Freeing Pharaoh

In ‘ The Thorns of Knowledge ' and ‘ The Truth That Frees Us ,' I explored how stories like Adam and Eve or Christ's life reveal our inner struggles with worth and truth. What if the Christmas story is also a map for this journey—from fear to grace? Herod, Christ, the Star, and the Wise Men aren't just figures; they're archetypes of our soul's path, resonating no matter what we believe. Others have drawn similar connections between the Nativity and the inner life, seeing Herod as the ego, the Magi as inner seekers, and Christ as the birth of divine truth within us, and potentially drawing analogies between all the other players in that story and some aspect of our inner selves. In this post, I want to focus on the core players within that inner story. Rather than unpack every archetype, my aim is to trace the essential movement of the soul as it navigates fear, follows light, and ultimately makes room for truth. Herod: The E...

A Journey to Truth For the past five years, I've returned to two books that have shaped my understanding of relationships and conflict: The Anatomy of Peace and Bonds That Make Us Free   (I recommend the audio book) by the Arbinger Institute founder Terry C Warner, sensing profound truth in their pages but struggling to internalize their promised change. One idea, in particular, haunted me: the claim that “blame is always a lie.”  At first, I found the explanation—that blame ignores our own contributions—too simplistic for the pain of blaming a spouse, a boss, or myself.  But through prayer and reflection, I uncovered deeper truths about why blame is a lie, why it demands a sacrifice, and how we can truly release it. This post shares that journey, weaving insights from Arbinger with Christian and Buddhist wisdom to reveal a path to freedom. Blame Always Requires a Sacrifice Blame is something we all do. When a coworker overlooks us for a project, ...

Several years ago, while reading Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces (or perhaps another of his works), I encountered a remark that stopped me in my tracks. Campbell suggested that timeless, cultural stories endure because they resonate with the experiences we live in our own lives. At first, I was skeptical. How could ancient accounts, like the LDS interpretation of Adam and Eve, mirror my modern, tech-driven existence? But then it hit me: I've lived that story myself. And chances are, you have too. The Fall: From Innocence to Awareness In the story of Adam and Eve, the couple begins in Eden, a place of innocence and harmony. They eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and everything changes. They gain awareness, but at a cost: they're cast out into a world of toil, pain, and thorns (see Moses 4:23–25 in LDS scripture). For years, I thought this was merely a religious allegory. But upon questioning Joseph Campbell...