Practically Perfect

By Brenda Miller

"If there was a day we wouldn't want to end, it would be the BreakThrough 1 Practical." People who have attended them recently share this same sentiment and find themselves drawn to participating more than once. It is hard to believe the statement because we have so much resistance to looking at, and becoming experts on ourselves. Rather, we seem determined to avoid our own work and continue to dwell on the flaws of others. We give advice as though we are experts on everyone else, while bumbling around our own lives.
It is a great relief to discover that it is more painful to hide from ourselves than to look at ourselves. There are moments during a BreakThrough Steps process that are uncomfortable; they are nothing compared to the lifetime of discomfort that our beliefs perpetuate. The question becomes: is it worth a few moments of feeling distraught to live the rest of your life from a more 'present' place? When we are truly caught in looking at our own story, it is fascinating; the lies fall away, the hurt falls away, and what remains is a different way to live. It is spelled: R E L I E F.

The cultural prescription for living a life can be changed with this work.

That is captivating enough, but there is much more. During a class, no one individual is on the 'hotseat'. There are several ways the instructors find triggers to use. One of them is to ask the group to relate specific, common triggers and then use a hypothetical trigger that sums it up. However it is done, no one person is singled out and that appears to take the pressure off, externally. True to the nature of the universe, that allows for the 'pressure' we constantly carry within to activate and expose the deep-seated, core beliefs that continue to distort our day-to-day experiences. That leads to sobering moments, joyful moments, miserable moments and finally to humbling. Acceptance of ourselves and others flows out of this work.

The dynamics of the class are especially interesting. We join together in solidarity to break through our mutual beliefs and end up looking at each other, and ourselves, with more compassion and no less than a little bit of amazement. Together we do remarkable work.

There are simple and brief explanations that open the mind to other possibilities as to the meaning and consequences to ourselves of 'should' and 'should not', control, conflict, defenses, coping; all the usual exploration and 'out of the box' questioning that happens in BreakThrough 1.

Each of the Seven Steps is worked through as a stand-alone Step working on three or four different triggers in succession. The BreakThrough 1 Practical is designed to provide an opportunity to emphasize and deepen knowledge of the protocol, highlight the importance of each of the Steps, and heighten our comfort level with the Steps.

The magic of the Steps is that you get a rare opportunity to 'know' the work and do it with a group of people who share your deepest fears; who share your humanity.

Learn how to isolate and refine a trigger, lead, anchor, listen carefully to what is being said, and when and how to be quiet. As a bonus, you'll relate to every step in some area of your life, and that alone will begin to shift how you feel about life.

If you're having trouble with Step four, learn a simple way to get a break through using 'should' and 'should not'. That will boost your confidence and you will begin to enjoy the role of 'defense detective', knowing that whatever you are able to assist in uncovering will benefit the person you are leading through the Steps. It will also benefit you. Each Steps process we are present for are our own Steps in some way.

The stated goal of the Practical is to make leading someone through the Steps easier. That happens. The unexpected happens when you experience shifts that you cannot put words to.

If you have done BreakThrough 1, anytime, with any BreakThrough 1 instructor, you are welcome to join us in our quest to discover the real you, hidden beneath the habits and defenses, waiting for joyful release.

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