Exploring the landscape of desire is where the journey of discovering your personal genius begins. The fuel that brings our gifts into the world is the desire. What makes the engine run? Stanley Kunitz wrote about desire. Many people never acknowledge the full force of their true desires or the life-changing wisdom they carry. The first step in accessing personal genius is to reveal your authentic desires.

You will discover that in this module.

• Desire is the lifeblood of creativity; when you acknowledge your desires and connect to the power inherent in them, you awaken the genius within
• We’re frightened of the power of our own desires, fearful that if we follow them, our carefully controlled lives will be threatened
• Desire is a neutral universal energy (Eros) that can be channeled in positive or negative directions depending on your intention
• Suppressed desire tends to manifest in unskillful ways, including addiction, depression, and dissociation
• Once we acknowledge the force of our desires, we can choose how to respond; we do not need to indulge our desires, necessarily — what matters is that we become conscious of the ENERGY of desire, in order to utilize it with creativity and imagination
• Ambivalence is the enemy of desire and the thief of personal genius; it leaches us of energy and puts us at cross-purposes with ourselves — by exposing what we’re afraid (and ashamed) of, we resolve ambivalence and increase productivity and joy

In order to fully connect with personal genius, it is necessary to explore the shadow, that off-limits part of the psyche where we conceal aspects of ourselves that threaten the status quo. They were taught to conform, behave, and avoid risk. Not. We bury our uniqueness, passion, and non-conformism in the shadows in order to stand out from the crowd. Everyone is born a genius but the process of living de-geniuses them. We store this power in the shadow.

You will discover that in this module.

• The shadow is that unacknowledged, off-limits, taboo part of the psyche where we conceal things (both positive and negative) that cause us discomfort
• In order to earn acceptance and love, to be part of the group (the inner circle), and avoid alienating our caretakers and those whose opinions we value, we tend to hide our gifts in the shadow
• We’re taught from an early age to conform, obey, behave, and conceal what is most original and risky within us
• You cannot know yourself, fully, nor gain access to your authentic power, without exploring the personal shadow; this is enormously rewarding and allows you to reclaim your disowned and discarded parts
• Acknowledging the gifts of the shadow increases courage, heals shame, and connects you to your core strengths
• This reclamation of our neglected originality and power is our coming-of-age as creative people on a path of awakening — “You do not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious,” wrote Carl Jung

Learning to trust and acknowledging your gifts are different. Genius isn’t something you choose, instead it chooses you, and accepting what you’re born with is the next crucial step in self-realization. Many people reject their genius because it doesn’t fit their ideal of what the gift should look like, just as many people reject love because it doesn’t fit their ideal of what the gift should look like. You miss out on the chance to become your most authentic self when you betray the truth of who you are. Like loving another, awakening genius requires both trust and surrender.

You will discover that in this module.

• We’re often surprised by the contents of the shadow and what actually inspires us, which may contradict the image we present to the world (and, even, the person we want to be)
• It requires patience and wisdom to accept your gifts, which may not be the ones you might have chosen (if you were God) — in the same way that you can’t choose who you love, you cannot choose your native gifts
• When given the gifts of shadow, we may react in negative ways; we may attempt to deny what we have seen, but attempting to do so is futile and destructive — prime examples of this are sexuality (which, when closeted, turns toxic) and vocational aptitude (which may not align with personal will), e.g. a poet who longs to write the Great American Novel
• Learning to accept and trust your authentic gifts requires humility, flexibility, and imagination
• You gain enormous energy through this acceptance, like finding the socket of your original light switch — suddenly, your inner world is illuminated, allowing for insight and self-knowledge in all areas of your life
• By leaning into your natural affinities (gifts) and surrendering to a power greater than yourself, you connect to veriditas, the greening, animating, energizing force that animates the entire universe (including yourself)

The next step is accepting the gift. It’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s possible that it’s The art of bringing your genius to life. You must learn to make conscious choices that align with your intentions for this to happen. A gifted, inspired life depends on the ability to say yes to what liberates and empower you, and no to what keeps you stuck and afraid, when you master the art of choosing well. It strengthens your ability to focus on freedom and the joy that comes with a creative life when you do this.

You will discover that in this module.

• Once you learn to accept the gift, the challenge is: How do you manifest your genius in your life? How to bring forth what is within you? A gift unshared is a waste of magic, a masking of beauty, a missed opportunity to connect with others
• Intention is the channel we create to guide our genius into the world. Intention — and her emotional sibling, commitment — are necessary for self-actualization
• Intention is honed through personal choice; your choices are the building blocks of personal meaning — with every choice you make, you decide what matters to you and what doesn’t
• When we choose to open, we stop shutting down; when we choose to risk, we cease shrinking from power; when we choose to embody our gifts fully, we grow in emotional and spiritual stature
• Goal-setting is not the same as intention-setting; though valuable, goals are achievement-specific and can sometimes interfere with our true intentions — for example, if your intention is to be your most original, courageous self, but your goal is to be admired and popular, these motivations may cancel one another out
• The intention to “live your genius” will focus your choices and relieve conflict and stress in your life

You can’t enter the state of flow without learning to focus. Many gifted people are unable to stick with their best intentions because of lack of one-pointed attention. Distraction, ambivalence, resistance, uncertainty, all forms of confusion deplete your resolve and the energy required to live as a gifted person. It takes faith and diligence, as well as the willingness to drop bad habits that interfere with personal growth, to be a personal genius. There are tools that can help strengthen focus and flow.

You will discover that in this module.

• Creativity requires focus; without one-pointed attention, you cannot manifest your gifts in the world
• Focus requires discipline, not self-tyranny; when you use discipline as an ally (a disciple follows her or his teacher or tradition out of love), and develop a zero-tolerance policy toward self-bullying, you align with the “teacher within”
• Using one-pointed attention, you can learn to say no to distraction and the saboteurs of ambivalence; you can then abandon the myth of multitasking and conquer the habits of trying to do too much at the same time
• Focus creates a sacred space within which manifestation can occur — a refuge for the creative spirit, just as one-pointed attention allows meditation to occur during practice
• With focus comes the state of flow, a blessed state of union with personal genius, when time seems to stop and we’re aware of being exactly where we’re meant to be; this brings ease to the mind and opens the channel(s) of possibility
• Flow is identical to presence, the unified state of being that is the aim of all spiritual practices

Playfulness is a powerful tool that can help strengthen focus and flow, but you are rarely encouraged to cultivate it. Without play, there is no freedom to push the envelope, experiment with fresh ideas, open new doors, or risk failure. Without failure, there can be no growth; without entering unknown territory, mastering the art of not knowing is impossible. You can enter into the mystery of all that has yet to be revealed through the power of play.

You will discover that in this module.

• By connecting to presence, and allowing your gifts to emerge, you can rediscover the power of play to liberate and nourish you
• Play counteracts the confining nature of ego and frees you to be childlike in how you relate to your gifts, and to other people
• When you learn to play, you heal the child within who may have been silenced too young, and so lived with regret or a sense of being ignored or invisible
• Play gives you access to intuition and the powers of right-brain (irrational) creativity; you come to see that “making sense” has its limits. Logic can be a straitjacket when you lean on it too heavily. “We are poor, indeed, if we are only sane,” wrote the psychologist D. W. Winnicott
• Play also frees you to investigate areas of life, and yourself, that are too threatening to the defensive, grown-up ego-mind — you cease taking yourself so seriously, which paradoxically makes you more formidable
• Play helps you transcend fixed, conventional boundaries, false dualities (and oppositions) that lock us into lives of excessive caution — you learn “risk is extra life”

Your unique gifts are a spiritual return. The wisdom messages of your personal muse connect you to the roots of existence, your very reasons for being alive. Your life is transformed from one of confusion, frustration, wandering, and struggle to a life of clarity, comfort, and joy by being grounded in personal meaning and power. You are no longer a stranger to yourself now that you have revealed and accepted your gifts. You have learned to live like an artist, to bless the creative spirit inside you, and to choose the road less traveled, knowing that wherever it leads you, that is exactly where you belong.

You will discover that in this module.

• Accessing personal genius is like coming home to yourself, and rediscovering the source of your own being
• When you feel at home in the world, life becomes friendlier and more hospitable; the grief of separation (from yourself, others, God) comes to an end
• In the light of homecoming, shame and envy have no place; you feel sufficient just as you are, which brings a new kind of peace
• Connected to your desires and inspiration, you move toward growth and efflorescence, discovery, and surprise; you’re no longer frightened by “not knowing” and recognize mystery as your greatest ally
• You no longer silence the truth within; instead, you learn to be more honest, forgiving, and tolerant toward your own contradictions. You see that you’re “many voices” brought together in one house. “Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am vast. I contain multitudes,” wrote Walt Whitman
• Making room for your own complexity, allowing your “chorus of selves” to unite, you become a force of truth in the world, helping others to recognize their own chorus and grow into their own blessed fullness