Fly Out Of Your Cage – by Tyffany Howard, JD

Local Author Spotlight…

Courtesy of photographer Lara Zankoul www.larazankoul.com

Today, I was doing some spring cleaning and came across a short article entitled, How To Love Yourself, by Louise Hay in 1988. I have a tendency to collect inspirational or self-improvement material, but I don’t know how long I’ve had this article. When I found it, I was grateful that I had the forethought to save it and find it at just the right time.

Of the 10 suggestions for loving yourself, No. 7 seemed to resonate so strongly with my heart, that my soul had me stop what I was doing and sit still, letting the words really sink in. No.7 says: “Be loving to your negatives. Acknowledge that you created them to fulfill a need.” As I absorbed the words, I immediately heard my inner voice whisper, “your cage.” When I heard those words, “your cage,” I knew exactly what the voice was telling me. I recently published my first book and I realized that my negatives: self-sabotage, self-criticism, self-hatred, procrastination, self-judgment and self-punishment were standing guard at the door of an imaginary cage I had created for myself. These negatives, which I prefer to call my truths about what I believe, were created to support a belief. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks; I gave birth to these negatives in order to keep me small and to protect me. Every time, I feel like I’m on the cusp of something great or I’m coasting and it feels to good to be true, I summon my protectors. To my ego, this book was a bigger, better and abundant-producing experience, so my protectors mounted their horses, armed themselves and marched in front of the door of my cage. My mind had even created a not-so fun game called “let’s see how I can keep you in your place.”

At an early age, I learned that being big and living abundantly was dangerous. So little Tyffany’s ego had to create these dark friends (the negatives) to keep her safe. Little Tyffany’s belief that she would be criticized, ostracized, persecuted and disliked if she was visible was just enough to have her sprint to that cage herself. Little Tyffany became adult Tyffany and adult Tyffany didn’t want to become well-known and abundant because I might become greedy, live extravagantly, and lose my soul. Somehow, I equated living the life that I was intended to live with danger. So I created a cage and then these negatives (really fears) to protect me from becoming bigger, better and more abundant.

Now, as I look back over my life, I recognize each time my protectors interceded. Realizing what my ego had been doing, I had a releasing ceremony. I called all my negatives (fears) in one-by-one, speaking their names out loud, thanking each one for a job well done, told them that I no longer needed their protection and was freeing them and me, and then I released them by doing a couple of rounds of EFT tapping. Tapping on your body with your fingers and speaking the truth about how you feel can free you from the limitations that prevent you from living the life that you want to live. What negatives or truths have you created to fulfill a need? Do you want to be free of them? Learn EFT tapping so that you, too, can fly out of your cage.

Photo by Catherine Ferguson Photography

About the Author
Tyffany Howard is a criminal defense attorney and motivational speaker turned Reiki Master, women’s personal and spiritual coach, and a student of life. Born in Austin, Tyffany graduated from Reagan High School. After high school, she obtained a BA from USC in Los Angeles, MA from USD in San Diego and a JD from the Univ. of Houston. She’s the owner of Healing Pathways.

Tyffany was introduced to tapping at the Sedona Mago Retreat in Cottonwood, Arizona and later completed EFT Level 1 and 2 with Kay Christopher, certified as a practitioner by EFT founder Gary Craig. Tyffany lives in Austin with her wonderful companion, Chief Justice, a twelve-year-old brown-and-white Chihuahua.

Tyffany’s book “tap that!” is available for purchase at Balboa Press
http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000665258/tap-that.aspx