If you want to sing out, sing out, and if you want to be free, be free, cause there's a million ways to be, you know that there are.
– Cat Stevens

"....there's a million ways to be,  you know that there are." Is that your experience? Or, are you pretty much used to being one particular way?

If you had a magic wand, what might you change about your experience? Is there anything about yourself that you would like to improve or change? Perhaps, a habit you just cannot kick; or a discipline you keep trying to master only to give up again and again. Or maybe there is something about your looks you would love to change or are desperately trying to maintain.

Q. Do you have any idea how much of your life you might have devoted to such pursuits so far?

Q. Do you ever feel totally frustrated with yourself?

If your answer is yes, you are probably human. And, you are not alone in this metaphorical, storm-tossed boat of frustration. Most of us humans will tell you, "I'm in the exact same boat!"

You are not alone.

No matter who we are, no matter how privileged we are, nobody, not one of us, can avoid life's rollercoaster ride. And yet, we do seem to spend a heck of a lot of time trying to do just that, don't we?

Just imagine washing yourself and, simultaneously, doing everything possible to stay dry. That would be an exercise in futility, wouldn't it? Imagine looking at a spectacular landscape and steeling yourself only to see the greens. As if anyone would do such a thing! Imagine eating a sweet and sour dish and trying your very best to avoid the sour taste and only taste the sweetness. Equally futile and ridiculous, yes?

EXERCISE:

Take a moment to ponder the vast array of experiences that have been available to you in every single second throughout your life, until now.

Now, imagine yourself standing at the beginning of your life all over again, but this time you are a grown-up with a superpower. You can see all the possible experiences in technicolor, a feast of experiences laid out before you, just waiting to be lived.

Now, step into your life, as if for the very first time and begin your life journey all over again ... Oops, sorry, hang on a second. Before you set off, here are a few important instructions:

• Beware of all bad experiences! 
• Avoid them at all costs!
• Aim only for the good ones!
• When you are in them, hold onto the good experiences for dear life!
• And, most important: Beware of any and all people and circumstances that might make you feel bad.
• Be very careful to avoid whatever you can that might make you feel bad. If you start experiencing anything bad, just hold your breath until the feeling passes.

... Take your time.

Q. WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

Pause a moment.

This exercise, as you might have realized, parodies what we all do most of the time. Our mindset is split between aiming for this experience with the goal of avoiding that one. Like a chameleon with opposing eyes, each one fixed on a diametrically opposing goal, we remain blind to what is actually happening right in front of us.

Perhaps this is why, invariably, it takes a real life disruption or trauma in our life before we are desperate and interested enough to seek out a radically alternative way of addressing our struggles--something we have never ever tried before.

When the desperation of "I give up! There has to be another way!" hits us, it is for just such a moment in life that BreakThrough is really well suited.

To be clear, being desperate is not a prerequisite to taking a BreakThrough class. Goodness, no. If you are simply motivated by a burning desire to enjoy being you, then you will be in the right place. Once you take the plunge, you will discover that the work is incredibly supportive, gentle and fun.

Because we explore life's challenges in a most unconventional way, BreakThrough stimulates our curiosity exponentially. In the words of Alice in Wonderland, life starts looking "curiouser and curiouser." And just like Alice, looking at life from a very new perspective, we begin to see everything about our life in a totally different light.

The clearer our seeing becomes, the more obvious it is how universal our personal struggles actually are. Naturally, this brings a huge sense of relief, and with it comes an irrepressible bubbling up of compassion. And then, the oddest thing starts happening; we realize that this seeing and this compassion are doing all the work.

See all of Esther's upcoming events and private session information at breakthroughiba.com.