Author Archives: Getting Your Act Together

Dreams as a Source of Inner Guidance

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Dreams as a Source of Inner Guidance

Peter Metzner MA, MPA, PCC, BCC

What if you had access to a source of information that offered guidance—and even commentary—on whether you are on the right track, professionally or personally? Would you be interested?

I invite you to suspend skepticism for just a moment and consider the possibility that within your dreams lies a hidden, untapped source of self-knowledge. As Robert Johnson observed, “Dreams simply tell us what we need to know but don’t in our waking lives.”

Unconscious emotions, motivations, and beliefs often drive the very behaviors that can sabotage the outcomes we desire most. Dreams help bring to awareness what we are otherwise unaware of. They illuminate areas of our lives that need attention and reveal where healing or adaptation is required. In this way, dreams offer both commentary and direction—much like the reins of a horse, gently correcting us when we veer off course.

Several years ago, I had a vivid dream in which I was imprisoned in a desert, surrounded by a brick wall and a chain-link fence, guarded by a somewhat arrogant, surly middle-aged man. Beyond the barrier lay lush countryside and rolling hills. At the time, I didn’t recognize its meaning. Only later did I understand the dream as a powerful metaphor for how I was imprisoning myself—keeping myself from the vibrant life I longed to inhabit.

Unfortunately, within our rational Western mindset, dreams are often discounted or dismissed altogether. What we do not readily understand, we tend to fear or ignore. As a result, few people choose to explore this inner world we visit every night.

Yet dreams have played a significant role throughout history. They appear in every major religion and have even inspired scientific discoveries and inventions.

The Talmud states, “A dream that has not been interpreted is like a letter unopened.”

Chemist Friedrich Kekulé discovered the molecular structure of benzene after dreaming of a snake biting its own tail. He later urged his colleagues, “Learn to dream!”

Albert Einstein recalled that as an adolescent, he dreamed of riding a sled down a hill faster and faster, approaching the speed of light. He later remarked that much of his scientific career could be viewed as an extended meditation on that dream.

Dreams speak through metaphor and symbol. They help us reframe problems, view situations from new perspectives, and expand our inquiry. While dream language is universal in form, its meaning is deeply personal—each of us must learn our own symbolic vocabulary.

After studying more than 65,000 dreams, Jungian analyst Marie-Louise von Franz concluded that we dream of exactly what we need in each particular life situation. She believed dreams offer a unique advantage over other forms of self-knowledge: they provide a dynamic, ongoing self-diagnosis that can correct distorted attitudes or reactions in the moment.

Robert Johnson similarly maintained that we never dream of anything that is not useful or necessary. Carl Jung believed that “in sleep, we awaken to who we are.” Dreams, he said, provide maps of the psyche. By rejecting or repressing aspects of our unconscious selves, we risk projecting them onto others—a phenomenon Jung referred to as the shadow.

It is not necessary to be an expert to work meaningfully with dreams. Simply paying attention can help us recognize and take ownership of the less attractive aspects of ourselves, reducing the likelihood that we project them outward. (More on this in future blogs.) Dreams can also help uncover our gifts, talents, and latent abilities. As awareness grows, we become architects of richer, more intentional lives—more connected to others, our communities, and the larger society.

So how can we use dreams in practical, meaningful ways?

Be open to them. Paying attention to dreams is like welcoming a friend. Once welcomed, this inner companion often becomes clearer, more detailed, and more frequent. Keep a dream journal by your bed. Sudden movements or beginning your morning routine can cause dreams to fade quickly.

Write in the present tense. Date and title each dream. Over time, look for recurring themes. Imagine yourself as each character in the dream. Ask: Why are they behaving this way? Why did this dream come to me now? What is it asking of me? What part of myself is being revealed? What emotions did I experience?

Consider each dream symbol as potentially representing an aspect of yourself. Your personal associations—with people, places, and objects—often offer the most meaningful insights.

Remember that dreams have multiple layers of meaning. Each dream reflects aspects of our inner life. Could a car or house represent the body? Might the dream point to creative or spiritual potential? Is it revealing dimensions of yourself you have not yet recognized?

Join or start a dream circle. In my experience, group dream work—when conducted in a safe, trusting environment—can lead to powerful and even transformative insights. Shared associations often reveal layers of meaning that might otherwise remain hidden.

In these uncertain times, we are in great need of visionary leadership and a deeper recognition of our shared humanity. Dreams can alert us to the larger picture—to what truly matters. As many of us face difficult changes and complex decisions in a fragile world and uncertain economy, we must learn to use our whole minds and whole selves. Sources of wisdom long neglected are waiting to be reclaimed.

We all dream. We all possess intuition. Our unconscious is constantly transmitting signals—symbols, sensations, and images meant to guide us. Beneath the surface lie deep reservoirs of insight, creativity, and wisdom, waiting to be tapped.

If we remain open to all of our experiences—both waking and sleeping—our creative impulses are awakened. Rigid beliefs soften, closed attitudes open, and new possibilities emerge. The impact on our lives, our decisions, and those around us can be profound.

About the Author

Peter Metzner, MA, MPA, PCC, BCC
Peter incorporates dream work into his highly acclaimed life and leadership coaching and training programs. He has taught psychology at Vance–Granville Community College and Peace College in Raleigh, NC, and currently serves as an instructor in Leadership for UNC’s Graduate School and the Institute for Life Coach Training. Peter has studied dream work through the Journey Through Wholeness, the Triangle Jung Society, and with teachers including Robert Johnson, Barry Williams, Jeremy Taylor, and John Ryan Haule. He has presented workshops and keynote addresses on dreams and leadership for organizations such as the Center for Creative Leadership, the National Wellness Organization, and the North Carolina Association of Business Coaches. Prior to founding Dynamic Change, Inc., Peter worked at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC.

Unlocking Inner Freedom: Create Your Meaning

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<!Unlocking Inner Freedom: Meaning, Leadership, and the Hero’s Journey in Uncertain Times

We are living in uncertain times—economically, geopolitically, environmentally, and socially. Many leaders, professionals, and seekers feel disoriented, exhausted, or quietly questioning what still matters.

This is not a personal failure.
It is the call to the journey.

Joseph Campbell taught that every Hero’s Journey begins when the old way of living no longer works. Disruption becomes the invitation. As he wrote:

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

In coaching and leadership development, this moment often shows up as burnout, loss of direction, or a sense that success without meaning is no longer enough. The real work begins not with fixing the world, but by turning inward.

You are more than your role, your productivity, or your circumstances. You are body, mind, and spirit—and your spirit is your essence. When the external world feels unstable, inner freedom becomes the most reliable form of leadership.

Viktor Frankl, who survived unimaginable suffering, reminded us:

“Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

This is where personal development becomes transformational. You may not control market forces, global conflict, or cultural division—but you can choose meaning. And meaning changes how you lead, decide, and relate.

On the Hero’s Journey, meaning is not found in comfort but in engagement:

Creating something—work, art, ideas, or service—restores purpose.

Developing relationships builds resilience and perspective.

Focusing beyond yourself shifts you from rumination to contribution.

Finding purpose in pain transforms adversity into wisdom.

Great leaders and coaches know this truth: growth requires accepting reality as it is, not as we wish it to be. Life is not fair. There is no universal scoreboard. Yet even here, meaning remains available.

When we accept the worst, fear loosens its grip. When we align our actions with our values, integrity returns. When we reconnect with purpose, wholeness follows.

The Hero does not return with certainty—but with clarity.

In a divided and uncertain world, choosing meaning is a quiet act of courage. Leading from inner freedom becomes a form of service. And the journey, as Campbell reminds us, was never about escaping the world—but returning to it more awake.

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Forgiveness, Freedom, and Courage in Turbulent Times

“Every failure to cope with a life situation must be laid, in the end, to a restriction of consciousness. Wars and temper tantrums are the makeshift of ignorance; regrets are illuminations come too late.”
— Joseph Campbell, Reflections on the Art of Living

Shakespeare once wrote that there is no prison more confining than the one we do not know we are in. In today’s world—marked by economic instability, political upheaval, environmental crisis, and social division—many of us feel trapped. Holding onto grudges, perceived wrongs, resentment, and anger can compound this sense of imprisonment, affecting our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

And yet, there is a path to freedom—a path that begins not by controlling the world, but by reclaiming ourselves.

The Brain, Habits, and the Prison of Resentment

Our brains are wired for efficiency. They don’t want to expend extra energy building a new bridge every time we encounter difficulty. Repeated behaviors—complaining, judgment, resentment—create neural pathways that make future repetition easier. Neuroscientists summarize this: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Over time, negativity becomes the default. We perceive the world through a lens of grievance, often unaware that our inner state shapes the outer one. As psychologist Eric Berne noted: We act in ways that elicit behaviors from others that justify how we already feel.

Repeated stress, anger, and resentment do more than shape perception—they impact biology. Chronic stress shrinks the hippocampus, essential for learning, memory, and problem-solving, making it harder to navigate life’s challenges effectively. Stress hormones like cortisol shift our bodies into fight-or-flight mode, undermining immunity, raising blood pressure, impairing digestion, and increasing vulnerability to disease.
— Travis Bradberry, PhD; Robert Sapolsky, PhD

In short: clinging to resentment and anger is self-inflicted suffering—a prison we carry internally that limits our capacity to act wisely in the world.

Forgiveness as a Foundation for Courage

Forgiveness is often misunderstood as passivity. In reality, it is the opposite. Forgiveness clears the inner space necessary to respond to life with clarity, strength, and courage. It frees us from the emotional and physiological chains that diminish our capacity to stand for justice and act with integrity.

“You are not here to cry about the miseries of the human condition, but to change them—when you find them not to your liking—through the joy, strength, and vitality that is within you.”
— Unknown

Forgiveness is a spiritual practice. It reconnects us to our deeper selves, our intuition, and what many call Spirit, God, or Source. It is the recognition that freedom is cultivated within before it can be expressed outside. By letting go of bitterness, we strengthen our capacity to confront injustice, advocate for the vulnerable, and take courageous action in the world.

From Victimhood to Empowered Action

To forgive does not mean excusing harm—it means reclaiming agency. Start with honest reflection:

  • What am I holding onto, and how does it serve or limit me?

  • Is being “right” more important than being free?

  • How long have I allowed resentment or victimhood to control my energy and choices?

  • Where might I have contributed, however subtly, to this situation?

Owning your part restores clarity and prepares you for courageous engagement. Small acts of forgiveness lighten the heart and make space for strength, creativity, and wise action.

The Spiritual and Practical Payoff

When we forgive, the benefits are holistic:

  • Mental & Emotional: Reduced stress, clearer thinking, increased resilience.

  • Physical: Lower cortisol levels, stronger immunity, better overall health.

  • Spiritual: Reconnection to compassion, purpose, and inner guidance.

From this place of inner freedom, we are no longer reactive. We are able to stand up to injustice, speak truth, and act with integrity, even amid turbulence. Courageous action is grounded in clarity, not anger; in vision, not reactivity.

Reflective Coaching Questions for Turbulent Times

Use these to guide your reflection, journaling, or coaching conversations:

  1. Where am I holding resentment or anger that clouds my judgment or limits my action?

  2. How might forgiveness strengthen my ability to respond courageously to injustice?

  3. What patterns of negativity or blame am I ready to release in order to act more clearly?

  4. Which injustices in the world move me to stand up, and how can I respond from a place of clarity rather than reactivity?

  5. What small, courageous steps can I take today to promote healing, equity, or positive change in my community?

  6. How can I cultivate inner resilience and spiritual connection to sustain my efforts in turbulent times?

Forgiveness is not surrender. It is preparation. It is the clearing of the inner landscape so we may act with wisdom, courage, and compassion. It is the first step on a path that leads from personal freedom to meaningful impact in the world.

When will you be ready to release the burdens of the past—and step fully into the courage that today demands?

Recommended viewing:
Robert Sapolsky’s National Geographic documentary, “The Portrait of a Killer: Stress.”

The Hidden Costs of Psychological Projection

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An Invisible Force Shaping Our Conflicts, Relationships, and World

Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling irrationally angry, hurt, or morally certain you were right—only to replay it later and wonder what really happened?

Moments like these are often driven not by what’s in front of us, but by what’s unseen within us.

We all use psychological defense mechanisms—what I sometimes call internal security systems. Their job is simple: protect us from emotional pain. Since growth often involves discomfort, these defenses can feel necessary.

But they come at a cost.
They protect us from awareness, and therefore from growth.

One of the most powerful—and least recognized—of these defenses is projection.

What Is Projection? (In Plain Language)

Projection happens when we attribute to others qualities, feelings, or motives that we don’t want to see—or don’t know how to accept—in ourselves.

You’ve heard the phrase “the pot calling the kettle black.” Psychologically, that’s projection.

The tell-tale sign is emotional charge.
If a reaction feels outsized, rigid, or righteous, something unconscious is likely at play.

A Simple Example

You feel irritated by a colleague you experience as arrogant. You replay their behavior, judge it harshly, and feel justified in your frustration. Later, you realize you often dominate conversations when anxious—but haven’t owned that.

What you reacted to wasn’t just them.
It was something familiar.

Projection is like living in a hall of mirrors. What we see “out there” often reflects something unresolved “in here.”

Why Projection Feels So Convincing

Projection doesn’t just distort perception—it rewards us.

It offers:

  • A sense of superiority (I’m right; they’re wrong)

  • Relief from shame or self-doubt

  • Protection from responsibility and change

If I believe you are the problem, I don’t have to look at myself.

But this comes at a high price. Projection quietly sabotages intimacy, collaboration, and trust—at work, in families, and in communities.

Quote for reflection:
“Man’s capacity for self-deception is truly monumental.” — Yoram Kaufman

Practice: Catching Projection in Real Time

When you feel triggered, pause and ask:

  • What am I reacting to most strongly?

  • Where might this quality live in me—however subtly?

  • What would it cost me to acknowledge that?

When Beliefs Harden into Contempt

Projection becomes especially dangerous when fused with rigid beliefs—moral, ideological, or religious.

If I believe my way is the only right way, disagreement becomes evidence that you are misguided, inferior, or even bad. From there, contempt and control feel justified.

A common relational example:

  • A manager decides an employee is “incompetent”

  • The manager becomes critical and controlling

  • The employee shuts down or disengages

  • The manager uses this as proof they were right

Projection creates the very behavior it condemns.

Collective Projection: When the Scale Turns Deadly

Projection doesn’t stop with individuals—it operates at the level of groups and nations.

History shows how easily fear and blame can be projected onto an “enemy.” Once a group is demonized, domination and violence feel not only justified—but necessary.

Adolf Hitler understood this mechanism well. The Nazi regime projected its own hunger for power, control, and brutality onto Jewish people—accusing them of conspiracies and corruption.

These projections paved the psychological road to genocide.

What’s most unsettling is this: psychologists have shown that this capacity is not unique to one culture or era. We’ve seen it in Rwanda, Sudan, and in the displacement and destruction of Indigenous peoples across the Americas.

Projection scales frighteningly well.

The Antidote: Owning Our Projections

The path forward is not moral perfection—it’s responsibility.

Owning our projections doesn’t mean self-blame. It means reclaiming what we’ve given away.

Whenever you feel emotionally charged, try this:

  1. Name the trigger

  2. Identify the quality you’re reacting to

  3. Ask how it might exist in you—past or present

  4. Notice what shifts when you do

Often, intensity softens. Curiosity replaces certainty.

As Marion Woodman wrote:

“To be psychologically free is to be confident in our own inner world, responsible for our own strengths and weaknesses, consciously loving ourselves—and therefore able to love others.”

And as Carl Jung once said when asked if there was hope for the world:
“There is hope—if enough people do their inner work.”

A Final Reflection

The outer world cannot be healed without inner responsibility.

Projection blinds us. Awareness restores sight.

Reflection question:
Who or what am I reacting to most strongly right now—and what might that reaction be inviting me to see in myself?

That question is the first step.

“The Privilege of a Life Time” by Peter Metzner

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The privilege of a lifetime is being
who you are.
The goal of the hero trip
down to your jewel point
is to find those levels in the psyche
That open, open, open,
and finally open to the mystery
of your self
being Buddha consciousness,
the Christ.

That’s the journey
(Joseph Campbell) Reflections on the Art of Living – A Joseph Campbell Companion

“Find a place where there is joy and the joy will burn out the pain” .

According to Campbell, Satan is the epitome of the intractable ego. That part of ourselves needing to be right, to defend ourselves, feeling separate, better than or not as good as others depending on our beliefs, dogma and life’s situations. Hell is the concretization of your life experiences, a place where you’re stuck, the wasteland. In hell, we blame others for our condition and are so bound to ourselves that grace cannot enter. What is hellish is being stuck without hope, without relief.*

How we mature, depends on taking responsibility for our choices, no longer blaming others, or expecting rescue from them. And to acknowledge the pain of loneliness however much we are invested in social roles and relationships. (James Hollis) Swamplands of The Soul. The mature person i.e. one who is psychologically free : “is confident in his inner world, responsible for his strengths and weaknesses, consciously able to love himself, and thus, able to love others”…. Marion Woodman

In a simple and poignant description of the human condition, and of growth; Jolande Jacobi, a Jungian analyst writes: “Like a seed growing into a tree, life unfolds stage by stage. Triumphant ascent, collapse, crises, failures, and new beginnings strew the way. It is the path trodden by the great majority of people, as a rule unreflectingly, unconsciously, unsuspectingly, following its labyrinthine windings from birth to death in hope and longing. It is hedged about with struggle and suffering, joy and sorrow, guilt and error, and nowhere is there security from catastrophe. For as soon as a man tries to escape every risk and prefers to experience life only in his head, in the form of ideas and fantasies, as soon as he surrenders to opinions of ‘how it ought to be’ and, in order not to make a false step, imitates others when possible, he forfeits the chance of his own independent development. Only if he treads the path bravely and flings himself into life, fearing no struggle and no exertion and fighting shy of no experience, will he mature his personality more fully than the man who is ever trying to keep to the safe side of the road.”
J. Jacobe, The Way of Individuation

There are two gremlins we face every morning.

Fear: I am too tiny it is too hard… I can’t do it.

Lethargy: – chill out tomorrow is another day…

Each will eat us alive… Fear and lethargy are the enemy they are not out there they are inside
Carl Jung wrote: The spirit of evil is the negation of live force by fear… only boldness can overcome that fear.
If the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is violated”

Our task is to recover our personal authority and discern the meaning of our lives.
Who are we to stand in its way?

Overcoming Addictions and Compulsions: “Finding Your Self” by Peter Metzner

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If something out side of your self is the reason you are happy;  you are hostage to it.  Ekhard  Tolle

In over 15 years in being in the field of Human Development, I have seen no correlation with having a lot of material things and “happiness”.   Money is important and ranks along  with oxygen to live.   Yet, when there is enough oxygen to breathe  it doesn’t register in our awareness of needs.

Neuroscience has found that money or accumulating money stimulates the pleasure centers of our brains.      If we are happy, have supportive relationships and are living meaningfully and with purpose,  material comforts can  enhance our sense of well-being.   However,  if we are unhappy,  we are  like hungry ghosts.   Searching and driven yet never satisfied.  Riches, material comfort, distractions etc.  can’t make us happy if we are anxious, driven, unhappy or suffering from low self-esteem or lack of meaning.   If materialistic ambition becomes a substitute for our intrinsic needs for giving and receiving love and doing work that is “right” for us, we can become addicted in the pursuit of diversions, pleasure, accumulating “things” , titles, accomplishments, etc.

Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, PhD  explains, “dopamine levels increase as soon as we start anticipating a reward. Once the dopamine starts flowing, monkeys and people will work and work and work expecting  a treat.  For monkeys,  a grape is usually enough.   For people, the treats include:  a pair of sneakers, a shiny car, an MBA that might lead to a high-paying job, early retirement, a couple of minutes of entertaining diversion, a few seconds of sexual gratification, etc…    Monkeys and people’s neurochemistry  function virtually the same!    The main difference: “Monkeys don’t get hooked on beliefs, ideologies, dogma, degrees, titles, fantasies, lies, empty promises, or self-deceptions” .

What is known about addictions:

  • Any behavior that can deliver a dopamine reward can become an addiction.
  • The more powerful the addiction, the greater the denial, the weaker the free will, the more likely addicts are to detest any information that threatens to keep them from feeding their addictions.
  • It’s possible to get addicted to safety, peer approval, and esteem.   (The dopamine project)

Using brain scanning equipment, researchers have found that there is basically one addiction—dopamine addiction. When heroin addicts shoot up, the street drug tells their brains to produce dopamine. Heroin is a trigger.  Dopamine flow creates the sensation of being ‘high.’ When it comes to scoring dopamine rewards, there are many triggers. For some the trigger is cocaine. For others it’s nicotine, alcohol, sex, gambling, or food.  Street drugs are physical dopamine triggers that are hard to deny because they need the ingesting, inhaling, or injecting of addictive substances.  Sadly, physical dopamine addictions destroy lives and wreak societal damage.  Researchers have recently added video games and texting to the list. Yet the most dangerous dopamine triggers include easy to deny psychological addictions. Psychological dopamine addictions may be more insidious because addictive emotions, memories, thoughts, fantasies, ideologies, rhetoric, and deceptions also trigger release of  dopamine.

An addiction is anything you can’t stop doing and it serves as an anxiety management system.  Along with addictions come formidable psychological defenses.  They include self-deception, denial, and a lack of morality that can even lead to a capacity for murder.   Reason, integrity, morality and a distaste for lying, cheating, stealing, and killing  that non-addicts value are often no match to addicts of:   power, money, fame, substances etc.   We see  in history and current events “examples of unstoppable, unreasonable, inhumane, addict/killers attacking, vilifying, and eliminating reasoning, humane, non-addict/non-killers” (The Dopamine Project)

Addicts have an amazing capacity to dismiss and deny facts, truth, and reason.   “Dopamine flow fuels addictions: More dopamine = yes, like, do more while dopamine withdrawal = stop, hate, avoid. “Thinking”   justifies, rationalizes, and defends  dopamine-influenced decisions”. (The Dopamine Project)  In other words,  intelligence  in the service of  addiction.

One of the most addictive abstractions is money.  Someone  addicted to alcohol or drugs, increasingly organizes their life  around the use and abuse of their substance(s) of choice.  The person who uses money to mood alter can have their relationship with money spin out of control; by being overly focused on accumulating it, spending it, hoarding it or using it to control people, places and things. For example,  as with a drug or alcohol, tolerance increases and a person  may find him/ herself needing to devote increasingly larger amounts of time to these activities, to get the same mood altering high that only a little once provided.  They become increasingly preoccupied with all things related to getting and maintaining their “substance”  excluding  other areas of living.  Gradually, just like any addict, money and the relationship with money becomes a primary preoccupation.   (Tian Dayton, PhD)    Personal drives and identity become so wrapped up around money  that they lose sight of who “they really are” .

No matter how much they have, money addicts crave more.    As with all addictions, the first pleasure is soon replaced by cravings and withdrawal.  Acquiring more money only increases stress levels which keep money addicts craving more money while worrying about losing what they already have.  Money is highly addictive because it quickly and easily converts into other dopamine triggers that feed other addictions like drugs, foods, sex, gambling, approval, status, and power.  The corrupting influences of money addiction everywhere and at every level of society.

So what does this have to do with Finding your “Self”. 

“Since our capacity for Self deception is truly monumental”  (Yorum Kaufam ) Self Awareness and  Self Mastery entails being aware:  of who we really are, what truly matters, the emotions that drive our behaviors, being able to “regulate or manage them,  knowing our passions, our talents, owning our weaknesses and:   what our “Self”,  Psyche or Soul are asking of us.  This is an awareness of what we truly value and a growing understanding  of our place in the world and connection to the transcendent.  To get there,  we need to recognize the mine fields, the seductions and powerful conditioning  of society that  pulls us to these  baser levels of living, wanting  and consuming.  Freud wrote that “The price of civilization is neurosis” – neuroses defined as  ” being someone who you are not”.

Rather than conform mindlessly or automatically to the expectations of  society,  we can  listen to that small voice. If we are quiet and still enough, summoning the will to live a life that is authentically ours.   “When we allow our light to shine we give permission for others lights to shine” ( Marian Williamson)    The great change agents throughout history, Christ, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi, Mandela, Martin Luther King, etc.  all answered their summons to raise human consciousness, be in relationship to the transcendent,  live mindfully, ethically and see all of humanity as family.

It is OK  to not fully know our  selves or our true North.   The beginning of wisdom is to realize what you don’t know.  To get there requires openness, receptivity and  mindfulness.    I was forty before shifting into my role of teaching, coaching & training.   By  seeking to stay true to yourself, your values and what energizes you is the compass that helps in finding your way.

The Greek god Aesculapius decreed “that it  is through suffering we come to wisdom” .   Avoidance of suffering can lead to and fuel addictions, compulsions and flights from reality.  (James Hollis) Suffering can also give us empathy, understanding and insights which can help others work through their pain.  Being fully human is to experience the full range of emotions.  Being aware and   experiencing   “all”  emotions enables us to live more fully,  better exercise  free will,  intentionality and grow into the person we are meant  to be.

 “There is hope for the world if enough people do their inner work“. C. G. Jung

References and suggested readings:

The Dopamine Project – Better Living Through Dopamine Awareness : see  http://dopamineproject.org/

Swamplands Of  The Soul – New Life in Dismal Places, James Hollis inner City Books  1996

What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should do the Opposite.  David Disalvo Prometheus Books  2011.

River of Time Guided Visualization and Relaxation Process by Peter Metzner

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How ready or able are you to: 

  • Eliminate stress?
  • Sustain self-confidence in the most challenging situations?
  • Maintain a healthy perspective towards life challenges?
  • Letting go of self-limiting beliefs?
  • Discovering your true life’s goals?
  • Staying  calm?
  • Generating a good nights sleep 365 days a year?
  • Enjoying a greater engagement with life?
  • Maximizing your energy all day long?
  • Dealing with the complexities of life?

For the price of a decent bottle of wine you can change your mood and life forever. 

I  made a CD and audio of a guided visualization and relaxation process I have been doing with various groups for over twelve years.  After going through the process,  many report:  increased self-confidence, sense of well-being, a healthier perspective, ability to  connect to meaningful goals, greater calmness and focus as well as sleeping better and having more energy!

The River of Time Audio enables you to experience  deep relaxation, allows you to release stress and let go of self-limiting beliefs.

It is crucial for health and mental well being to activate the the relaxation response daily.   A relaxed body relaxes the mind, giving a much greater capacity to manage life’s challenges.   It is clinically impossible to be anxious or stressed while the body is relaxed!

There are numerous ways to activate the relaxation response.    Gardening, golf, walking,  meditation and yoga to name a few.  An advantage of the guided visualization and relaxation  process is that not only does it assist  in achieving a deep state of relaxation – it  helps in letting go of self limiting beliefs and can you connect to the  true  North of your  inner compass.

After facilitating dozens of this process live to students, teachers, and people from all walks of life, many have connected to deeper and more meaningful goals;  and experienced the calmness, focus and drive to take action in going after them!

I hope you will experience this proven process.  Below is a  testimonial:

“I really enjoyed the River of Time CD!  After listening to the River of Time CD I experienced that I slept better than I had in a long while. Those 20 minutes were the most stress-free, relaxing, and encouraging 20 minutes ever!”
Once again, thank you!  Mollie D.

River of Time CD

The River of Time audio can be ordered for $9.99 from http://dynamicchangeinc.com/blog/shop/shop/river-of-time-digital-audio-download/

Or a  CD for 14.99 (Free Shipping) from:  http://dynamicchangeinc.com/blog/shop/shop/river-of-time-cd/

Please send your comments. They will be helpful for others to see!

How to Manage Stress: Daily Habits for a Healthier Life

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Finding Balance: Practical Ways to Reduce Stress and Restore Well‑Being

With chronic stress taking such a toll on our health, productivity, and overall sense of well‑being, it’s essential to develop habits and strategies that help bring balance back into our lives. Everyone is different, and each of us may find unique approaches that work best. Below are practical, immediately useful insights that can help you cultivate greater joy, meaning, and resilience. The good news is that none of them are expensive.

Make Time Each Day for Something Relaxing

We all need at least one activity each day that is calming and done purely for enjoyment. For me, meditation is the ideal way to start the morning. I visualize what I want to accomplish, how I want to feel, and the impact I hope to have through my classes, seminars, and coaching. Setting an intention truly works.

Move Your Body

Exercise is one of the most effective stress busters available. Even a brisk 30–40 minute walk helps flush out stress hormones and provides a fresh perspective. Research consistently shows strong links between poor diet and chronic disease. Processed foods and sugary snacks contribute to obesity, high blood pressure, mood swings, low energy, and inflammatory conditions. A diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods—especially fruits and vegetables—gives the body the fuel it needs to repair and restore itself. Think of it this way: if you wouldn’t put low‑grade fuel in your car, why put it in your body? Avoid the “hit‑and‑run” junk food trap.

Shift Your Mindset

An optimistic attitude enhances coping skills and helps us manage stress more productively. When we accept our current situation without harsh self‑judgment and view challenges as opportunities for growth, a profound shift occurs. Problems become “needed developmental opportunities for us to grow and become more capable and mature.” Choosing the belief, I can do this helps rewire the brain, triggers more positive emotions, and supports the actions needed to move forward.

Manage Negative Thoughts

Learning to quiet negative, self‑critical, or anxious thoughts is a powerful form of personal mastery. This requires creating an inner space where you can reset. Daily meditation is a highly effective way to detox both mentally and physically. Ironically, the “discipline” lies in doing nothing—simply learning to still the mind and rest in inner quiet. As Wayne Dyer said, “You will find your Self in the space between two thoughts.”

The Science Behind It

Dr. Andrew Newberg, a radiologist at Penn and a leading authority on neuro‑theology, found that even novice meditators improved their memory by meditating just twelve minutes a day for a few weeks. Simply reflecting on the values most important to you—compassion, peace, love, empowerment—strengthens the neural pathways that help you live those values more fully.

References & Additional Reading

Pamela Holzman: http://www.pamelaholtzman.com/its-not-obsession-its-discipline/

Steve Volk, “Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable—And Couldn’t,” HarperCollins, 2011

The National Wellness Institute: http://www.nationalwellness.org/

Affirmations by Peter Metzner

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When confident, we  have the expectation of a positive outcome.  Tony Robins once said that “the mind sees what the heart feels”   The Fielding Institute found that “whether we know it or not we steer the ship of our experiences based on the prevailing beliefs of who we are and what is real.  So believing is seeing – not the other way around!    Much of  our self talk, beliefs about ourselves and how we act and how others treat us is a reflection about how we feel about ourselves.  We mistakenly think it is the other person who makes us feel the way we do or our situation etc…  As Psychologist Eric Berne found ” We act in ways to make people behave in order to justify how we feel about them”.

If we feel (even if it is unconscious and we are not aware of it) unlovable, undeserving not good enough, smart enough, capable etc we will set up the condition’s to mirror these beliefs.    We make up a story that: you can’t trust people, the economy is lousy, better play it safe etc.

Since the brain can’t distinguish between what is real or imagined (Waitley) affirmations help in moving us forward.

They can be used for business success, relationships, health athletic performance, creativity and other areas of life.

If we say something over and over again our mind will eventually believe it.  When  we were young we took our parents or teachers or others judgments of us to be true.   So letting go of these self limiting  beliefs can be done and affirmations is one way to do so. This video link shows one young lady who at an early age understands empowerment they bring.