Through the Dark Woods...

"Peace is your home,

integrity is the way to it,?

and everything you long for?

will meet you there."?

- Martha Beck

Going through the dark woods of error...?

Can't see the trees from the woods..?

Have you ever experienced a time in your life, when you could not see past the dark and frightening woods of error in your life??

Finding myself out of the dark woods

Have you ever been through?a time in your life when you could not see past the frightening dark woods of error in your life?

A time when you were unable to see past the gigantic dense tree stumps surrounding you.

A time when you could not see past, tall dark branches and trees obscuring your view.

A time when you were unable to see through the countless barky thick layers of timber that obscured your vision and stifled your movement forward.

A time when you felt overcome & engulfed by dark and thick leafy shrubs in your way, unable to move.

A time when you could not move beyond the messy, moist, and muddy ground beneath your feet.

A time when you were unable to see the warm sun through the towering upstream river of leaves above, and over ahead.

A time where you could not see a way out, no trail, nor path for you to tread on…

No way in,

… and no way out

No view in site

No way through it

No way to move out of it

No way, to lead you out of the leafy long stumps and shrubs, to take you through a new way back to a peaceful you.

Have you ever felt so lost, abandoned in the lonely messy and intimidating dark woods...?

And in that, you realized you could not find your way home.

Written by Tamara

Bestselling author, life coach, and sociologist Martha Beck explains why “integrity”— meaning being in harmony with ourselves—is the key to a meaningful and joyful life.

In her book The Way of Integrity, Beck presents a four-stage process that anyone can use to find integrity, and with it, a sense of purpose, emotional healing, and a life free of mental suffering.

Much of what haunts & plagues us in today’s world is—people pleasing, staying in stale relationships, negative habits, and not being true to ourselves — they all point to what happens when we are out of touch with what truly makes us feel whole.

Inspired by The Divine Comedy (The Divine Comedy is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before his death in 1321). Beck uses Dante’s classic hero’s journey as a framework to break down the process of attaining personal integrity into small, manageable steps. She shows how to read our internal signals that lead us towards our true path, and to recognize what we actually yearn for versus what our culture sells us.

?The Way Of Integrity uses science, spirituality, humour, and Dante's Divine Comedy to teach you how to find well-being, healing, a sense of purpose, and much more by rediscovering integrity, or the recently lost art of living true to yourself by what you do, think and say.

Maybe you are in the dark wood of error in your life now?

“ Midway through the journey of life'', says Dante, I found myself in a dark forest, for the right way was lost. “

He doesn’t mention how he got lost, what he was doing when we wandered off track, or how far off he has gone. All this information is literally … foggy. The only thing Dante knows is that he is alone, adrift & confused.?

The experience of noticing we are on the wrong path in what feels like the wrong life, comes to almost all of us at some point.?

Perhaps in the form of:?

A few years into a dead-end job,

a broken unmendable relationship,

or a stressed living situation

.. we may suddenly realise that everything seems…'off' and that we find ourselves stuck in the dark woods of error.?

Like Dante we are a bit unsure what exactly is wrong, or how we got ‘here’, we just know that something is not aligned with where we would like to be…?

EXERCISE: Finding integrity in the dark wood ( Obtained from Martha Beck's Book)

Here is a simple exercise that will put your feet squarely on the way of integrity, no matter how lost you may feel. Below you’ll find a list of simple statements. Your job is to say them out loud. Whisper them privately, proclaim them to a friend, and shout them at the next spam caller who interrupts your day. And just for a moment, as you say each sentence, tentatively accept that it might be true.

Now here’s the important part: as you speak each sentence, feel what happens inside you. Your pride may sting, your inner critic may put its back up like a startled cat. But does your body relax a little, despite the apparent negativity of a given statement? Does your breath deepen? Do you feel a battle easing in your gut, your heart, your head? Just notice this. Don’t worry about what comes next.

Okay, go...?

My life isn’t perfect.

I don’t like the way things are going.

I don’t feel good.

I’m sad.

I’m angry.

I’m scared.

I’m not at peace.

I can’t find my people.

I’m not sure where to go.

I don’t know what to do.

I need help.

If you felt something settle in your body and emotions when you read one or more of the statements above, don’t ignore it. That slight relaxation is your instinctive response to hearing—and, more importantly, speaking—the truth. If you can feel it, be proud of yourself. Things aren’t perfect, but you’re awake to the fact that they’re not perfect, and that is everything. You’re reconnecting parts of yourself that have been torn apart. Bravely done.

You’ve taken the first step on the way of integrity.

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Learn more about me and the work I do:

Hi, I am Tamara!

I am an internationally certified Executive Business Coach, Life Coach & Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner (NLP) and Hypnotherapist.

As a strong business development professional with a deep passion for Personal Development and Wellness, I launched Ever Journey Coaching in July 2020, to guide others to live out their true purpose and to accomplish both their personal, professional and wellness goals – on their journey of life.?

My own personal journey of discovery into healing, wellness and personal development started in 2019 and since then I have heavily invested in my own continuous learning and self-exploration – encouraging my own personal transformation in my life, which evolves as I grow as an individual.

I personally know how difficult and challenging the ‘Journey’ can be.?Trying to balance your personal, professional & wellness dimensions in life, and sometimes we may just need a guide along the way, to enable us to change, manage and balance ourselves to find our own unique inner peace, within a very chaotic, stressful and busy life.?

A guide, to navigate you, to walk alongside you, to encourage you to live a more balanced, meaningful and deeply engaged life.

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I am excited to be your guide and to walk with you on your Journey of Life!

Tam