Go Up Moses by Dennis Rodriguez

Did Moses have a Superman Effect moment?


Moses is revered as a great Hebrew prophet and deliverer of the Jews from Egyptian bondage. The most commonly known moment that literally had fireworks (in the form of a burning bush!) is not, in my opinion the moment that changed everything for Moses. The moment that I see as the beginning of Moses’ transformation is his decision, while an adopted grandson of Pharoah, to kill an Egyptian that was beating a Hebrew slave. Moses knew his true nature as a Hebrew and simply could not stand idly by and allow this injustice to go unpunished. I believe this is Moses’ acceptance of his destiny and there was no turning back.

Exodus 2: 11-15- New International Version

11 "One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, "Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?"

14 The man said, "Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid and thought, "What I did must have become known."

15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well."

Where was Moses’ first stop after the moment everything changed? Metropolis? Heaven? The Promised Land? Moses first stop was instead to flee in fear to the WILDERNESS.

He would spend most of the rest of his life in the Wilderness, dry desert land with unquenchable doubts, fears, insecurities and just a mustard seed of faith to bring him home.

Moses questioned his own abilities. To paraphrase:

“Me? Are you kidding? LORD, do you NOT hear my stuttering problem? How am I supposed to inspire anyone? You got the wrong guy. The right guy I AM not.”

“Trust me. I’ll give you the words. You can always get into a Joint Venture with your brother. My resources are all around you!”

And then, after the moment everything changed for Israel came and the sea was parted, more WILDERNESS. This time for 40 years.

The complaints came fast and furious:

“You got us out of Egypt to have us die here in the desert? We would have been better off staying where we were. Sure we were captives, prisoners with no control over our lives, but at least we knew what we had!” What do we do now Moses? What do we do NOW?”

“I don’t know!”

This scene played itself over and over again for the rest of Moses’ life. Did he give up? Did the Israelites make it to the Promised Land? Was the impossible made possible?

We revere figures like Moses as great leaders that overcame insurmountable external odds and mythologize their ability to fearlessly press on. Yet, a closer look gives us examples, time and time again of internal doubt, uncertainty, spiritual dryness, impatience, lack of faith and endless hikes up a mountain to find a solitary place to cry for help.

Like the Israelites, I have countless times complained to my Source. “You led me to this new life only to lose inspiration, to lack motivation to press on. It would have been better had I stayed in my old ways. Keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself, controlling how much love I give and receive. At least I knew what I had!”

Still, I hear an inner voice that keeps me going. “Trust me. I’ll give you the words. My resources are all around you!”

Oprah Describes Her Superman Effect Moment

The Magic IF

In the early 1900’s, playwright, actor, director and administrator at the Moscow Art Theatre, Constantin Stanislavski wrote the trilogy that would become the basis for actor training programs and for the development of techniques used by Dustin Hoffman, Robert Deniro, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and millions of “method” actors for the next 100 years. His three volumes were aptly titled An Actor Prepares, Building a Character and Creating a Role. Stanislavski’s goal was to develop a system that would consciously harness the powers that were thought to be uncontrollable- Mainly that of emotional states and inspiration.


Prepare, Build and Create. Was Stanislavski a precursor to the new thought manifesters of today?

The Magic IF

Stanisalvski would tell his fellow actors “Believe in the possibility of events.”

Stanislavski had a name for the process of imagining what an actor would do in a character’s position- The Magic IF.

The “magic If” transforms the character’s [soul’s] objectives into yours. You determine what someone in that expansive situation might feel, and you present that to your spectators. You embrace a supposition and in that embrace, you start to spontaneously feel the motivations of the character. You start to think the character’s [soul’s] thoughts and when the curtain comes down, you call this process inspired acting.

In Conversations with God it is said that the fastest way to manifest a new way of being is to reverse the process of thought, word, and action. Act as if you are already the person you wish to become. Act as if you are certain of your destination. Act as if you are enjoying the journey every step of the way. When you act “as if” you then start to speak as if you are the epitome of your wildest dreams. The mind then has to grapple with a new reality driven by your actions and new thoughts follow suit.

Is this the same as “fake it till you make it”?

Yes, but there is nothing fake about your imagination coming alive with the wonderment and awe of possibilities. What’s fake is the story that limits the imagination to the moments that have been instead of the moments that can be.

When I act as if I am a successful author and spiritual life coach, I prepare by taking classes to hone my skills, I create by diving into new technologies from audio podcasts and membership websites, to social networking and downloadable e-Books. I build my character by showing up every day and sitting with the struggle and the flow, the disappointments and the celebrations, the ambiguity and the clarity. When I act as if, I don’t wait till someone tells me that the first page I have written of my book is good enough for me to continue, I write 200 pages without second guessing. I tweet every day and start a new blog. I post on Itunes and share my passions. When I act as if, sooner or later I am not acting, I am being.

So stay tuned in. This story has an ending you have to believe to see.

Down for the Six Day Count!

I took me a total of six days to get back to writing. What a week. I don’t think I did too shabby. Considering how much pain I went through once I found out that I was not to be in the top 25 of The Next Top Spiritual Author competition. So why did it hurt so much? Well, I went for it full throttle. I did not shrink into an acceptable and safe size when dreaming of the possibilities. I saw the day that I would accept the award, looking out into the audience at my gleaming children, weeping wife, friends who had traveled hundreds of miles to applaud my efforts and surprisingly enough Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Marrianne Williamson and a host of spiritual old-timers prepared to pass on the mantle over to me. I saw my teachers and mentors: Christian Pankhurst, Karen Coffey, Lee Cook and Trevor Hart. I gave a speech that would have made Obama shout out- Damn, THAT was good! The interviews were endless, but so were the inspired words released from my mouth. I was moved to tears, I did not know whether to stand in glory or kneel in humility. I saw all my dreams coming true- The new house in Washington Park, the second home in Victoria, BC, the second car, the book signings, international rendezvous, and more interviews. It all came to me. All I needed to do was allow, receive, smile and sing. The grueling work of self-marketing, of believing before seeing, of overcoming misperceptions was over. It was time to reap what I had sowed. Then came the news. I was not asked to get up on stage. I was not even mentioned. I did not exist. I was standing nowhere.

I FEEL in this Moment!

In 12 hours I will finally know. How do I feel in this moment? Alive! I have not judged any feelings as good or bad. Today I have had knots in my stomach and a heart pounding with excitement. I have felt terrified about how I would feel the moment after and have jammed to tunes on my Ipod- Donna’s “I will Survive”, Frank’s “My Way” and MJ’s “Man in the Mirror”. I felt “on” with inspiration when coaching a friend of mine next to her two Labs.

So tomorrow, if my name is mentioned, I will be so happy I will feel like weeping. I will be so nervous I will feel like vomiting. This is living- The good, the bad and the ugly. I feel it all and it is all good. This is what I have desired more than anything- to feel alive before there was proof that I am. To believe before seeing, to enjoy longing for longing’s sake. For the first time in my life I feel…I feel…proud of myself.

Opening Night

Opening Night is just two days away. When I was an actor, I dreaded as well as looked forward to opening night. I dreaded it because rarely did we seem ready a few days before the curtains went up. There seemed to be no such thing as a smooth dress rehearsal and there was the fear that the show would be an unmitigated disaster. Yet, there was an appointed date and time for the start of the first show. We could not postpone opening night. Patrons had bought their tickets and eagerly expected us to show up. Having taken their assigned seats, it was time for us to fully feel on demand. We had to entertain, thrill and earn our applause. What were we to think when two days before the first line was delivered in front of an audience, the lights malfunctioned, the music was mis-cued, the dresses did not all fit, the rhythm and pace was all off and lines we still being adlibbed?

I looked forward to it because time and time again, a miracle would occur. Dionysus, the god of the theatre would shine down on us at just the right time and everything would fall into place. Just when it seemed like there was no hope for a stellar opening night, inspiration makes its grand entrance. The visitation brought instant exhilaration and joy to performers and observers alike.

So in just two days, the curtains will rise and 271 authors will sit in their seats to watch 25 get up and take the stage. The 271 have been rehearsing this moment for weeks. I am one of them. Today, I feel like I have had a horrid dress rehearsal. I am afraid of not being chosen to get up and take the stage. The actor’s nightmare is well-known. The actor get’s up to start a monologue in front of the audience only to go blank, forgetting what his next line is and realizes that he is naked. Can I stand naked after the 25 are announced? If I am one of the chosen few, will I fully step into the moment, and know what to say next to my fans, to the creators of the competition, to my family? If I am not one of them, can I show up naked and exposed with my true feelings revealed to those that care? Or will I start spinning as fast as I possibly can to save face, amidst feelings of failure?

I have never experienced a disastrous opening night and I am not about to start now. All I can do is wait and trust that the old Muse of Fire, Dionysus, of which Dennis is derived, will make his appearance perfectly on cue.

“O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!”
-Start of the Prologue to Henry V

The Peace of God

Is the tide turning away from fear or towards it? There is a wonderful line at the beginning of A Course in Miracles: “Nothing real can be threatened.” What this tells me is that the converse is also true. Anything that is threatened is not real. So when we look at our lives, my personal life for example- I see that I only have about one month left before my savings are depleted. There is not enough money coming in to pay the mortgage, the credit card debt or the babysitter. If I sit with this reality long enough then the fear becomes bone-chilling and incapacitating. And yet, I see this time as a great test of trust. CNN is telling me we are at the precipice of a double-dip recession. Scientist are warning that the level of methane gas in the Gulf is so high that if there was a seismic gas explosion, it would lead to a tsunami that could inundate the gulf states killing 40 million and sending this great country into an economic collapse. The fear I write about is affecting everyone even if it is not consciously felt. We are protecting ourselves every second of the day. We feel irritated by the slightest annoyance, we distract ourselves from feeling the death of marine life, we ignore the signs that tell us now is the time to ask, “how can I help” and we instead recoil, retreat and re-double our efforts at a busy life.

What if we took this time as an opportunity to ask a different set of questions? What if I opened up to the part of me that is afraid and uncertain? What if I acted in spite of my fear? What if I believed that I am not my body and that Mother Earth knows how to get back into balance? How can I help her? I am writing this for many reasons. They are the thoughts that I am having on the eve of Independence Day. When a group of ill-equipped men and women risked everything to act in spite of fear. I am also writing this to show you that if I win the competition, there was a time, not in the distant past where I, like you felt afraid. I just decided to ask different questions.

"Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God."- A Course in Miracles