Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life

Copyright © 2012 Christine Sopa

Art Credit: Creative Image Associates

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-5691-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-5692-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012914757

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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Balboa Press rev. date: 09/19/2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter One Have You Found Joy?

Chapter Two The Battle For Your Mind

Your Conscious And Subconscious Mind

Thoughts Become Things

The Veil And The Lies

Layers Of Awareness

Fear

The Desire For Change

Chapter Three Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

What Is A Belief?

Where Do Our Beliefs Come From?

What Do You Want?

Dreams

Am I Selfish?

Should’s

Guarantees And Certainty

Your 7 Impossible Things

Chapter Four The Power Of Choice

Why Is It Hard To Make A Choice?

Chapter Five Believe In Yourself

Self-Love

Self-Worth

Self-Esteem

Allowing And Acceptance

Present Moment Living

Boundaries

Chapter Six Believe In Your Path

Trust Yourself And Your Contract

Taking Risks

Mistakes

Forgiving Yourself

What You Do And Think Affects Others

The Purpose Of Pain

Faith And Hope

Chapter Seven Listening To Clues

Comfort

Where Is Your Attention

Listen To Your Body

Intentions

Divine Timing

Chapter Eight Your Hidden Gifts

Intuition

Visual

Kinesthetic

Auditory

Chapter Nine Mastering Your Emotions

Energy And Vibration Levels

Using Your Emotions As A Guide

How Do I Raise My Vibration?

Your Emotional Vessel

Non-Judgment

Manifesting

Chapter Ten You Are Not Alone

Our Teachers

Soul Imperatives

You Are Never Alone

Receiving

Chapter Eleven Action Steps To Joy

Knowing Yourself

Release

About Anger

What Don’t You Want

Bucket List

Vision Boards

10-Year Projection

Knowing Where You Are

Priorities

Other People’s Reaction To The New You

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

"You were born with potential.

You were born with goodness and trust.

You were born with ideals and dreams.

You were born with wings.

You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.

You have wings.

Learn to use them and fly."

~Rumi

Dedication

For my Daddy, Gary G. Morth

Even though you are no longer physically here,

your presence lives on in me through

the words written here.

I love you!

Testimonials

In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo explains that prayer is simply a communication between the infinite without and the infinite within, and the reader in a moment sees a truth that is at once obvious and astonishing. There are many such moments in the new book by Christine Sopa, Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life. Ms. Sopa explores the barriers that keep us from overcoming the fear and inertia holding us back in our lives, and how to use the innate powers of the human mind to achieve joy in a difficult world. The stories from her life, told with great intimacy and wisdom, are more than compelling (and often amusing) anecdotes. They provide a framework, along with many evocative quotes, to lend tangible structure to the lessons learned, methodologies and techniques offered to achieve fulfillment in life. There is also a pervasive sense of metaphysics and spirituality, simply and honestly put forth, that is reminiscent of the late M. Scott Peck. Ms. Sopa’s excellent book, told with such vulnerability, feeling and fearlessness, is itself a metaphor for growth and self-actualization.

Dr. William S. Prins, Rocket Engineer

and Author of Legends of the Ebu Gogo

Chris Sopa shares her journey to joy with her readers through the masterful art of story telling. As you read her funny, painful, and fascinating stories, you gain insight into your own self-discovery and your journey to joy and the life you were meant to live. Her sharing allows you to discover new truths about yourself! Come along for the journey – you will be glad you did!

Dr. Patricia M. Buhler, SPHR

Professor

Goldey-Beacom College

Author of The Employee

Satisfaction Revolution

and Human Resources Management

Preface

The book that you are about to read has been in the works in my mind for some time. It is a culmination of life experience, education and teachings from other mystics that I hold dear to my heart. It is meant to inspire you but also to assist you in applying the ideas you learn into your life so you can live the life you are meant to live. My intention in writing this book is to offer you guidance in the process of understanding what you are meant to do while you are on this Earth and learning to use the circumstances in your life as a classroom to move you closer to your purpose.

In my travels around the globe, I encounter many individuals who are stressed, out of balance and have lost the passion for their dreams. They are reacting to life instead of responding to life and wonder why they can never achieve what they want. They feel trapped by their employment, personal responsibilities at home and at the whim of what others think they should do with their lives.

In today’s world especially, many are feeling lost and overwhelmed. We are all experiencing a sudden increase in speed, so to speak, in our lives; losses that are unexplainable and changes abounding in all directions from our businesses, to the economy, to changes occurring within ourselves that we are trying desperately to understand.

There have been many experiences in my life within the last several years that have caused me to live my life from a more symbolic perspective rather than so literally. What do I mean by that? Think of it this way; when an event in your life occurs you can choose to react to it or respond to it. It is all a matter of perspective. My perspective is that everything happens for a reason. We sometimes are given the gift of knowing what that reason is and other times we are asked to live on faith that although we are not meant to know it, what happened was for our highest good. When we can learn to look at our life through a different lens, one of hope rather than despair, our entire world changes. One of the most significant events for me was the rare experience and honor of being able to take care of my father as he was dying of cancer.

In March of 2006 my father was diagnosed with last stage prostate cancer. He had an aggressive form of cancer which started in his prostate and went undiagnosed long enough that it metastasized to his bones. What was interesting about my father’s cancer was that to look at him, you would never know he was sick. As a matter of fact, the only thing that even sent him to the doctor was pain in his left arm. He began, over a few months, to notice that he was having a hard time putting his left arm into his coat. Of course, we all thought this was some kind of bursitis or joint problem. He went to his family doctor and they put him through a battery of tests; blood work, cat scans, x-rays, tests for his heart, etc. They found nothing. Finally, they did a bone scan. That was when they found it. Cancer all down his left arm, into his shoulder, his back, his hips; just about everywhere.

When we first heard the news, we were numb, to say the least. My father was not a total picture of health to begin with, having uncontrolled diabetes for many years. We discussed with the doctor the options and due to the high level of his PSA the doctor wanted to get his hormone level down close to zero before he started any chemo or radiation. Their solution was a pill he would take every day at 7pm along with a mega-dose shot of the same medication he would come to the doctor’s office and receive every 12 weeks. Every 12 weeks they would monitor his PSA level to see if this hormone therapy was working.

My father went on for the next 8 months with a fairly normal life. Taking his pill, going for the shot, not telling anyone he had cancer. He had hope unlike any hope I had seen, tinged with a bit of denial. His PSA level got down to 18 from a staggering 880. He was obviously not out of the woods.

It was shortly after Christmas of 2006 that things began to go down hill. I remember going with him for his routine 12 week blood screening. When the results came back this time, his PSA was in the high 400’s. The tumor in his prostate was now out of control and large enough that it was pressing on his bladder and other vital organs. Radiation began. One week later, he was in the hospital for a week being treated for his uncontrolled blood sugar and severe dehydration. That is where they found out the cancer had moved to his skull and brain. A droopy left side of his face caused me to ask the doctor in the hospital to check it out. After an MRI, which he hated due to the fact that he had lived through Vietnam, it was found the cancer was in his skull, the bones of his face as well as the dura (or covering) of his brain. More bad news. Then radiation started the following week on his head. After only two treatments, back in the hospital for another week.

Living in Maryland, I found myself traveling to Cleveland every other week and staying one to two weeks at a time to help my mom take care of my father and talk to doctors. I found myself trying to run an international business from the hospital lobby, raise two teenage daughters long distance, keep my relationship with my husband healthy, sitting in on Board of Education meetings (which I was the VP at the time) on the phone long distance, as well as bring money in since I was the sole income provider for my family at the time (my husband having lost his job of 7 years in December). All of this and trying to deal with the fact that my father, one of my best friends and confidants, was dying a very painful death.

The day I found out about my father’s cancer in March of 2006 (I remember the moment vividly…sitting in my black Mazda with my friend Renee having just spoken for a group of women in Philadelphia and getting the call from my mother), I made a promise to myself. I swore that no matter what, I did not want my dad’s life to end and look back and say, I wish I would have… I vowed at that moment to go to visit him in Cleveland any free chance I had and to say things to him I had always wanted but never did because I felt I still had time to do it later. Every 2-3 weeks I was in Cleveland visiting. I remember at one point my mother asked me why I was visiting so often and proceeded to tell me to stop because I was scaring my father. I was able to spend some quality time with my father and was a key player in his journey to the other side.

I was scheduled to take a 3 week spiritual journey to Peru from March 18th through April 7th. I battled and battled with myself about whether I should go or stay, knowing my dad’s condition and that he did not have much time left. I talked to my father and did some soul searching and knew, for some reason, I had to go on the trip. I said my goodbye’s and took off for Lima on March 18th. I spent three wonderful, spiritual, sacred, healing weeks in Peru talking with my father when I could, involving him, in spirit, in all of the healing ceremonies I took part in with the native shaman. I knew that the work I was doing in Peru was helping him in some way.

On April 7th, 2007 while standing in the airport in Cusco, Peru I was tapped on the shoulder by our driver Carlos and told I had a phone call. My heart sank to my stomach. It was my husband Jim. I had told him to use that number only in the event of my dad’s death. That morning my father had passed away in the Hospice Hospital in Cleveland. I remember standing there in the middle of the airport, dazed yet also relieved his painful journey was finally over. Ironically, my friend Michele who I had just met on the trip was standing next to me when I received the phone call. Michele and I had spent many hours talking about our fathers. Michele had brought with her to Peru a cross from her dad’s funeral that she buried on Apu Ausangante while we were hiking. I knew my dad had waited until April 7th to make his final journey. He knew I was worried that if anything happened to him while I was gone I would not be able to get back in time. I could not get back any faster that day then I was already getting back. He knew that. I had made my peace with him more than once and my work in Peru helped him conclude his journey back home.

I remember in Peru realizing that his life was based on his spiritual contract. That no matter how much I wanted him to heal and stay with me here on Earth, that the Universe had a different plan for him, one much greater than mine. There was a moment while in Peru I began to pray for his healing, but not in the sense I had before. This time it was not for his physical healing, but for healing that would allow him to fulfill his contract. Healing that would allow his journey to go smoother. His death was that healing I had prayed for so hard in Peru. He had told me over and over again he did not want anyone in the room when he passed.