I had the blessing of working with Jim Quinn in my first LifeStream Basic in January 1993. Today LifeStream is called LifeResults, Basic is called CORE, and Jim is still helping people from the other side of the physical realm, leaving an incredible legacy of the teachings he shared with thousands.
LifeStream (LS) unlocked the door that led to all possibilities for me. Basic led to IPI 3 weeks later, IPI led me to MasterMind, my personal work began to allow me to change from being introverted towards sharing my gifts outwardly. Centering became a daily ritual and gift to myself and those around me, and those centerings began to allow new ideas, thoughts and visions to take shape and manifest.
I took many of Jim and Ross's suggestions and teachings very seriously. In LeaderShape, Ross often refers to "taking the next step". I am embraced it, and my life began to take on more adventures, growth opportunities and I stepped on to paths that I might never have considered before.
In 2002, four significant events occurred in my life that I attribute directly to my journey with LS and beyond. Early in the year, I donated one of my kidneys to a stranger. A couple of months later, I co-founded Sanctuary at Crowfield Farm, a not for profit that connects people with the land. In September, I went to Alaska for the trip of a lifetime. And later that month, Mary and I moved into our current home in Arcadia, the place that also became the home of Sanctuary.
LS also funneled me into the Mankind Project (MKP). After a few years of observing men in the LifeStream community who it seemed had a little something extra, I went to the Mankind Project weekend. There is a lot that is significant about that particular "next step" for me, but one in particular I wish to share here.
MKP exposed me to re-visiting the concept of elders in my life and what it might be like to grow into a valued elder myself some day. What I have discovered is that by discovering my life purpose in LS, and then subsequently discovering my mission in MKP, it has put me on this journey of eldering in a dynamic way. Originally, I simply used these tools within the MKP community. Several years back I made an important discovery, that people in all walks of life are hungry for elders in their lives. Elders bless, they acknowledge, they witness the journey of younger people. Blessings take on many forms, including a hug. Sometimes listening with a clear ear and a closed mouth is good eldering. Often simply paying attention is all that is needed for good eldering.
I have taken enough breaths on this earth to understand a few things more clearly than I did some decades back. It is apparent to me today that everything I did before was necessary to bring me to the place where I stand and act in this moment. It is clear that my sponsor Dan needed to take me to a LS Intro Night so that I could hear a man named Joe describing how LS "tweaked the dials of life", making his already good life a little better. I get it how the stepping stones of IPI, MasterMind, LeaderShape, Visioning, sweatlodge, The Art of Mentoring, Sanctuary, MKP and more led me to here, where I make the contributions that I do today, the time and place where I live my challenges and victories, unique to me, and nonetheless my gift to the world. My thanks and gratitude to the Universe are immense. What a journey!
Submitted by Steve Aman, LifeResults emeritus board member and dynamic leader (and elder) in our community