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It would be easy for me to insist that you read anything by
Martha Beck on the grounds that she is a life changer and leave it at that. And
if you’re short on time, just take my word for it and read no further. But if
you’d like to know why I hitch my wagon to the brilliance that somehow
translates from Martha’s (yes, I’m going with her first name because I feel
fairly sure she’s cool like that) mind and experience onto paper or in the case
of her blog updates the virtual world of the Internet then please, read on.
One dark and snowy winter I was in need of some reassurance,
some guidance and that kind of firm clasp on the shoulder partnered with a
knowing look that says, “Everything is going to be alright. We’re connected,
all of us in this world, and together we’ll see that sun rise once again.” I
can’t exactly recall the chain of events that led me to Martha Beck, it could
have been that she was mentioned by another author or perhaps some anonymous
shopper on Amazon bought one of her books along with whatever I was browsing.
But I do know that I stumbled into her becoming a part of my life, either as a
coincidence or something greater that was simply meant to be at exactly the right time.
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I have since read, listened, watched and read: books,
audiobooks, videos and magazine articles, respectively, anything and everything
I’ve been able to get my hands on. Her catalogue of achievements is extensive
including several New York Times Best sellers, a few Harvard degrees,
professor-hood, Life Coach, speaker, catalyst for global change and from what I can tell a stellar
mother. Oh and she occasionally hangs out with leopards, elephants and rhinos.
You know all in a day’s work. But I’m not listing this to impress, but more to
illustrate that she has quite a bit of living, achieving and at times, I’m
sure, failing to draw upon.
Martha’s most recent work of non-fiction Finding your Way in a Wild New World:Reclaim your True Nature to Create the Life You Want took hold of me one
evening as I sat down to read and didn’t let go. Suddenly Africa, the Karoo in particular, was
EVERYWHERE. White lions, leopards and elephants appeared in my life just as I
took the first step toward awakening my true nature by dropping into
wordlessness. I am sure they’d be there all along, I just didn’t notice.
As Martha outlines four main steps, starting with
wordlessness, toward uncovering your true nature, she weaves in various trips
to Africa where she works with Life Coaching Clients and others as they safari,
track, meditate and otherwise discover the magic of Africa and the magic
within.
“Menders of all times and places have taught that silencing
the thoughts in our heads and opening to the experience of the body and
emotions is the basis of all healing. It’s the only means by which we can
reclaim our true nature or feel the subtle cues telling us how to find our way
through life.” Martha recommends the practice of dropping into this space of wordlessness,
similar to meditating, which I have found incredibly, what’s the right word?
Therapeutic? Calming? Ah yes, healing.
The constant dialog, stream of thought, story that our minds reel on and on act
as a sort of din that distracts us from dropping into a deeper more meaningful
way of being, our true nature by involving us in all kinds of stories,
especially about our past, our faults, how inadequate and inept we are and on
and on, day and night. I’m not saying our minds are at all “bad,” see those are
just more words, more incessant and unnecessary chatter. The solution? Sure
hear it out, give your mind some time to drone on and on and then it is quiet
time be with the breath, be in the body, and just be. It is irresistibly soothing.
Martha also says that, “Clients can’t think their way out of
problems caused by thinking.” So dropping by into wordlessness that place silent of thought, solutions might naturally
arise. This takes work, trust and more work, but if everything we've tried has
failed, caused more problems or simply doesn’t feel right, giving it a try isn’t
such an odd venture. I like to ask myself, when I find myself getting
particularly irritated by a nagging problem that isn’t being resolved by thinking it through, repeatedly, “How’s that working out for you?” The answer is most
usually, “It isn’t.” So I go 180 degrees in the opposite direction…in other
words, silence, meditation, wordlessness.
Martha also weaves in poetry by the notable Mary Oliver and
cites studies, her own experiences with clients and her time spent in Africa at
a game preserve called Londolozi, a Zulu word meaning, “protector of all
things” and I am coming to think of Martha as the title holder of that moniker.
By way of the practices and skills she offers readers to unearth our own true
nature, she’s instructing us to protect ourselves, our true nature from ever
being hidden, buried or otherwise lost again.
As I was reading this book I got ahold of the June edition
of O Magazine where I’d forgotten Martha Beck was a regular contributor. As I
happily turned pages enjoying articles about the notion of home (one of my
subjects of study) women who surf (another favorite- see the animals of the
safari are everywhere, even within) I arrived at a sort of map outlining a
tangible way to “Charting your Life,” written by none other than Ms. Beck
herself. Joy! It seemed to dovetail very nicely with the Finding your Way in a
Wild New World as it described an activity similar to creating a vision board
or in this case a series of vision boards that very distinctly help you map out
your life. I got started and seem to have some physical navigational tools to
add to the more internal practices outlined in Finding your Way in a Wild World. How convenient Martha- thanks!
A few days later, it appears the universe gives me a
period of time between Martha doses to assimilate what I’ve learned, a friendly
blog update arrived in my inbox.
In this post she gently reminded us self-improvement types (and I don’t use
that term disparagingly, I think we owe it to ourselves to be the best person
we can be and however you do that, kudos. You’re helping to make the world, not
just yourself a better place) that just as we are the author of our story it is
almost equally important how we actually tell our story. That is, how we describe our
lives either with negative or positive language translates to what we believe
about ourselves. Powerful stuff.
And then…if that weren’t enough Martha (I’m not sure you can
have too much Martha) I got another email (if you do subscribe, don’t worry she
doesn’t litter your inbox, but rather sends emeralds and rubies.) She is
matching funds for educational efforts in rural Africa through the Good Work
Foundation. Check it out here and make a pledge!
Oh and the other thing you should know about Martha Beck,
she is funny as h***. I mean it, as
seriously as I find myself focusing on attaining my highest self, bringing light
to the shadows, redistributing my mental energy, she brings me back to planet
earth with a kind of levity that leaves me laughing out loud.
Virtual Martha Beck which will lead you to tangible Martha Beck items like speaking events, life coaching, teleseminars, articles, books and more:
