How to Coach Yourself and Others Grief Coaching and Counseling | Page 32

flux, and the energy within you will flow on after you are dead and gone, taking endless new
forms."

Stage 10: ASCENT:
We experience our union with the creative force of the
Universe. We transcend all limits, boundaries, languages,
judgments, and our existing sense of self. We gain the
wisdom of knowing the oneness of all of Creation during this
stage. Stage 10 is the most sought after, even though two
more stage exist beyond this point of healing.
This stage of Ascent is the level of healing that mystics,
gurus, rabbis, and other religious leaders from both Eastern
and Western traditions have long spoken about. Similar
states of consciousness have been known as "nirvikalpa
samadhi", in Hinduism, "knana samadhi nvdanta", in Zen, or
the stage of "effortless insight" culminating in nirvana in
Buddism.
Our sense of Self can be viewed as a candle. Up to this point
in the healing process, we may have a very bright candle,
shining with the light of our being. As we moved through
Stage 9, we became aware that there was a bright light
outside, and it was coming into the room. Suddenly, we
realized that our candle did not appear as bright as it did before.
If we walk outside into the brilliance of the noon sun, it would appear that our candle is no longer lit.
This is the concept of how our sense of self has been relinquished or lost in the vast brightness of the
Universal Consciousness of Stage 10.
In Stage 9, we experienced being filled with energy or consciousness. In Sage 10, rather than
experiencing intelligence or consciousness
expressing itself through us, we become the
consciousness. As opposed to feeling the love
within us, we become the love.

Stage 11: DESCENT:
We are renewed beyond our limits and sense
of self and enter into the world again. We
know that we are part of all we perceive and
are responsible for all that we know. We live
without being attached to our situations. We
love and serve. We know that the source of
power, love, and consciousness is Universal. It
does not come from us, it does not come from