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April-June, 2006

A Journey onto Pages

by Rev. Susan Hanshaw

I did not consciously decide to write Unleashing Your Soul.  It chose me. I say that because as much as I had the burning desire to write a book, when I first committed myself to writing one, the words simply did not flow. I often sat at my computer all day just barely producing a page or two. It seemed that I was trying to force something that was not yet ready to happen.

Part of my problem was that I felt like I didn’t have a clue about what I was doing. I wanted to be a writer, so I just wrote. Shortly after I began to write, the universe helped me to stumble across some spiritual writing workshops that helped me to improve my craft as well as connect me with a good writing coach. After I was about 60% done with my initial manuscript, I sent it to the coach and waited eagerly for his evaluation. What came back two weeks later was a very polite, yet direct message that although there was some really good stuff in the manuscript, it needed to be totally repackaged to be of real service to the reader. It needed to be put into a self-help format. It took me a few days to bounce back from being told that what I had written was far from perfect, yet I then awoke with clarity and direction for my mission. My job was to hold the hand of the reader, to deliver my words so that the message is crystal clear and easy to follow.

Having quit my demanding marketing job two months prior and now with the luxury of time from which to write, I set aside mornings as my writing time. I pounded away at the computer all morning every morning last summer. For the most part I absolutely loved the process of writing, yet sometimes I had to force myself to sit there and crank out the pages.  I knew that the secret to completing a book was discipline, so I obeyed with one hundred percent dedication.

My evolving book quickly took on a life of its own. It became the expression for the journey I was in the midst of making. I was applying the spiritual principles I’d learned through course study and workshops to support me in my real-life journey. I had outlined what I planned to cover, yet once I got absorbed in each chapter I realized how my message was unfolding from my heart. I was moved to reach deep inside to find words to describe how I found my courage to follow a new path.  I wrote from what felt like wisdom that lived in the core of my being, and as I put these truths to writing, they became like friends whose hands I held when my own faith in what I was doing got shaky.

One day I was struck with an instinct that the purpose of my journey was to help others to proceed along a similar path towards following their heart. From here, a shift occurred.  I was no longer “just” writing a book.  I was doing what I came here to do.  It was then that the process turned sacred. The words and the examples that I needed to describe concepts began to flow with ease.  I was beginning to have a lot of fun with it.  Some of the examples that came to my mind made me chuckle.  Then other times what came up from my heart moved me to a poignant cry.  After all, I was absorbed in describing the love and abundance that surrounds us.  Looking so closely at the beauty of this would often overwhelm me.

There’s nothing like writing a how-to book to keep you focused on the how to.  There I was writing about principles that help to build the courage to create significant change.  I was certainly creating the talk, and now I had to walk it. I knew I had to stand tall and firm in my belief about what I was writing.  I knew I had to own it myself from the depths of my heart to be able to stand behind it. So, in many ways, the book kept me strong on my own path.

I finished the manuscript and shipped it off to the publisher, where it remained for two to three weeks getting an editorial review.  This freed me up to focus on other business, which also released me from being so personally connected to Unleashing Your Soul.  No longer having the book as my focus during a still critical point in my life transition, I fell into a period where I wasn’t as strong as I’d been.  Then, right when I needed it, my manuscript was returned to me with some suggestions for improvements.  I found myself reading the book again, with the messages that I needed to get right in front of my face.  The synchronicity of what was transpiring with the book was amazing.  I was being asked to review the pages that held the material that I was currently struggling with.  I clearly saw the miracle in this.

Unleashing Your Soul is now a published book making its debut in the world, its future still a mystery.  Regardless of how many copies it sells, I will be forever grateful for the motivation it gave me to truly open my heart. Writing gave me a license to let down my hair, to share some of my heartbreaks and pains, to express what has been real for me along my journey.  My hope is that others can see themselves in what I have shared, and from that recognize that they, too, can find the courage to follow their heart.  I now feel complete — like I’ve done my job.  At least for now.

© 2006, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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