Invoking the Four Magical C’s

Visions are often like watermelons, too big to be taken in one bite… Bob Trask

(Pg 67 Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free)

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world look for answers to the questions: Who am I? What am I doing here? Where am I going? The answers are as elusive as rainbows and no one can give them to us. Good coaches and therapists may be able to help, but they don’t know our answers; only we do.

Ram Dass once said: "The goal and the path are the same thing!"

Allow me to expand that a bit by saying that though the two seem separate, neither exists without the other. Without its vision a path is a trail to nowhere; wandering around, avoiding challenges and boring us to tears. But without a vision there is no path.

Here’s a scenario: We are in a world where our self-worth is measured by the possession of stuff and the admiration of others- which we find endless because it seems there is never enough stuff or admiration to fulfill us. Then one day an old longing flares up and becomes too noticeable to ignore. Perhaps we see a doctor or a therapist or minister, but the longing is still there and so prominent it now causes us to begin distancing ourselves; feeling bored and unfulfilled, spending more and more time daydreaming.

Eventually we do the only thing that brings relief; we pay attention to the longing and realize we are being called to be, do and have something new and thrilling. We focus on the vision and let it lead us where we have not dared go; to paint, sing, dance, teach, start a business, write a book or build a boat. As we follow our vision we begin to feel younger everyday and are filled with hope and confidence. The vision becomes increasingly clear now as it pulls us out of ourselves and into dimensions of awareness we never knew existed. We are doing things we once thought impossible; we awaken without an alarm clock and go to bed smiling. Magical things are happening in our lives and we are filled with valuable self-purpose.

But hey, how about the path? Well, here’s a vital secret ...there never was a path to follow! The only path is the one behind us, the one we created by coming this way. Ahead is untracked wilderness- which is scary; yet where there is fear, there are opportunities that exist nowhere else. So we design our mission, and keeping it flexible, forge onward through the deep woods, swamps, wild rivers, and tall mountains of our self-doubts. We are miracle-workers, being released, learning and growing into who we really are.

When this incarnation ends we should be atop a mountain so far from here we can’t now even imagine it exists. From there we will look back and see a life well-lived, a pioneering effort to inspire others long after we have moved beyond the sunset.

This journey to personal fulfillment requires only four steps to reach its full potential: Commitment, Clarity, Courage and Confidence—the fabulous “Four C’s.” Commitment is the toughest of those because it is a solitary determination; no one can guide us to it, no one can teach it; either we follow our star or it will fade and be lost. There is no such thing as partial commitment; because it cannot awaken Clarity, Courage and Confidence; anything less than one-hundred percent commitment will probably fail. You may easily expand the C’s in your life by using The Trask Triangle to make every day better than the last.

If not now, my friend …then when? As Thoreau said: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have always imagined!

* Critics call Romancing The Soul, Your Personal Guide to Living Free the best guide to higher consciousness available today. There are only a few hundred 1st edition hardbacks left at $29.95 and already used copies are selling for over $50! Get your own classic copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Romancing-Personal-Guide-Living-Hardcover/dp/0961216441/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264206738&sr=1-2

? Want your copy autographed? Just let me know.

*Personal Coaching by Bob Trask is available by phone, email or in person.

Email: Bob@arasfoundation.org

Phone: 425-868-8448

A bit of humor for you:

An elderly man looked out the back door and saw two men in his shed stealing his tools.

He phoned the police: “Two guys are in my shed stealing my tools.”

"Are they in your house?" asked the dispatcher.

He said "No, but…”

The dispatcher interrupted: "Listen sir; all patrols are busy. Just lock your doors and we’ll send an officer along whenever one becomes available."

"Okay," he said. He hung up the phone, counted to 30 and phoned the police again.

"Hello, I called a few seconds ago to say there were two guys stealing my tools.”

“Yes sir?”

“Well, don’t worry about it now because I shot both of them." Then he hung up.

Within ten minutes, the place was swarming with police who caught the burglars red-handed.

“Hey!” said one officer. “I thought you said you'd shot them!"

The man replied, "And I thought you said nobody was available!"

-Don't mess with old people!

Our Hero of the Week:

Al Giddings is famous for his underwater filming of the movie, Titanic. Even before that, he was acclaimed for his work with the famous photographer Chuck Nicklin. Most, however, do not know the story of Al and LeRoy French his dive-shop partner who was attacked by a Great White Shark at the Farallon Islands off San Francisco. Al had just climbed back on board and taken off his tanks when he heard an inhuman scream. Now, from his website, http://www.leroyfrench.com/, LeRoy’s story as he surfaced from his dive:

I push my mask up on my forehead and try to locate the boat, it's about 100 yards away. (the length of a football field) I notice my partner Al reaching the boat and being helped on board. A 100 yard swim for me is not difficult, but what happens next makes it seem like it’s a 100 miles. After swimming half the distance back to the boat everything was going well until I feel a gentle tug on my left wrist. I thought maybe it was another diver so I look over but see nothing. At a second glance I see this huge pool of blood in the water. Events from this point on start to deteriorate at a rapid rate. I have no idea where this blood is coming from until I lift up my left arm and see this huge tear in my wetsuit and all the flesh torn away from my wrist. I can’t move my hand or fingers. My mind does not seem to register what’s happening until at that moment I see this enormous dorsal fin and tail directly in front of me and I know I’m in trouble. This is a 16 foot Great White Shark and he wants to eat me.

This animal weighs in at about 3000 lbs and anything that happens from this point on to save me is either luck or in somebody else's hands. The shark comes in with tremendous force and grabs me by the midsection. Fortunately the scuba tanks that extend past my body prevent him from doing any major damage. Once he feels the metal he releases me. At this point I start to yell for help. The divers on the boat are now witnessing a nightmare in the making.

The water around me becomes very calm and I feel as though the shark has left, but this was not to be. At that moment this huge mouth and head come out of the water and the shark grabs my left leg. Now I know that I am in a fight for my life. The shark pulls me underwater by my leg and starts thrashing back and forth. I’m about 10 feet underwater with no mask on and no air, and all I can think about is drowning. I immediately start to fight, and using my speargun I stab the animal repeatedly on the nose and head and at the same time instinct and training kicks in and I pull the CO2 cartridge to inflate the diving vest and try to create some buoyancy. I continue hitting the shark, and during this time I remember saying the words ... ”please God make it go away”. I am not a real religious person, but I do attend church on occasion and I obviously believe in God because the most amazing thing happened at that moment. The shark let go and I floated to the surface. I start yelling again for help and my friend Al does the bravest thing a human can do for another. He goes the ultimate extra mile and puts his life on the line for me. He dives in the water and swims to me and tows me back to the boat without knowing whether the shark was still there or not. An incredibly brave feat.

We have no idea how badly I am hurt, but I can attest to the fact that there is a tremendous amount of blood in the water and I am going into shock.

As I am being towed back to the boat by my friend Al Giddings all I can think about is the shark coming back and finishing me off while I leave this huge trail of blood behind me. Fortunately this does not happen and what seems like a lifetime finally comes to an end at the side of the boat.

One long night as Chuck and Al and I  rode out a wild sea in a rocking boat, I asked Al if it was hard it was to get past his fear and dive in after LeRoy. He smiled, "No, my adrenaline was so high I hardly noticed the fear until I got to the boat and was pushing him up the ladder. Then LeRoy's blood was cascading down over me and I knew that big shark was right under me, watching my legs. It was a long two or three minutes!”

LeRoy French survived his ordeal and has become a world famous underwater photographer in his own right. Our deep respect goes out to this week’s hero Al Giddings.