True Freedom: The Courage to Let Things Die
I met my client in the redwoods of the Oakland Hills. For our meetings, we hike together — moving through quiet trails, letting the rhythm of walking open the rhythm of conversation.
I’ve had the great honor of working with him off and on for over ten years. In that time, he’s left the tech world, built his own business, and grown into a leader who trusts himself completely.
Today, as we walked beneath the trees, he shared a story about negotiating a lease for a new store in a Santa Clara development. When the numbers didn’t align, he walked away.
The Sound That Wouldn’t Stop (and the Wisdom It Woke Up)
A couple of months ago, our dryer started making a terrible screeching sound. At first, I tried to ignore it. It was early summer—good drying weather. Besides, with just my partner and me at home now, we don’t go through that much laundry. I thought, why not use the sun?
So we did. We dried our towels outside. They came in stiff and scratchy—like sandpaper on skin. Not terrible, if that’s your thing. But I missed the soft warmth of a dryer.
The Sharpest Tool in My Life
I love a great kitchen knife.
On Sundays in Montclair, Oakland, there’s a local farmers market. Sometimes, a woman sets up a small table just outside it. On that table are handmade knives from Japan.
One Sunday, I picked one up and instantly fell in love.
The balance. The weight. The beauty of it as a tool. I had to buy it.
That knife has become a reminder of my consciousness.
It cuts cleanly, effortlessly, with precision.
How Feeling My Disappointment Set Me Free
It was Sunday. My partner and I were on our way to Limantour Beach.
As usual, I brought my Gene Keys book. It’s a ritual for me — I sit quietly and ask the book to show me what it wants me to see. I open it to a random page, and I trust what comes.
That day it opened to the 55th Gene Key — the one that explores Victim Consciousness and Freedom.
As I began reading, a single line stopped me in my tracks:
“True freedom is not an effect. It is an ever-expanding consciousness that arises spontaneously inside you as you come to understand how deeply victimized you are by your own core beliefs.”
Leading Through a Quiet Season: What My Calendar—and the 18th Gene Key—Taught Me About Integrity
It’s been a slower season for me. Fewer client sessions. Less income. More space than I’m used to.
There have been moments where I’ve looked at my calendar and felt that familiar flicker of panic—What’s wrong? Why isn’t anything moving? And then the stories start: You should be doing more. Maybe you're not needed right now. Maybe you're failing.
But lately, I’ve been sitting with something from the 18th Gene Key that’s cracked me open in the best way:
“The secret of this Shadow is the gradual realization that your outer life is your greater body.”
What if nothing is wrong?
What if this pause is my body speaking?