When Dr. Oz asked me on his radio show what the connection was between past lives and current work life, I told him a story about one of my clients who is the senior leader of a mid-sized company. I knew the woman’s name, her feeling that she had recently started to like her work less, and that sometimes she felt uncharacteristically tired. She wanted to know what was behind her feelings.
After I closed my eyes and heard her say her full name, I immediately saw a symbol of a very large, firm stick, which had been planted there a long time. This stick was accompanied by a sense of determination and discipline. A vaguer image around the stick was a file cabinet, neatly marked, and infinitely efficient. There were hard edged objects precisely placed, and I noted no sense of softness or even flexibility. Everything in her seemed “fixed.”
It was apparent that she defined herself by her ability to fix almost anything and/or anyone by focus, force, discipline and determination. As I brushed aside this image, I immediately felt a sense of exhaustion. The next thing that appeared was an image of Quan Yin, who is called the female version of the Buddha and represents the heart of compassion. I hesitated a moment, not knowing if this woman was Christian and might be offended by what I was about to say, but I plunged in anyway, committed to being honest about what I saw.
“You are very hard on yourself,” I said. “It is a strategy you have used to earn love and to survive when there was no one to help you. You have perfected this strategy and used it to excel in your field. Now, however, you are being invited onto a kinder path – where the challenge is to befriend and find compassion for yourself. Quan Yin is present with you (I explained who she is). You had another life with her where you were tending her garden – devoted to her. (this story unfolded as Quan Yin’s image lit up) She has returned to you with blessings, wanting to help and guide you toward self-compassion, which will result in more satisfying relationships at work and even change the way you prioritize and focus on work. In addition you will feel less exhaustion when you stop funding this strategy of earning the love you already possess – and that possesses you. I facilitated some energetic shifts that resulted in Sandra saying she suddenly felt calmer. Then she said something quite curious:
“I have a two foot, jade statue of Quan Yin in my garden and I never knew why I was so attracted to her. I never knew anything about her until now. I was just drawn to buy the statue and put her in my garden.”
So, Dr. Oz, that’s one thing that other lifetimes have to do with current work life!