Intro Path 07:
How To Get The Most
From The SkyVillage Website
How should you use this website? How should you deal with it? How should you handle it? How can you get the most out of it?
Well, my new friend, there's an important issue that we need to address before we talk about anything else, and that is:
You are going to need to keep track of your progress as you work through the SkyVillage website.
Now, this is the sample version, which only contains Part One. This means that the sample version is considerably smaller than the expanded version. (If you are interested in exploring the expanded version, there are instructions as to how to do so at the end of the sample version pathway.)
Even so, the sample version of SkyVillage is close to two hundred webpages. And in a website, you can't keep track of your progress by leaving a paper bookmark like you'd do in a book.
So, with the SkyVillage site, I think the best thing to do is to exit after you finish a chapter, and then remember the number of the chapter that you just completed. (Maybe even write it down.)
Then, the next time you enter the site, you can use the Directory to travel straight to the next chapter.
But, alternatively, there is a "bookmarking" function that's available in every web browser. You can use the bookmarking function to keep track of your journeys as well, by bookmarking the page that you last finished, and then returning to that page by referring back to that bookmark the next time you visit SkyVillage.
Either way will work. It's up to you.
In fact, overall, there isn't any "one way" to make this website work for you. You can work with SkyVillage in a wide variety of ways. SkyVillage is a coaching resource--that is, it's a tool for you to use to make your life better. It's flexible. You can use it in different ways at different times. You can take SkyVillage very seriously, you can just skim the surface, or you can do anything in between. It depends.
However, if you are a newcomer, then after you finish reviewing this introductory material, the best way to get started is to head down the "Prime Path"--the main coaching pathway--and simply read for a while.
"OK," you might ask, "but beyond just reading this thing, if I want my life to really work, then what do I need to do?"
Here we go.
My beloved apprentice, here's the thing. There is stuff that you can do to make your life better, for sure, but for now, draw close and pay heed, if you will, because I'm going to let you in on a piece of advanced coaching.
You see, getting the most out of SkyVillage isn't a question of "what to do." That's because, for the most part, SkyVillage is not about "what to do."
Instead, SkyVillage is about "how to be".
This is because SkyVillage is about who and what you are as a being.
Now, I imagine that when I talk about "who and what you are as a being", then maybe on the one hand, you "get" what I am saying, but maybe on the other, you might take it in with suspicion, or even offense. Maybe dealing with this being business shows up as strange, odd and weird.
I get it. That's valid.
Coaching about "being" can occur as weird because, through no fault of your own--in fact, arising in an environment in which fault doesn't exist--you, as a human being, are mired in doingness.
Now, again, this is an unusual thing to say, but bear with me: to the degree that you are mired in doingness, you are disempowered. Countering that disempowerment is why SkyVillage exists.
It's not that "what you do" is irrelevant. It's absolutely relevant.
The problem is, "what you do" isn't primordial.
In other words, in terms of causation, "being" precedes "doing". "The way that you are as a being" is the source of "what you do". "Being" gives rise to "doing".
This means that when you and I are mired in doingness, without access to or empowerment over "the way that we are as beings", then you and I have a profound tendency to get stuck. Really stuck. Profoundly stuck. Maybe even stuck forever.
Now, look, it's possible that this is coming across as an obscure and useless conversation. So, allow me to return to the point at hand. My point is, the best way to deal with SkyVillage is to just "be" with it. Just spend time engaging with it. Just hang out with it. SkyVillage is about being, rather than doing, so the best thing to do regarding SkyVillage, basically, is just "to be."
Attending to simply being, in this case, is what's going to produce results.
That doesn't mean that we won't suggest things "to do" as you follow this path. We will. And this doesn't mean that SkyVillage won't result in more productive "doing" behavior, and more satisfying outcomes that result from "doing". It will.
But SkyVillage starts at the beginning, and, as odd as this may sound, the beginning of any effective inquiry into the quality of your life concerns the way that you show up as a being.
Given that, there are possible pitfalls of which you need to be made aware, to avoid potential difficulties as we move forward in our journey together.
I'll explore this particular point on more than one occasion, but here it is for the first time: humans are remarkably primitive and unevolved as beings. This means that there needs to be a lot of coaching in SkyVillage. There are many, many ideas, and they come at you thick and fast.
So, let's suppose that you sit down and engage with SkyVillage (as you are doing now) for an hour or so. Good on you, my fine learner! Well done!
I promise you that in that hour, you will encounter a significant quantity of high octane coaching ideas.
This high octane coaching can result in differing responses from folks who dive into this thing. Some people blaze through it in an almost obsessive fashion. More commonly, folks who explore this thing reach a stage of "saturation", so to speak, in which, after spending some time here, they find themselves at the point of being nearly overwhelmed by the intensity and unfamiliarity of the ideas that they encounter.
Now, I don't have anything against you obsessively blazing through this stuff as fast as you can handle it, but for most of you, a measured approach is going to be more effective. Usually, SkyVillage is best approached as a marathon, rather than as a sprint. In fact, for a lot of folks who work with this coaching, at some point, they find that they simply can't take any more, and they need a break.
This "need for a break" can show up in a lot of ways. It can show up as confusion, fatigue, irritation, offense, upset, or simply a sense of being overwhelmed. Often, your need for a break from this stuff will show up simply as a sense of "that's enough for now."
My point (for most of you) is: take breaks! Take a lot of breaks! Take this thing at a measured pace.
Of course, after you take a break, for a day, or for a few days, or whatever, then you are probably going to want to pick up where you left off. We talked about how to do that at the beginning of this page.
This leads me to something I want to make sure that I address. You see, SkyVillage is coaching. From time to time, coaching is going to be challenging. It has to be if it's going to produce results.
As I've been saying: ideas are going to come at you thick and fast as you take this journey, and as you travel along, you might experience something akin to discomfort, or even a degree of fear or panic, thinking that some of the ideas that you encounter are getting away from you before you've had a chance to digest them, incorporate them, and use them to make your life better.
I get it. That's valid.
So, here's the coaching:
Relax. Chill out, Padawan.
SkyVillage isn't going anywhere. These pathways are designed for repeated journeys. The places you pass by, well, you'll be back. I also tend to review things frequently, as you will discover--so any idea that you pass by is likely to show up again. Many of these ideas are unfamiliar, or, at least, are being expressed in an unfamiliar way, and it's going to take time, maybe a good bit of time, for them to bear fruit. Be patient with yourself. As we said at the outset, just "be" with SkyVillage. You don't have to memorize anything. There isn't going to be a test. Just hang out. That's how it works.
However, "challenging" is a neutral word for how coaching can often occur. From time to time, coaching that works is likely to be difficult, trying, and confrontational. Because of this, you just might entertain the idea, on more than one occasion, of quitting this thing.
I get it. That's valid.
If you find that the idea of quitting SkyVillage pops up in your thoughts and feelings--and it very likely will--then that's a good time to take a break.
You see, here's what's likely to happen during time that you are away from SkyVillage. During your time away, the ideas that you encounter here are likely to show up in your thoughts and your considerations. As this happens, you are likely to note the fact that the introduction of those ideas in your daily life is making a positive difference in your moment-to-moment experience.
Now, SkyVillage results can be subtle, and challenging to distinguish. You have to be on the lookout for them.
Let me expand upon that a bit, while I have your attention.
SkyVillage is about aliveness. We'll explore that term in depth down the road. Suffice it to say, however, that aliveness doesn't show up solely as gratification. Aliveness often feels good in the moment, yes, but there's more to it than that.
The thing is, gratification, in and of itself, is a fickle bitch. As you already know, singularly pursuing "that which feels good in the moment", over the long term, is a recipe for a diminished quality of life. I mean, look at eating, as an example. Eating feels good. Eating is gratifying. But if you just blindly and obsessively eat, well, over time, you might realize a significant amount of "feel good in the moment" feelings, but your life, overall, is going to turn to shit.
We'll talk about this more, down the road, but there's something you need to understand: the really good stuff in life doesn't show up solely as pure, raw gratification. There's more to it.
Around here, we call that "more" aliveness.
Aliveness differs from gratification. Gratification is an undeniable "in the moment" experience. On the other hand, aliveness can be subtle, can be delayed, and can show up quietly and delicately, over an extended period of time. People use words like "satisfaction", "fulfillment", "contentment", and such, to describe this experience. There's a component of awareness, presence, and authenticity. A person showing up in the space of aliveness tends to feel worthy, and capable. There's less internal conflict, less self-sabotage, less pretense, and less procrastination. Accordingly, the "aliveness" experience also shows up with increased effectiveness and productivity. It comes along with what we call traction. Stuff gets done--often in ways and situations that can seem miraculous.
But given our preoccupation with and devotion to gratification, it can be challenging and unfamiliar to connect the dots between "participation in SkyVillage" and "life getting better."
Bear with me while I indulge in a bit of a tangent. You see, I took a course many years ago called the "est training." While SkyVillage is a very different thing from the est training, some of the things that I learned there have influenced me in the approach that I am taking here in SkyVillage. (In fact, the idea of "aliveness" itself is something I learned in the training.)
A man named Werner Erhard founded the est training in 1971. He described the purpose of the training as to "transform your ability to experience living so that situations that you have been putting up with or trying to change clear up just in the process of life itself."
Well, SkyVillage isn't the est training, but there's an accordance in the training's purpose and that of SkyVillage: the results of both show up "just in the process of life itself." That means that, sometimes, because they show up "just in the process of life", the beneficial results of your participation in SkyVillage can be subtle, and difficult to distinguish. You have to pay attention. It's not always obvious, unlike the gratification that results from eating. Understand?
Here's my point: the benefits of SkyVillage may be subtle, but they are very real. So, even though you might walk away from this thing at a certain point without thinking that anything useful is happening, it's likely that you will go out there in the world at a later time and recognize that something special is happening here, and you will want to come back.
You are always welcome to return, my friend, and I'll be very pleased that you did.
OK! That handles the basic introductory information. So, let's use the rest of this page so that you can navigate to your next SkyVillage pathway.
First, there are "Three Portals" through which every SkyVillage participant needs to pass if this coaching is going to work.
If you are a newcomer, then the next steps on this introductory path concern the Three Portals, which you can access by clicking here.
However, if you have already successfully passed through the Three Portals, then SkyVillage veterans looking to enhance their life-enhancing results can explore some new ideas on how to do so by clicking here.
You can go anywhere in SkyVillage from the Directory, which you can access by clicking here.
Otherwise, you can move forward to the Prime Path, and begin your SkyVillage coaching experience, by clicking here.
Whichever way you go, I will see you there!
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