... a conversation with five-time New York Times bestselling author Caroline Myss
Ram Dass once remarked, "I'm not going to say anything that you don't know already. But the perplexing problem is that you don't know you know." Millennia prior, Plato taught that all learning is remembering.
That's what it's like listening to Caroline Myss -- a re-minder of what we know to be true.
In this conversation, Caroline guides us through what it means to live from our vision and pass on our light.
***
Cortney: At a recent writer's workshop, you talked about the need to "show up" every day. What do you mean by that?
Caroline: When I'm working on a meaningful piece of writing, these books come from my soul. They begin to talk to me as unique visions. Once that starts, I have to show up every day in some way. Even if I make contact with the vision for an hour only, I have to be there. It's like soft clay that I need to consistently mold. If I miss, then I show up and it's concrete, and I have to work that again. I have to engage the trust of that vision again: "What was I saying? What was I trying to do here? Where was I?" Whereas, if I don't lose that contact, I don't have to go through that. And I find that dynamic of having to thaw out concrete to be so horrendous that I can't stand to go through that. I can't stand to lose contact with my vision.
Cortney: What about when you do lose contact? What then?
Caroline: I was recently on the wrong path with my upcoming book, Anatomy of the Soul. All the work I'd been doing--months and months of work--had to be trashed. Not a good feeling. But I'd rather trash it than stay on the wrong path.
It's part of the process. You write out the debris. You're writing out the unnecessary to get to the essential.
Cortney: Can you tell us more about the "essential" -- the "soul stuff"?
Caroline: The soul is an active energetic companion to our biology, the creative battery of life. It is the cosmic, creative force.
We're in the Age of Energy. And that Age of Energy has levels to it. The mystical laws are the counterpart to the physical laws and the energy laws upon which we base energy science and technology. We have an INNER-NET that matches the Internet. We are as connected on our inner to each other as we are energetically connected. The speed of prayer is now no different than sending an email. We've duplicated our energetic, collective unconscious in the way the internet runs. It's no different whatsoever. We've simply technologized our collective unconscious in the internet -- our energetic technology. The only difference is that the Soul operates on the sacred level of what we've technically finally managed.
Cortney: In this Age of Energy, this age of connection, distractions abound. How do you navigate that?
Caroline: When I start writing something of great soul significance, I become a different person to the world around me. I don't want to be disturbed. My priorities shift. People are no longer my priority. The world's no longer my priority. The vision is my priority. Even eating's not my priority.
It's not often that the soul takes over and its message is a priority. It can be likened to the rare phenomenon of falling in love: the only thing you care about is nurturing that state of euphoria. That's how I feel when I've made contact with my vision.
Yet, I also leave space for the people I cherish. Cherish isn't a word that's pulled out of the closet very often. But, when you do, that's what makes life good. And you will resent your work if your work costs you their life. It's not worth it. There's nothing you're going to accomplish in your life that's worth their life. So, with my own, I set aside my work time and I do my best to keep that, and I allow for the interference of the people I cherish. Both are true.
Cortney: Any last gems you can leave us with?
Caroline: In having a deep spiritual connection, I am very sure about what my values are, which is something a lot of people are not.
"What is truth for me?" That's your first question. Spiritual query is not about: "Is there a God and does God answer my prayers? And can I get what I want?" That's a santa-claus God. The question is: "What is truth? And how do I act upon truth in my life with others?" What's the truth of my actions? What's the truth of my agenda with others? Why do I say what I say? What am I really up to here? Why can't I be honest with this person? Why am I addicted to this? Why don't I hold myself accountable for my emotions? Why am I passing on my suffering to a person who has nothing to do with it? Why am I punishing people because I'm not happy with my life?
That's what the spiritual path is. That's the spiritual life. Getting a grip on yourself. It's not hearing God and having visions. It's having the strength to get a hold of your darkness and not pass it on to others or pass it through yourself to others, instead to pass your light on to others.
About Caroline: Caroline Myss is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition.
Other interviews in this biz-life leader series:
Julia Cameron: How to Ignite Your Creativity
Nadine Hack: Turn Adversaries into Allies
Marie Forleo: Clear the Clutter & Make a Difference