Subject: Lifescope TIPs & QUIPs [27] "Snippets from Callings"

TIPs & QUIPs, the free occasional email of helpful hints and quotes (and
sometimes challenging suggestions) for getting the most from life.

In this issue:
     *** WiseWords
     *** This Issue's Theme
     *** Suggested Resources
     *** Thrive On! Recommended Site


*** WiseWords ***                                     [TOP]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We're just plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. 
 Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner.
 I can think what anybody sees in them."
  --Bilbo Baggins
  
"To ascribe intention to chance is either the height of absurdity or 
 the depth of profundity, according to the way in which we understand it."
  --Arthur Schopenhauer
  
"Instinct is action taken in pursuance of a purpose, 
 but without conscious perception of what the purpose is." 
  --Van Hartmann

(For a collection of some of our favorite WiseWords, see our web page at
<http://www.lifescope.com/pages/WiseWords.html>.)


*** This issue's theme: SNIPPETS FROM "CALLINGS                 [TOP]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Usually when I read a book, I know how good it is by how marked up I leave
it. I highlight and underline passages I wish to remember. I write in the
margins, and dog-ear the pages. Most books, in my opinion, are meant to be
consumed, not enshrined. I've become even more sure of this, since I
realized that of all the books I keep for reference, few actually get
referenced. They mostly just sit there.

Once, when I borrowed a book from someone (and couldn't process it my usual
way), I recorded the meaningful words in a notebook, along with my
responses. I discovered with surprise, that I had filtered the 300+ pages
down to about eight pages of concentrated content -- pure dynamite. I have
since started doing this with other books. I so enjoy re-reading from the
pages of my notebook, that I thought I'd share an example with you.

So this week, I've changed the way I usually present excerpts on the topic
at hand. Rather than take a chunk of a chapter, preserving the author's flow
of discussion, I have simply listed snippets of text from throughout the
book, which I found particularly meaningful. I'd appreciate hearing your
reactions and thoughts on how you experienced this different presentation.

                                                        --Lee Lukehart

p.s. 1) I've listed the page numbers the pages are taken from (where known),
 and 2) keep in mind that Gregg often quotes other authors, so I've tried to 
        recognize those authors' names [in brackets].
 
    
The following excerpts are from 
"Callings: Finding and Following An Authentic Life" by Gregg Levoy
[Excerpt authorized as Fair Use under Copyright Act of 1976, Section 107]
    
pg 20: [Dossey] "Follow the example of creative types: they maintain a
healthy respect for the powers in themselves of the irrational and
unconscious -- the primitive, uncultured, inexplicable and wild -- and court
those forces as the Muses they are."

pg 21: [Campbell] "The great sacrilege, in terms of the soul's integrity, is
that of inadvertence, of not being alert or awake. But we repress -- and
keep trying to anesthetize ourselves."

pg 37: [Peck] "It can be more heroic to be willing to act in the absence of
certainty than to refuse to act without absolute clarity."

pg 39: [Campbell] "People say we're seeking the meaning of life. I think
we're seeking the experience of living -- of the rapture of being alive."

pg 84 on the power of dreams: You've got to be willing to boogie with the
bogeyman.

pg 94: To learn a possible meaning of an illness, exaggerate the symptoms;
amplify your experience of it.

pg 100-101: types of wake-up calls.

pg 104 on the story of John Graham: But the important thing was that I
finally had to exercise the real courage of my convictions, to undergo the
embarrassment of feeling totally inept, the pain of losing friends, the very
real fear of being up there without a net. But nevermind that. I was doing
it. I was setting the wheels in motion, making brave decisions, not looking
back. I was moving.

pg 133: [Jung] "People rarely integrate anything told to them by others,
even those who pay dearly for the advice. It is the things given them by
their own unconscious that make a lasting impression. And this happens with
a dialog between conscious and unconscious, which takes place through the
imagination. Imagination is a surer route than dreams because the conscious
mind is actively involved."

pg 140: The image of the dragon represents the struggle between our earthly
energies (serpent) and our spiritual energies (eagle).

pg 147: The term "rites of passage" was coined by anthropologist Mircea
Elide around 1900, meaning a region to cross.

pg 149: Our most primal fears are of the dark, of death, of being devoured,
of meaninglessness, of lovelessness, of loss.

pg 197: [Gerzon] "If it feels safe it's probably not the right path, but if
it scares you, it probably is. The degree of resistance, too, is probably
proportionate to the amount of power waiting to be unleashed and the
satisfaction to be experienced once the 'no' breaks through to 'yes' and the
call is followed."

pg 212: I can only take care of myself, though I'm occasionally disgusted at
my tendency to abandon even that responsibility, to ignore my own instincts
in order to safeguard the approval of others. Which I imagine is essential
to survival. It isn't. A friend of mine once reckoned that in the course of
life a small number of people will like you, a small number will dislike
you, and the vast majority won't care one way or the other.

pg 228: Eventually, our feelings of inauthenticity and restlessness, our
envy of others' successes, our panic at the passage of time and our own
reflections in the mirror, all become like tombstones -- they remind us of
where someone is buried. And we will measure our fear of death by the
distance between our desires and our actions, between the life we want and
the life we have.

pg 256: Starting with small steps. No rule says you have to tackle a call in
one jump. Nor does a call have a single right answer. A call asks us to
'create a response,' and even a diminutive one is still saying yes. The
point is to move towards it, however humbly.

pg 266: [Ortiz] "In order to receive guidance, we must relinquish being the
knower. In order to grow, we must be planted, which means we must
temporarily be buried."

pg 290: One of the marks of great intelligence and a courageous soul is the
ability to prevent the ego from getting in the way of someone else's growth.
Self-restraint is love of the highest order and discipline that is gymnastic
in effort.

pg 293: [Frankenstein's monster] "Friend... Good."

pg 295: Counselors possess perspective, a key characteristic of which is
distance. The closer we are to a thing, the more entangled in its
intricacies and the less we truly see of it.



*** Suggested Resources ***                                       [TOP]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALLINGS: FINDING AND FOLLOWING AN AUTHENTIC LIFE, by Gregg Levoy
Whether a call is to do something or to be something, whether it is to
change a vocation or relationship, meeting the psychological, spiritual, and
practical challenges of answering a call takes courage and creativity. To
help listeners embark on new paths, Gregg Levoy tells the often-dramatic
stories of real people who succeeded in radically changing their lives and
following their callings through internal conflict and external opposition.
Learn how to recognize and decipher the many guises of calls in dreams,
longings, and physical symptoms; how to discern true callings from siren
songs; how to recognize the consequences of refusing a call; and how to
fulfill a lifelong dream.
     
   (softcover book, 352pp) Item# G2153-BK
      SRP$13.00 -- (see links below for special prices)
Buy this item now from Lifescope's secure online store.
You can also buy this title directly from Amazon.com.

   (2 audiotapes) Item# G2153-AT
      SRP$18.00 -- (see links below for special prices)
Buy this item now from Lifescope's secure online store.
You can also buy this title directly from Amazon.com.

   (hardcover book, 320pp) Item# G2153-BH
      SRP$23.00 -- (see links below for special prices)
Buy this item now from Lifescope's secure online store.
You can also buy this title directly from Amazon.com.


*** To order RISK-FREE: visit our secure online store, and place an order 
*** with your credit card, or call 800-WIN-LIFE (800-946-5433, 24 hrs).
*** Your satisfaction is absolutely assured with our RISK-FREE Guarantee!


*** Thrive On! Recommended Site ***                              [TOP]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Virtues Project, Inc. listing of 52 Virtues
<http://www.virtuesproject.com/52virtues.htm>
A Canadian company founded in 1991, their vision is to empower adults and
children the world over to live by their highest values. It is not about the
practices or beliefs of any one faith, but is sourced in the virtues which
are the common elements of spirituality found in all sacred traditions.


DISCLAIMER
The contents herein are solely the opinions of Lifescope editors, and should 
not be considered as a form of therapy nor advice. There is no guarantee of 
validity or accuracy. Lifescope therefore assumes no responsibility for injury
and specifically disclaims any warranty, express or implied, of fitness or 
merchantability for a particular purpose. Besides, actual mileage may vary.

Copyright © 1998-2007 by Lifescope Inc. 
Permission is granted to reproduce or distribute this newsletter 
only in its entirety and provided copyright is acknowledged.

To subscribe or unsubscribe TIPs & QUIPs, please go to our Subscriptions Page
at <http://www.lifescope.com/pages/Subscriptions.html>

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  Lifescope Inc. -- Bright Ideas for Better Living
           <http://www.lifescope.com/>
"YOUR IDEAL LIFE?  Discover It, Design It, and Do It!"