’
“I’m amazed as I pay attention,” Richard confided, “how
each of those thoughts effects the way I feel. You said I would be
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more sensitive to my feelings if I refrained from smoking and
coffee. Could there be that much of a shift in my awareness after
just a few hours?” he inquired. I let him know that I thought it
could make the difference and it was probably a combination of
factors, including the fact that he had processed through a lot of
emotion and cleared lots of baggage out of his mind during our
one day mini-intensive.
“Step 7 is an acknowledgment of personal responsibility and
the awesome power of our thoughts. It is the step of growing out
of long-held childhood fantasies and infantile thinking and
accepting responsibility for the output of your own mind. Only
you cause you to feel and feelings inform you of the quality of
the mind energy in which you are engaging. Every thought
reflects a current or an unconscious ancient choice, often
generational thoughts, and every feeling is the result of those
choices and informs us of the quality of our choices. They are a
direct feedback mechanism.”
7. With thought I structure each reality in my mind/body. If
I’m in Pain, my thoughts are off target, in Error .
“Step 8 offers the opportunity to distinguish between
responsibility and the mind’s cheap copy, blame. It’s time,
Richard, to decide what your source is—blame or Love. Time to
look at what really causes your pain and recognize that every
reality output from your mind follows a pattern.”
“Been there, done that! Got that T-shirt!” he exclaimed. “Blame
clearly hasn’t worked for me. I’m ready to go another route. I’m
ready to use Forgiveness to change every pattern.”
“Also, people often think that as a result of some “terrible”
thing they have done, or had done to them, that forgiveness could
never take place. Fortunately, True Forgiveness is not about
being let off the hook for an act committed. It is a tool for
removing the disintegrative energies in which we have been
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entangled. Every reality, every insanity we have done, or had
done to us, is changeable. In the active presence of Love, all
offensive energy dissolves. It does not matter how depraved or
twisted, if Love is Conscious, Active and Present, healing
happens! When you can bring your hidden pain to Love, a
transmutation occurs!”
8. I accept responsibility and release blame for my
self-inflicted pain. Every reality of hostility/fear in my mind is
changeable. I now choose to re-connect to my Original Being
— LOVE — instead of my upset . (BREATHE)
“You might get the idea from this that we are encouraging you to
go back to Love and make it a habit. That is a key part in the process.
Keep connecting with your Being until that is where you live. I
suggest you make it a number one priority in your life!”
“It certainly feels better than the hostility I usually live in,
but why is it so powerful? What is the principle behind it?”
Richard inquired.
“Have you ever held a newborn child in the first hours of its
life, and, if so, how would you describe the essence of that child?”
He thought for just a moment. “Why, I would have to say
absolute sweetness. Beauty, the essence of Love! I-I remember
Amy that way,” he said as he softened.
“I’ve asked that question of tens of thousands of people from
many different cultures, Richard. One hundred percent of the time,
the answers I get are always some variation on the theme of Love,
never anything else. Love is the very essence of our Being,
Richard, and when we give that up, we give up Life itself. This
work is about the restoration of Being, of Life, of Love to us. Any
goal inconsistent with Being will only produce realities of hostility
or fear and must be released.
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“Recall earlier, I asked if you had ever done anything you
regret and what you felt when you did it? And, like the tens of
thousands of others who have answered that question, your
words were all based in some form of hostility or fear.” Richard
agreed. “Notice no descriptors that relate to Being, to Love are in
awareness when in hostility or fear. That is because hostility and
fear are reflections of the state of Non-being. When they are
active, we are functioning out of corrupt data, false realities and a
Non-self that exists only as a false idea of self held in brain cells.
It is only a state of apparent existence. No actual life is present in
that state. The newborn starts out as Love and most are dead (to
Being) by the age of four!
“To “live” in this condition is non-life. To undo this
condition brings us back to Life. In the process, a sort of “death”
is experienced, and that is the death of the Non-self. And it can
by terrifying to let go of Non-life to get back to our True nature.
The ancient teachings counseled, ‘In order for you to live, you
have to die.’
“The false, fear/hostity based self has to go, it has to be taken
apart in order for our True Being, Love to come back into full
expression. That is what True Forgiveness does and each
worksheet opens the space for the balance of True Self, Non-self to
shift until you live in full awareness of your True nature, Love, no
matter what happens in your world.
“To heal that in us which is less than Love, we mush short
circuit the hold our Loveless thoughts and realities have on us.
We must break the addiction to the chemistry of Non-being. To
do that, we must collapse any reality that is less than Love and
when we do, the underlying pain and trauma comes forward to be
healed by the active presence of Being. The technology to do that
was taught 2,000 years ago in the Aramaic and almost instantly
disappeared from use.
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“Step 9 is the core of the Forgiveness process. If you hold a
goal, any desire, in brain cells that trigger a reality keyed to
hostility or fear, you will only see realities based in that corrupt
data. Truth and accurate information from actuality will be
blocked, they will be gated out and unavailable. Your mind is
meant to be a light (read that Love) to guide you through the
massive world of actuality. At any given moment your body’s
‘mind’ can only show you a tiny fragment of information, based on
its content, at a time.
“If you are experiencing feelings of hostility or fear, you heal
by collapsing the reality you are experiencing and thereby
creating an opening into the unconscious dynamics that underlie
your painful reality. By so doing, you, Love, bring the world you
want to heal forward to be exposed and processed by the active
presence of Love.”
“What does that mean, you totally lost me! Tell me that again.”
“Actually, Richard, more important at this moment is to
know what to do next. In order to collapse the reality the mind is
serving up, you must remove the driver, so to speak, that
produces it.” Richard wanted to know how do that, where to find
this ‘driver.’ “You have already identified the driver! It is the
goal you held for Amy.”
“What do you mean, how does a goal become a driver? The
driver for what?” he demanded.
“We are back to understanding how the mind works. At any
given moment, there are trillions of ‘bits’ of information in the
world of actuality. In order to build a reality, you must direct
your mind to focus on a particular aspect of actuality. You do
that by selecting a goal out of all your possible intentions. Many
speak of the power of intentions but, in truth, it is the goals we
set that have the power to cause the mind to produce results.
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“All of the wonderful intentions in the world will not prompt
any behavior. An intention never moved a muscle, nor prompted
a word. It is the act of elevating an intention to a goal that is the
mover of the mind’s intelligence and of behavior. This is a very
important distinction in understanding how the mind works and
one we cover in detail in the Workshops, Laws of Living and
Getting the Stress You Need.
KEY THOUGHT—The road to hell is paved
with good intentions!
1855 H. G. Bonn Hand-Book of Proverbs 514
“Having identified the goal, what you want from Step 6, put it
in the blank in #9 A. Now, recall, in Aramaic, the word ‘forgive’
means to cancel. Understanding how your mind produces the world
you see, you are empowered to heal by canceling what you want,
your goal, in a painful situation.”
Richard balked a little at doing this. “Why would I cancel
what I want? That seems ridiculous, michael. I deserve to have
what I want. You said that yourself.”
“I’m not saying you don’t deserve what you want, I’m saying
that holding tight to a goal that produces pain keeps you in the
pain cycle. Canceling your need for what you want opens the
space for you to see your own blocks and heal the projected parts
of your mind. You do deserve to have what you ask for and I also
acknowledge you as a powerful creator! Why haven’t you created
what you want?”
“I-I don’t know,” he stammered. “No one has ever cared for
me and appreciated me the way I wanted to be. That has always
been the problem in my relationships with women—and they are
all the same. They are affectionate for a while and then become
distant. OK, michael, I see that look on your face! I can hear your
voice in my head before you even say the words, yes, I am the
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one who was there every time and this is my pain. I’m not sure I
quite understand it yet, but I cancel my need to be Loved,
appreciated and cared for as much as my sister.”
9A. The first casualty of desire is the Truth! Perception, meant
to be a light, is the servant of purpose. If I hold any purpose
more important than Love, my mind distorts my reality! In
order to collapse my false reality (anything based in hostility or
fear), and get back to the Truth, I cancel my goal for #1A to
(copy exactly from #6) to be loved, appreciated and cared
for as much as Amy (BREATHE)
Tears began to flow as, once again, feelings welled up from
deep inside of him. A quiet sob filled the room as he spoke.
“Why am I not Lovable? What is wrong with me? It feels like
I’ve never known what it is to feel Loved, so I’ve become
callused in order not to feel the pain. It seems so deep, like a dark
hole that can never be filled. I can see now why I tend to
intellectualize—it’s been a way of avoiding feeling this.”
“Is it possible, Richard, you acquired that belief when you were
a child? Did functioning out of this suppressed pain prompt you to
engage in calloused behaviors with women and drive them away? Is
that what caused intimacy to disappear? Is the result you produce
that you get to prove, over and over again, you are not Lovable?”
He wept openly as he faced the grim truth he had avoided for
so long. “Keep breathing,” I suggested gently. “You are accessing
hidden places in yourself, places that your personality structure
helps you to keep out of awareness. It is safe to access those
places and move what is locked within. Remember to hold the
space of Love, that is where the healing happens.”
“But I don’t understand. How did these floodgates open. I-I
have not felt these kind of deep feelings or cried like this since I
was a child. There is so much pain,” he whispered through his tears.
“I didn’t know it would be this hard.” We just sat in silence and
breathed for several minutes.
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As he regained his composure a little, I offered some thoughts.
“The problem, Richard, when we use the drug, hostility, or any
other drug for that matter, to cover what we don’t want to look at, is
that we cannot feel. We snap at someone so that we don’t have to
look at what they resonate in us, what is going on inside of us. Our
behaviors are then driven by our underlying pain. We behave to
keep from having to feel.
“Understanding this principle is what, I believe, lead Henry
David Thoreau to pen the words:
KEY THOUGHT
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.
From the desperate city you go into the desperate
country and have to console yourself with the bravery
of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious
despair is concealed even under what are called the
games and amusements of mankind. To be awake is to
be alive. I never yet met a man who is quite awake.”
“Thoreau had humanity pegged! We experience resignation,
desperation, despair, sophistication (in essence, being phony),
violence in every form, acting macho, conflict, picking on the
helpless, an inability to be alone or in silence, the urge to kill, rage,
drink to excess, do drugs, eat junk, steal, become pious, criticize,
manipulate, control, condemn, compete, deny, lie, self-abuse and
abuse others and go to war all to create a distraction to keep us from
feeling and awakening. All of these behaviors are pathetic attempts
at managing and avoiding our internal stresses. Notice, when stress
builds, we do these things even more. And, as Thoreau says most
are dead. To be Awake, in his terms is to live a bigger life than most
even dare to think about. In each age masters have come offering
tools with which to heal and, usually, those tools, and the work they
said to do, is swept away by fear, dogma and intellectual study.”
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“But life beats us down so badly,” Richard chimed in.
“I offer it is not life that beats us down but our own unresolved
unconscious dynamics. And we need to be willing to open the
floodgates if we are to heal.
“How did you get the floodgates to open, Richard? You
canceled the goal that held your painful, internal world in check.
When you cancel your goal, the reality your mind is producing
collapses. This opens an ‘energy window,’ so to speak, into your
unconscious dynamics.
“Doing this sets up your mind to process through the
unconsciousness and pain around the issue at hand and see a different
reality. If you are in pain, your mind is holding to an insane reality.
You need to collapse that reality in order for healing to happen.”
“But there is so much! How do I ever get through it all?”
In Step 9B, you get the chance to ask for assistance in
moving through whatever comes to the surface as you forgive.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“There is a power that in Aramaic is called ‘Rookha
d’Koodsha,’ often short formed Rookha. It was understood as
a feminine elemental force in the human mind that undoes the
effect of our errors and teaches the Truth. It literally means the
‘force for that which is proper’ for us as humans. This inner
power has been known by many names, the Higher Power, the
Holy Spirit, the Super Conscious, the SuperProcessor—that is
why there is a blank where I encourage you to address that power
with whatever name is comfortable to you. How about going
ahead and asking now for that assistance?” He spoke the next
step out loud and then grew very silent.
9B. I invite Rookha (Rookha d’Koodsha) to incline me toward
healing , restore me to my original nature LOVE , assist me
in keeping LOVE present and help to see and own the inner,
deeper, hidden and projected parts of myself . (BREATHE)
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“What is happening, Richard? Are you breathing?”
“I’m really feeling sad, overwhelming sadness and loss. At
the same time it’s a good sadness, if such a thing is possible. It
almost feels like being washed. There is energy running through
my hands, and my face is a little numb. I’m realizing that when I
was a kid, my parents changed when Amy was born. I blamed my
sister for the change in how I was treated by my parents. It seems
like I’ve been really unfair to her. I’ve taken it out on her all my
life, and she was just a beautiful little kid. She didn’t deserve
what I’ve done to her and what I have continued to do to her even
as an adult. I’ve treated her like she was a nobody—the same
thing I accused my parents and women of doing to me all my life!
Its so clear - I don’t understand how I could have missed this all
these years. It’s so stupid.”
“Sounds like you could easily turn the abuse you’ve done to
her on yourself. I’d suggest you be aware of that you be Gentle
with everyone including yourself.”
“It doesn’t feel like I deserve it. I hate myself. I’ve been
pretty rotten to her.” He was in self-pity.
“You’ve just uncovered your next few worksheets. I suggest
you make a note for your journal or fill in Step 1A on some blank
worksheets. You would benefit from worksheets on ‘deserving,’
on ‘self-hate,’ on “being stupid,” and on ‘being rotten.’ I think
‘self-pity’ would also be a productive topic to work with.
“I invite you to remember that the purpose of delving into
these areas of your life is to recognize what you have done to
yourself and others with your mind energy. One of the games of
the human mind is to always reproduce its patterns and make the
behavior connected with those patterns look like a justifiable
action. Once again, what I hear is that your reality ‘someone is to
blame and punishment is in order’ has been resonated, and now
that you see your sister’s innocence, you are about to turn that
reality on yourself. Remember, Richard, you are innocent, too. I
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suggest you speak The Commitment (page 127) in the mirror to
yourself and recognize you deserve to be treated Lovingly, gently
and with respect. “In the Aramaic Scriptures, the mind was called
‘the Great Deceiver.’ It could take any situation and justify
projecting its old realities, patterns and habitual behaviors into
whatever happens. The task at hand is to bring Love into your
mind and heal your tendency to abuse yourself or anyone else,
whatever comes up, whatever happens!
“Do you see how the mind sets its trap? It is urgent, particularly
when healing, to have a Law by which you live. Commit, in
advance, to following that Law especially if the mind advises you to
go contrary to it. The Commitment becomes a guidepost for
decisions and behavior. It keeps you on track and away from falling
into the tricks of the Loveless mind. The Law to use is that of Love.
You can’t listen to the advice of an insane mind and change your
behavior or make healing decisions.”
Richard was dismayed. “I’m not insane right now, I’m just
angry at myself,” he shot back at me.
“Recall our definition of an insane mind is a mind without
Love. The First Law is: keep the condition of Love in your mind,
whomever you think about! Whatever happens!
“Your focus is on you right now, and you are ready to punish
yourself for functioning out of the mind of a child who was in
pain. You didn’t understand what happened when a new baby
came into your home—how could you? In order to change the
behaviors that come from such old internalized experiences, this is
the process that must be done or, like many in the past, you will be
saying to yourself, ‘Why is it the things I would not do, are what I
do and the things I would do I cannot.’ You can resolve to do
something, or never do it again, but if a behavior comes from an
unconscious prompt, until that prompt is addressed with True
Forgiveness that behavior will rule you. With the right tools you
regain your power over your ‘self.’
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“I would suggest you go back to Step 8 and reconnect your
mind to Love before you take any other actions. Remember the
Law of Love applies to you too!”
“Okay, I really want to get through this. It seems like such a
waste, the way I’ve been with my sister for so many years.”
“Great catch. Notice your words. Sounds like another good
worksheet topic is ‘wasted relationships.’ It would be a good idea
to make a note of that on your future worksheet list. Have
‘wasted relationships’ shown up anywhere else in your life?”
“Let me take just a minute and get centered in that Love
connection, michael.”
We sat silently for a moment and Richard’s countenance
changed. He seemed to settle a little and then spoke. “It feels as
though every relationship I’ve ever had was a waste and I can see
that I made the decision very early in my life that relationships
weren’t safe. The Truth is, I think, that I wasn’t safe. I’ve been so
angry ever since I was a child, I’d snap at anybody for what
appeared to be no reason. I now see clearly that I was hurting and
wasn’t going to let anyone get close enough to do it to me . . .
AGAIN! I can now see that all my unwillingness to look inside is
the very thing that has maintained the cycle of trauma instead of
protected me from it.
“All of my adult trauma and pain has come out of my
unwillingness to look honestly at my life—my own Blockage of
Truth! My life drama is to be emotionally aloof and unavailable
just as described in The Celestine Prophecy. It is clear that my
attitude guaranteed I would be hurt over and over. I see why the
intimacy left - I was always blaming and attacking - no wonder
the women in my life left! I was rotten to them. The old saying,
‘There are none so blind as those who will not see,’ keeps
coming to my mind. I’ve sabotaged my whole life!” Richard’s
tears welled up once again. I waited, just holding the space, until
the emotion passed before I spoke again.
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“Keep your breath open. You still have lots of life left. Let’s
tie what just came to the surface back to some of our earlier
discussions. Recall you said the women in your life were warm
and Loving at first, and then they became distant. You then found
you couldn’t seem to get close to them again. Your evidential
mind was stuck in projection and externalization. Good catch!
Your earlier thoughts were that they became distant and notice,
with Forgiveness, you get to see the Truth.
He was overcome with emotion again. “I can’t believe what
I’ve done—and I’ve beat everyone else up for what I’ve been
doing to them all my life. I don’t know if I can handle this.”
“There is nothing to handle. Once you invite Rookha to go to
work, the processing part of Forgiveness is not something you
do. You simply open the door, and if you allow it to remain open
Love does the rest. Just breathe and the energy will move.
Remember—healing happens!!” Several moments passed as
Richard went through waves of gut wrenching emotion.
“What do I do with all of these feelings?”
“Just hold fast to your connection to Love and be with them.
Develop the habit of staying connected to Love. It is safe to look
at and feel everything inside you. Your job is to open the door and
hold the space. Locating and canceling the goal, then inviting
Rookha to go to work is your part. That has the effect of allowing
what in the ancient teachings was called the ‘veil’ of the temple
(not a church, but the barrier of denial in your own energy field,)
to open and move into process. Think of our earlier definition of
processing. It is the capacity to hold Love Conscious, Active and
Present when anything less than Love surfaces. By choosing to
Love Truth, you’ve gotten in touch with some of the issues that
your mind hides. You opened the space for that to happen
when you canceled or Forgave your need for what you wanted.
This is the end result of True Forgiveness!
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“When the mind has things backward, that is, believing that
what is happening inside is caused by something outside, and you
cancel your goal, though it seems backward thing to do, you
allowed the file in your mind that kept issues hidden from your
awareness to open. When these issues surfaced and were exposed
to Love, the Truth became available to you and you began to let
go—heal—these long-held painful realities. This is what healing
looks like! You will no longer have to carry these burdens. Your
life will change as a result of this processing. I stress, as strongly
as I can, that this is the result of canceling your need for what you
want, which is the key to opening the healing process!”
Richard regained his composure. “Where did that come
from? I didn’t expect such a powerful upheaval. Do I feel
relieved! I’m going to think about this for a long, long time. I
don’t know what to say, I’m a little embarrassed.”
“I support you in letting go of embarrassment. What you just
went through is right on target. It’s what our culture inhibits us
from doing, especially as men— looking at, feeling and dealing
with the insanity we go through in life. Our culture has warned us
not to open ‘Pandora’s Box,’ but they did not tell us that if we
never look into and clean out Pandora’s Box our lives will
become like its contents. Can you see how the theme of what you
have just uncovered has run through your whole life?”
“It has not run through my life, michael, it has run my life!
That experience and the decisions I made to protect myself from
getting hurt again have been at the root of just about every
relationship interaction I’ve ever had! I’m ready to re-create my
life differently. It is safe to Love and I’m going to do it! Nothing
can stop me now!”
“Richard, I suggest you look at the words, ‘Nothing can stop me
now.’ Recall the discussion about creating out of avoidance? Your
words say you may be getting ready to set something up to stop you.”
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“Don’t be so literal. That’s not what I meant.”
“I know that’s what you believe but your words reflect
avoidance, and your words always precede your creations. At this
moment it sounds like I’m being picky, but I’m reflecting back to
you where your reality structure is taking you. Your words are the
indicator. Words reflect the energies with which we organ-ize our
bodies and our world. You’ve just had a powerful opening and
insight, but there is still work to be done. Might I suggest you
rephrase your intention to something such as, ‘It is safe to Love and
I’m going to do it! Everyone, including myself, supports me in
having Loving, connected relationships, especially with women and
particularly with my sister!’” He became emotional once again.
“In the Aramaic, you have just been born into a new kingdom,
a new level of insight. It is exciting, but you have a whole genetic
and life history that is going in another direction. Your mind has a
store of realities that is inertia bound. Your reality structure will
tend to keep you going in its direction, rather than this new way,
as soon as it’s back in the driver’s seat. Your words indicate the
‘Great Deceiver’ is sneaking back in already.”
“I’m ready to move on. I like this new way of thinking and
Being and I don’t want to go back to that old way. I can hardly
wait to tell everyone I meet about what I’ve found!”
“Be aware that not everyone is going to want to hear what
you have to say. Recall when you first called me you thought it
would be a waste of time to get together? Remember the ‘don’t
storm the gates’ warning? Just be aware that you have work to do
and the Forgiveness process has just begun. There may be several
layers of this and other old realities based on the childhood
experience you just uncovered that will still come forward for
healing. Those old realities will attempt to convince you they are
true, but only because that is what you have trained them to do.
Consistent inner work is the key. You can bet that the guy who
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just yesterday pitched the latest World Series win is back
practicing on the mound today. If you want to continue the
process, you must put the pen to the paper and continue your
work. We have just scratched the surface, I promise you.”
“I’m committed! What do I do?” Richard beamed.
“First, I suggest a commitment of five written worksheets a day
for the next forty days. As you have just observed, the worksheets
put you in touch with your unconscious dynamics. They initiate
healing. In the ancient teachings, the unconscious is called the
‘desert’ or the ‘heart.’ Forty days in the desert is very powerful.
Recall in those teachings they said, ‘Take care the heart for out of it
are the issues in life’? Notice how the unconscious dynamics just
uncovered have a way of sneaking in and setting up the realities in
your mind, which result in the issues in your life.”
“It’s pretty clear to me right now, but doesn’t this put an end
to it? I mean we already did a worksheet on this issue. Shouldn’t
it be over?” Richard asked hopefully.
“It is possible, but, it’s not usually that easy. The Master
Teacher of Forgiveness suggested seventy-seven times seventy
worksheets on any given issue. To the ancients, seven was the
number of completion and a zero added to that number is infinity.
This means that you may do an infinite number of worksheets until
you are complete with an issue. The real work begins now an
transforming old dynamics in the mind is a process that takes time.
Recall there are years of old experiences, and generations of
beliefs and insane interactions to overcome—aeons of what was
called ‘wandering in the desert.’ This is the core of the Master
Teacher’s work. It was often veiled by dogma and available only
to those who had the, ‘eyes to see and the ears to hear,’ - those
who had the ‘brain cells.’”
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“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, michael, but
I’m glad I came. I’ll do my work and teach it to others.”
“Great! Once you realize what there is to be done, what else
is there to do? Let’s cover the last few steps on the Reality
Management Sheet and we can close for now.”
Richard had been looking at some of our HeartLand literature
and said, “I want to be at the Support Team Super Intensive next
year at HeartLand. I’m ready to deepen my process. How do I
arrange that?”
“Let’s talk about that later and look at Step 10, which, in
effect, you’ve already done, then we’ll complete Steps 11 and
12.”
10. I now feel cleansed and relieved and, Draw Your
about the situation in #1A see that neither Feelings Now
of us deserve my hostility & I have
much more work to do. I am willing.
“Notice in Step 10 you are asked to
describe the same reality as you did in Step 1.
I invite you to notice how that reality has
changed and that you moved from the outer,
blame dynamic to the inner reality, seeing
yourself more accurately—that is the result of
True Forgiveness!”
“It feels like I could write a novel on the insights that are coming
from the few hours of work we have done and this one worksheet. I
hardly believe anything so powerful could happen to me.”
“Writing a book on your work today, hmm, I might just do that!
I remind you that what you have done is a process and there are
highs and lows. When lows come remember the thought, ‘This too
shall pass,’ and it will, though it can take up to three days if you do
your work. As you progress and build vitality you will reach even
deeper parts of yourself and the process will intensify. I would
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suggest you put your insights, everything you are thinking into a
journal and keep rereading it. It will be fertile ground for future
process and worksheet topics.
“In Step 11 of the Reality Management Sheet, you purposely
look for the Love in the object of your attention from #1A on the
sheet and focus on gratitude. Gratitude is something you do for
you, not her. Sometimes gratitude will elude you because there is
still more work to do around an issue. Fake it till you make it! It
will fill you with more of that healing flow.
“When you look for the Love in another, you not only
strengthen it in yourself, but you are choosing humility. In the
ancient Aramaic, humility, as opposed to the current attitude of
being about putting yourself down, is the mental quality of being
capable of looking for and cooperating with the good desires of
others, with their highest and best, instead of being lost in your
own projections. It is a powerful, healing habit to cultivate.”
11. I am grateful and choose humility by looking for and
joining only with your highest and best, YOUR BEING,
LOVE (#1A) Amy.
“That seems so natural and easy on this side of the
Forgiveness process, michael. I can hardly believe the difference
in how I feel about Amy. I have always resented her so much. I’m
going to make up for lost time, I hope she is open to it. I can’t
wait to tell her how sorry I am.”
“Remember our earlier conversation about being sorry?”
Richard nodded, “Would you please refresh me on that?”
“Our culture teaches us to focus alot on being sorry. When
you get two creative minds focused on what they are sorry about,
there is a tendency, because of that energetic reinforcement, to do
more of the same. I have come to understand that when we make
an error, it is powerful and healing to own and apologize for that
error. Then I think it is best to explain what you are going to do
instead of that behavior again. Detail, with the person you are
. . . and What You Can Do About It! dr. michael ryce 33
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apologizing to, what you are committed to in the future. You
have a much better chance of actually changing your behavior
when you do that.”
“Got it! So, I can’t wait to apologize to Amy and let her know
how much a I care for her and how important she is in my life!”
“I hold the space for her to be open to you. Lets move on to
Step 12, the final step on the Worksheet. In this step you create a
new, constructive goal, toward the object of your attention. When
your mind uses a constructive goal to produce its realities,
instead of self protective goals, your life will change
dramatically! To focus on what you want to create with them and
see the end from the beginning is a powerful position to be in.”
Richard looked at me quizzically.
“As a creator, when you train your mind to think about what
you want to create, as a result already completed, you give
yourself a much better chance of achieving it. This is a principle
we go into in the workshop, On Creating Consciously. Be clear
that your focus is on exactly what you do want from the
situation, as opposed to the mind’s tendency to go to what it
doesn’t want and to create out of avoidance.”
12. I acknowledge us for creating TRUTH , PERFECT LOVE
, and (structure a Loving goal with #1A) a close,
warm relationship. I’ll be available and be responsible
for my feelings . (BREATHE)
“Relief and hope are what I feel now. It seems I’ve learned
so much about myself—more than I’ve learned in my whole
lifetime! What can I do for you, michael?”
“Richard, there is a principle in physics called critical mass;
the threshold point where a seemingly small action transforms a
large mass. Without charge to the sponsor, we accept every
invitation possible to speak to groups. When an invitation fits
into one of our regular tours, we pay our own expenses, present
our travel workshops free and invite people to copy and give
34 Why Is This Happening To Me . . . AGAIN?!
Work-It-Out With Your Best Friend
away our materials so that our work is available without regard
for the ability to pay. We do these things as our contribution to
creating critical mass with these tools.
“Doing your work and sharing it with others will add energy
to our family’s commitment to deliver these tools to every mind
on the planet and is the greatest gift you could give us. We also
invite you to support this work financially or in any other way
you can. There is always work to be done at HeartLand and, with
a dozen or so buildings and 17 acres, the donation of materials
and/or labor is always welcome. Of course, doing and passing on
the work is most important.
“I believe a precious opportunity was missed two thousand
years ago to heal a suffering, wounded humanity. It was our
chance to regain our sanity, our dignity, and to function again as
human Beings. Recalling that Love of Truth is the healer of
blockage of Truth, I trust its transforming power. I believe that
each mind wants to and will shift to the most rewarding way of
living possible, once the possible is seen. The question is who will
break through to the critical mass, who will make the possible
available to humanity? Let me share a story, by an unknown
author. that I think says it all!”
. . . and What You Can Do About It! dr. michael ryce 35
Work-It-Out With Your Best Friend
Will You Make the Difference?!
“Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” a hawk
asked a wild dove. “Nothing more than nothing,” was
the answer. “In that case I must tell you a marvelous
story,” said the hawk. “I sat on the branch of a fir,
close to its trunk. It began to snow. Not heavily, not a
raging blizzard, no, just like in a dream, without any
violence. Since I had nothing better to do, I counted
the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of
my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952
when the next snowflake dropped onto the
branch—‘nothing more than nothing’ as you
say—and the branch broke off.” Having said that the
hawk flew away.
The dove, since Noah’s time an authority on
peace, thought about the story for a while and
finally said with resolve, “PERHAPS ONLY ONE
PERSON’S VOICE IS LACKING FOR PEACE
TO COME ABOUT IN THE WORLD.”
"Richard, the next time someone resonates a reality that
is less than Love in you, will you Forgive instead of attack?
Will you be that voice for peace?”
36 Why Is This Happening To Me . . . AGAIN?!
Work-It-Out With Your Best Friend
EPILOGUE
Dear Reader,
The purpose of each tool in this book and
our work is to support the healing of ourselves,
each other and the planet.
People from many nations are working
with and supporting these tools. Will you join
with our International HeartLand family in
being response-able, using the tools and
perhaps become the voice that will bring peace
and healing to the world?
If anger or upset in any form play a part in
your relationships or life, will you choose to
be a voice for peace?
In Smiles and Blessings,
michael, jeanie,
michael jay and christa joy
. . . and What You Can Do About It! dr. michael ryce 37