When I was 26 years old I was forced to deal with the death of my husband. We were only married for 5 years, when he died unexpectedly driving to work.  He was 41 years old.  I went through all of the stages of grief that Mark talked about on the weekly call and finally after 3 years – ANSWERED THE CALL to return to my authentic self.  It was indeed a hard struggle and one that few people could help me get over.  I had many obstacles to overcome as we had 3 businesses with employees who still needed to receive a paycheck, but I persisted until I found my way back.  I understand completely the levels of grief and have been trying for many years to find that authentic self again. I honestly do not need to read obituaries to be reminded of how precious life is and that we should never take it for granted.  I have tried to live my life from the age of 26 in that way.  I treasure each day as a new adventure to look forward to and to thank God for his wisdom in allowing me to hold this belief.

At the age of 64, I am once again answering the call because I believe that I am unique and have much to offer my friends and family.  I am now nearing retirement and intend to continue my journey with the Master Key Experience to the end and beyond, as for me this is not a “course” to finish but a lifestyle that I intend to continue until my end.

I consider”Dragons” differently than Joseph Campbell.  For me they represent strength and a spirit the envelopes their bodies to show us that we to can fly.  My favorite creature on earth is the Dragon.  I have 3 thousand piece puzzles hanging in my office that are dragons and every day them remind me of this spirit and that I too can fly.

I have listened to a significant amount of SelF-Help Guru’s, purchased their books, workbooks, etc., as I was a network marketer with dreams of reaching high ranks within the company.  The problem was that after reading and listening to these individuals, I found myself right back at the beginning. I quickly decided that network marketing was not my style or something that I really enjoyed, although I had a record breaking 6 months with the first company.  The 2nd company just went no where fast, primarily because of a huge lack of desire. I was chasing the symbol of fame and money. I was lost as to the world within.  My subby had no clue as to what I needed because I didn’t know myself – until I found the Master Key Experience.

The learning and studying to improve myself has really taken hold during the Master Key Experience.  I know that I have personally changed within.  I see actual “feelings” that I can point to that have never been there before, many that have grown stronger and a peace in my world within.  I know that the Master Key Experience is working for me because, unlike the prior self-help systems” my concentration, belief and desire to obtain my future self has increased exponentially. Although my desire is the strongest it has ever been, my concentration is one thing that I sometimes have to really work on. I know that it is better because of where I am physically and emotionally but it still needs to improve.

As Hannal says in MKS 17-29 “….When you get to the heart of things it is comparatively easy to understand and command them”.  I am still working towards the “heart” of my desire.

I have full faith that I will be my “future self” because I am persistent and I always keep my promises.

There were several passages this week which really struck home for me.  I have been fortunate in my life to meet several successful people, some that I now would consider idealist and some who I can now say, simply focused on wealth as an end. I have always considered “wealth” to define success.  But as we learned this week Haanel says in MKS #1 : “Wealth is a product of labor.  Capital is an effect, not a cause; a servant, not a master; a means, not an end”.  I know realize that “Success is contingent upon a higher ideal that the more accumulation of riches, and he who aspires to such success must formulate an ideal for which he is willing to strive” (Haanel MKS #5).

Focus and concentration on my plan of action combined with my DMP and PMA I believe will make subby take the lead.  My concentration and focus on expressing feelings, more than I have before, has already lead to changes in my life such as empathy, patience and kindness.  Empathy and patience have not always been strong feelings for me in the past, but I notice now a more heightened ability to express and feel them. I believe that I am feeding subby the feelings and ideals that will create  an environment of success as defined by Haanel. My world within is becoming stronger towards my desired future self.

Haanel expresses this in MKS #28:  “If you desire to visualize a different environment, the process is simply to hold the ideal in mind until your vision has been made real.  Give no thought to persons, places of things; these have no place in the absolute.  The environment you desire will contain everything necessary; the right persons and the right things will come at the right time and in the right place”.

As Og says “…..I was conceived in love and brought forth with a purpose.  In the past I have not considered this fact but it will henceforth shape and guide my life.”

During my 64 years I have compared myself to my friends and wished silently that I had made different choices in life, but I now realize that all of the experiences, adventures, as well as the choices I made were the clay that molded the unique individual that I am today.  I love who I am and relish the fact that I was born out of love to be this unique person. We can find our future self if we are willing to take the journey of discovery by opening our hearts and minds to new ideas. I am no longer comparing myself to anyone, but enjoying the uniqueness of who I am today.

I accept all challenges posed in the Master Key Experience and know that I am getting closer to my future self.  I see obvious signs of reaching my future self in my eliminating “opinions”, reading the Mental Diet daily to keep myself grounded, removing the anger and frustrations felt in the past and replacing it with faith, empathy and love.  I thank all of the guides, Mark and the Fabulous Davene for allowing me to be part of the Master Key Experience.

I believe in my future self.

The movie Cool Runnings is on of my favorites.  They show just how we can realize our dreams if we stay committed, no matter what the obstacles, focused and most of all “believe” in ourselves.  The Cool Runnings group wanted to be the first bobsled team from Jamaica to enter the Olympic Games (legacy).  Their plan of action was to work harder then any other team but to remain always in all ways Jamaicans.  Their coach had been in the Olympics but was removed in disgrace.  Together they formed a highly unlikely group, but in the end they earned the respect and admiration of all of the athletics as well as the crowd.  They remained focused.

For me this holiday has been a time of reflection of not only what I am grateful for, but just how individuals have crossed my paths at just the right time.  My mother in law was taken home on Christmas day. For some it may have been a devastating event on the holiday and although we will miss her tremendously we know that she is now home with her Father, her family and friends that have gone before and more important her body after 96 years is perfect again.  Although she was 96 years old, she lived every day in service to others, which is the ultimate goal of our family.  We say farewell for now.

Sometimes I think that this chapter of the Master Key Experience is the foundation of exactly what we are doing.  We all dream of the life we want (DMP) and have made a conscience decision to obtain it through all of the lessons we are now engaged in. It is important to dream, to use our imagination to it’s fullest.  Our lives seem at time so mundane, boring and just being part of the “herd” does not really promote any of us into the tremendous realms of possibilities that the Master Key Experience has given us. Because of our imagination, the ability to dream, we can use our thoughts to tell our subby exactly what we want and know that through the 7 Laws of the Mind it will appear.  I think that one integral part of the Master Key Experience for me has been the rekindling of the act of dreaming, something I think we lose as we become older.  We seem to settle, which is the complete opposite of what we should be doing. These are just my thoughts as I read Chapter 13.

Persistence means more to me because of the circumstances of losing my mother in law and have to care for her at home for the past week under hospice care.  She is 96 and has lived a long, good life, but seeing someone at the last moments and caring for them has caused me to persist in not only keeping up with the Master Key Experience and the specific tasks, but also in persisting to take care of a loved one.  As OG says” in truth, one step at a time is not too difficult” but it does sometimes require a strength to always maintain persistence is all ways.  I keep putting one foot in front of another with the faith and knowledge that God will take her home when he is ready.

The only words I can think to describe Week 11 for me are:  Illumination, Clarity, Excitement.  The webcast really put everything in line for me but the clip about DJ Gregory was the thing that sealed it.  I started thinking about my family members who have experienced some major life challenges and could actually see their DMP, plan of action, mental diet as well as the alliance.  It just brought everything to the forefront to me because of what my mom and sister had experienced and how they actually maintained all 4 habits to succeed.

During the last week, I have had some issues focusing and finding time for all of the tasks as my partner’s mother, who is 96 years old and healthy until about a week ago.  She fell at Kaiser Hospital and suffered a brain injury which has just caused her to really go down hill as to her overall health.  She also has some other issues which were complicated by this brain injury.  After a week of the emergency room, days in ICU and additional time on the 4th floor, this Wednesday they sent her home under hospice care. We are still reeling from this decision, so this call was a godsend to refocus my energies  and restart my habit.

I am so thankful for this webinar….

This was a BIG week for me in more than one way.  I finished my DMP which was released.  I went back and re-read all of the Master Key lessons which was such a good idea because I learned more and more about this journey we are on.  It was a very clarifying day.  I really missed the webinar for Week 10 but I think I have everything completed.  I feel more at ease about everything that we do because re-reading the Master Key really put it all in perspective for me.  I saw where all of the daily tasks fall in line with these lessons, how the conscious and subconscious work and how repetition is the BIGGEST key.

The DMP was very frustrating for me (I am a RED) and also extremely hard, but in the end I finally realized what my guide was saying.  I feel excited about my DMP and glad that I completed it.

Wow.  This week was packed with sooooo much information.  I was really “thankful” that we had a break so that I could go back and absorb everything.  Still have a somewhat difficult time with my new DMP but really trying to “get it”.  I have been working on it during the break and think I may have a clearer picture.  At least I hope so.

I really liked the area of the webinar about combinations.  It made the work seem a little more compact and easier.  Still trying to digest everything from this week’s webinar.