Different Rules for Different Worlds: A Visual Story

I've spent my entire adult life working with clients in some capacity. I started before I was an adult. You could say I was born into it. My life is intertwined now with the very process of all those who work with me; it's a rhythm that's been woven into my being. I have seen this story, this process, this switching of the rules play out so many times that it is as real as the sun in the sky.

And now, I can see the same story playing out in the collective. This story is happening first inside of us but it is also happening on the great stage of the world.

Starting at the End

The point I want to make is this: the inner world has a different formula.

The inner world operates by a very different story. It uses different tools and different timelines. It will shape you in a completely different way than the systems of the outer world.

The way of the inner world, of inner healing, of facing trauma, breaking generational patterns, freeing yourself from cultural conditioning and programming- these ways of being broken wide open so you can play your note, will inevitably put your life on a different track.

The pull 'in' is the desire for miracles and manifestations. It's the promise of alignment, and living by your true design. Those who go down this path, beyond shallow intrigue, are consenting to live life by a different set of rules. These less-known laws will eventually require complete surrender to survive altogether.

You must know that this path is a departure from the tried-and-true formulas for how things work in the outer world, in the Game, in the matrix.

The less traveled path will be drastically different than anything you imagined life might be.

How It Began: A Personal Anecdote

When I was in the 4th grade, I began playing the flute in my school band. It was my first big experience of learning my first formula for living a good life. I learned that if I worked hard, I did well. I learned that if I did exactly what the teacher told us, I improved. And finally, I learned that if I worked harder than the others around me, I also excelled beyond them. And so it was. I took private lessons, climbed the little ladders in the adolescent flute world, practiced diligently, and was rewarded. I was above average using a simple formula; I practiced faithfully and did everything I was told to do. It always worked.

Boy did that mess me up later.

For The Love of Formulas

My experience with the flute was so astounding to me that I applied the simple formula to the rest of my life. In many areas, it worked well, like school or church, or at home. For example, unlike my siblings, I followed directions, did my chores, and didn't talk back to my parents when they were upset. Worked like a charm. I was almost never in trouble and my siblings, who refused to do any of those things, were almost always in trouble. It blew my mind that they weren't using this very simple life hack: follow instructions consistently, and over time everything works out.

This worked well at all of my more serious jobs (I admit I did not excel at In-N-Out as a young vegetarian). It worked well in higher education, where I got a triple MA in record time with top placements, top internships, and a sweet job at a high-end company. My senior project for my undergrad was displayed in the school for almost a decade after I graduated. I applied the formula and was rewarded again and again. Anything I put my mind to, voila, the magic formula worked for me.

Until one day, I left that whole life behind and started out on a completely different adventure. That formula never quite worked the same again. There are explanations for this, I'll give you two. One is obvious and one is about the story that Game Changers end up in; it's the process of the inner world.

Explanation #1: The Outer World Game

The first explanation is simple: there are two kinds of games. Games with fixed rules can be mastered by learning, practicing extensively, and mastering the variations of limited options. Chess is usually the example used here; there are a fixed amount of plays, there are immutable rules and once you learn these things you can begin to master the game. Intelligence, practice, and mastery will accompany the winner of this game, every time. Once we leave these arenas of fixed rules, a new world opens up. And we quickly learn that nothing is what it seems.

Game Changers are often known for leaving the little pools of safety in their worlds. They are propelled, like all the greatest tales, into some kind of adventure or risk or new path. There are countless reasons why they do this and no, they're not all like the movies, on the treasure hunt or to save the world. Sometimes it's as simple as they don't fit in, they want to pursue something their families don't understand, they want to heal or live life differently. Whatever the case, they break away from the safety and fixed rules of the system and they learn to live another way.

Explanation #2: The Inner World Process

In this other way, the formulas for success don't work the same. It's like discovering quantum physics after learning natural physics your whole life; nothing makes sense and what does make sense is bizarre, to say the least.

Natural physics is like the basic formulas in the outer world; it's safe and predictable. We know what to expect with regular physics; if I throw the ball up, it will fall back down. There are clear, repetitive rules.

And then Quantum Physics shows up, like the inner world, and is like, 'Hey, watch this' and suddenly things appear and disappear, objects walk through walls, some objects aren't there at all... the rules change.

Natural physics is like the basic elements of the world, it's not that it's not true, it's that it's not the only truth, there are layers. And yes, if you don't understand the laws of basic physics, you're going to get hurt. However, if you try to propel into a new level of evolution by listening to an inner call then you will have to learn the new rules of the spiritual and inner world realms. Those rules are very different.

Let me save you time and torment; when you leave the fixed world to follow your soul or your dream, the old formulas don't work the same. You cannot use the rules of chess for example to win at love. It just doesn't work that way.

Allow me to demonstrate this controversial departure from the realm of the outer world. Keep in mind, that this is just my experience.

The Formulas Change: The Process of the Inner World

When I crossed over from the old way of the outer and into the way of the inner world, I had difficulty letting go of my formulas. I tried them again and again, to no avail. Nothing seemed to make sense at first.

Despite the success with the formulas of my youth, all the best things that have happened in my life and all the most difficult things that have happened did not come from the old 'work hard, do it right, and then I get what I want' formula.

I did not earn the best things in my life. I didn't cause them directly. I didn't repeat affirmations or make take classes or follow any formulas to get the biggest treasures in my life. The inner way has a different flow to it, with the best surprises, that we often call miracles.

The most meaningful successes and the most important relationships came from times when I thought I was doing everything wrong, according to the old formulas. They came from following an inner calling, a small voice, and doing it in a wildly messy way (or so I thought). Some of the best things have happened when I did nothing at all (or so it seems).

And the times I've worked the absolute hardest for anything, ever, applying the formula and the laws of 'do everything right' to the utmost, it ended in disaster- more than once. This broke my brain and my heart. Once I was in a new way, I tried, out of fear, to go back to the old formulas for safety. I thought if followed all the old rules I would be safe or guaranteed results in the more vulnerable parts of this new journey. I can tell you, it doesn't work that way.

An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject and how to avoid them. - German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg

Expertise is often acquired by learning from a series of errors. I've made them. I've walked with others who have made them. So learn from my experience.

Once you choose the path of awakening (or the Hero's Journey, or answering the inner call- whatever you label it as) it's a very real process with very real terms. There are different rules for different worlds and the rules for the inner world will break you wide open- it's a gift that is best to not resist.

There comes a time in the path of a Game Changer when reality will crack you wide open and you will have to choose a way beyond formulas, beyond trusted advice, beyond the safety of walking in another footsteps. Life has a way of catapulting Game Changers into what feels like another planet, where the rules are not the same and you have to choose your path not based on the rewards it will bring, not based on the status or results or reputation, but on the still small voice inside trying to get you to live aligned with the soul you were given to bring to this place at this time.

As the Great Story plays out on the global stage, more people will choose the path of awakening, they will choose an inner journey as a response to incredible change in the world. If you have not already explored this path, this path will offer you an opportunity to choose it soon.

A Visual Story: The Inner World Process

Disclaimer: As you know, the story doesn't feel like it's playing out that sequentially. It feels more like this:

The Challenge of the Inner World Story: Faith

The inner awakening, the path of going in, is ultimately a path of faith. It is a departure from the ways, the rules, the formulas of the outer world and it is a deep trust in something else. Something within begins to tell us a different story, and slowly but surely we begin to trust that story long before we see complete and unwavering evidence of it in the outer world. The first evidence we have is the call inside ourselves to embark on this inner journey.

The core of this journey is in a belief that an unseen reality is actually forming the visible realm. It's a surrender to the story unfolding inside of us. And in that gap between the two realities is a place of faith. It is an intense arena where the Game Changer learns patience, learns peace, learns forgiveness, learns to go slow, learns to trust the process, learns to come into their bodies, learns to face pain, and engages the inner realms instead of numbing and running away. This gap is called many things by many teachers but the simplest term is faith.

A life lived by faith is the craziest life you can live. It is where all the greatest stories come from. It is not for the faint of heart, it is however for the Game Changers. This is the storyline where all the wildest of miracles happen, and the fates of any who dare stay the path are revealed.

I use playful, bold language to highlight the process many of us are on. The noise of the outer world can often confuse us and make us forget the Great Story we are living out together, so I turn up the volume on the inner story. I use metaphor and images, whatever I can to strike the cord that reminds us of who we are and what we're here to do.

Anyone can choose to be a Game Changer. It's a choice. It's a choice we all get to make. Many won't because this path is not easy and its departure from the tried-and-true formulas of the outer world can be incredibly destabilizing and wildly uncomfortable.

But if you've made that choice, if you're in the midst of it, if you've been through hell and back already- these words and images are to help us find ourselves in the story that's truly going on inside us and all around us. Though separated all over the globe, we are united by the story we share. We may be small in number but we are not alone.

The inner world stories we embody can and will play out on the greater stage of the world. This is the work.

This is the crazy non-formulaic process we find ourselves in when we answer that call to go in and live out a whole different story.

Stay Safe and Keep the Faith, Game Changers