Sophie's Challenges

F@CK! F@CK! F@CK! Something seems to be missing. Whatever I need to see, I am not seeing.

Fortunately, I, we were left with A is A. I am where I am. I'm using this to not freak out completely. Mostly-LOL

From the last Bob the Butler article published on DEC 26, she wrote: "If I were you, I would start with the clues I have been missing ever since you were born. What your space cadet persona has completely missed."

"Or start with seeing that you’ve always been the faces… never the space…"

I'm wondering if anyone has noticed any clues as you go about your day? Anyone???

Ok, I'm off to start on the muscle testing/connecting to source training.

UGH - I can totally relate to this! Something seems to be missing!

I like that you're using 'A is A' to not freak out completely. I am doing the exact same thing but using 'Nothing Wrong' to not freak out completely. But I like A is A, and every day I'm starting wherever I am.

Ugh. So I'm working primarily on being present, because you can only see the clues when you can be present. And as I understood it, the clues are clues as to how we are clueless in the exact same way now that we were in our original incident, because we can't manage what we don't see. Sophie said once that 'knowing the invisible dynamics is the secret to a good life'. But it's daunting as hell to try to identify the invisible dynamics without her to guide and/or verify if what I think I'm seeing is accurate.

I had two meetings yesterday, 3 people in each meeting. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to observe the space and 'flow' into it. What I found was that I have a real challenge identifying the space, which is the very first step. For example, when I was talking with Sophie about my husband's group of coffee guys, where they get loud and boisterous and try to 'one up' each other, she saw the space as being one of 'Survival'. She said that's how people behave when they're surviving, and that it's not a bad thing, rather it's worthy of respect because surviving isn't easy. What occurs to me, though, is that I wouldn't in a million years have identified 'Survival'.

So in my first meeting I identified 'Collaboration'. It was all about new business and opportunities we might be able to do together, and it was pretty light and optimistic. So I worked on flowing into that space and being 'of the space' of collaboration. The second one was with vendors I've worked with for many years and I really like... so I identified that space as a space of warmth, friendship, and opportunity. I have no idea if either was accurate but based on my track record I tend to doubt it.

What I did notice, though, is that in focusing on being the space, flowing into it and taking on its shape, a lot of the 'hyped up' eagerness that I usually get because I feel like I need to contribute and measure up and throw in my 2 cents dissipated...as a result it was more relaxed and comfortable. It seemed that a space of collaboration, for example, has no room for any of that... all of that is about me, and there's no 'me' as part of the space. I also noticed that at one point in the second meeting, we all started throwing around names of people we've known in the industry for years, as if we were all trying to matter or be validated somehow...with that I could see how a space could be one of Survival, where there are no faces....even though we were all trying to sound important, we were not the space...the space was more of an attitude, not the people. I found that really interesting, and a much more comfortable place to be, if that makes any sense. I'll have to keep practicing this one...but without Sophie it definitely feels like flying blind.

I've been looking again at the space... the biggest thing I'm noticing about it so far is that nothing is personal in the space.
I'm looking back over some of my notes from recent calls with Sophie... one thing she said about this is that unless you can become the space, where there is no 'YOU' to protect, you MUST take things personally.

She gave some examples of how it looks to be part of the space as opposed to the faces... she said that instead of asking 'how many ways can I do this', one would ask 'how many ways are there to do this'? 'How many ways can this be done?' Or instead of saying 'I was stupid', one would say 'IT was stupid'. She said her nephew lived in the spaces, not the faces, and she could tell because he would ask questions like, 'what is it about our family that we don't talk?', as opposed to something like 'nobody talks to me in this family' or 'I can't get anyone to talk' or something like that.

She told me again the story about how exhilarating it was for her when she first learned how to drive, and realized that her foot on the accelerator moved the whole car. What she said about it was that she assumed the space, and experienced the movement that happens when the foot hits the accelerator...it was not personal, meaning she didn't experience that she was the one doing the movement.

One thing that is really a foreign concept to me is the space of 'WE'. Sophie said that we naturally look at the things, not the space in between the things... I look at my marriage as 'me and my husband', not the space between us... but the space defines the relationship and the people. Sophie said that the reason for all of the stupid pettiness in our relationship is because I want to put words there, but what there is to do is to look at the shape between and be fascinated, and practice taking on the space. She said that without being fascinated with it, there is no power. So interesting.

I think she said once that only William and Miko ever managed to take on a space of 'WE'... I wonder if either of them might be willing to shed some light on that, or describe their experience...I would love to hear more about that.

I still have pages of notes from those calls... I'll keep going through them, there is so much to this.

Thank you for sharing more on your notes. I was just thinking that it would be nice if Miko would share something on the space of 'we'. I didn’t realize William got there.

I've spent at least the last 24hrs in the faces. I can tell as I have been taking my current financial situation personal. Maybe recognizing such is a start in the right direction. But either way, thank so much for sharing what you have. In some way, it feels like a lifeline.

I was just reading an older article about how critical awareness is to the whole process…based on that I would say recognizing is definitely a start in the right direction. Recognizing, in my view, is part of distinguishing, what something is and what it isn’t…there’s no distinguishing the faces & spaces without that first step of recognizing, so in my humble (unfortunately more likely arrogant in my case) opinion,I would say it’s the perfect first step.

Yes, in my humble opinion, I agree as well.

If you get a chance, take a look at this article Sophie wrote almost 10 years ago- https://yourvibration.com/7579/deep/

I think if you pair it with the Bob the Butler article- https://yourvibration.com/96016/bob-the-butler/ you get a pretty solid road map. I seem to be drawn to them both.

The older article talks about the importance of distinction, sharing and the energetic tools while the newer article talks about 'the space' and the heart being in the right by being in 'the space'.

The face/the space seems to be a distinction, if I have it correctly. Sharing publicly/owning what we see is how we develop interesting lives with challenges and diversity (paraphrased from Sophie's words).

I'm listening to a really long interview, and it contains SO MANY of Sophie's teachings...I'm posting a link here in case anyone wants to take a look. It's pretty long, over 2 hours... Alex Hormozi and Tom Bilyeu. It's interesting (to me) to hear so many of Sophie's principles in the context of these two guys and their habits. These are both guys that Sophie listened to, I only know about both of them because of her... just putting it out there in case it's of interest:

https://youtu.be/qNAEtyBosbM?si=RXSteZoaEhTEG4Nc

I’m finding that I’ve been floundering without Sophie…and yet during the day as I go about things, I constantly have reminders of her teachings and glimpses of the ugliness she pointed out in me. There are things I committed to practicing daily that I haven’t been practicing. It’s so easy to dwell on that and feel like there’s SOO much wrong with me, but one of the biggest things I need to learn is that there’s nothing wrong, nothing to fix. And I am where I am, and each day I start from here.

I’m working on focusing on not dwelling on where I need to be, and instead doing projects, large & small, to kick myself out of the self-concern.

I’m re-visiting my attitude for the day each day. I have much to do and I’m finding it difficult to bash along without her. What is fun is working on my ‘Purpose to Life’ challenge, working through the steps to fulfillment. I’m still in the first phases of it, they’re taking quite a while.

I just wanted to post where I am, I’m wondering how everyone else is doing. I’m so grateful that we have a place here to connect.