Chapter 16
Polishing Stage
LAYER 5: IONOSPHERE
Level 5—the Ionosphere—begins where the Mesosphere ends. It forms the lower section of the Thermosphere, which will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapter (level 6).
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| Northern Lights in Iceland |
This level is called the "Ionosphere" because of the process of
ionization that occurs therein. An "ION" is "an atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons." (1)
To "ionize" means to "convert (an atom, molecule, or substance) into an ion or ions, typically by removing one or more electrons." (2) Ionization of nitrogen and oxygen occurs when they come into contact with photons from the sun, thus enabling the creation and transfer of electricity and the facilitation or passage of radio waves.
The Ionosphere rises to a height of about 250 miles (400 kilometers), making it about 200 miles (320 kilometers) thick. Weather is virtually nonexistent in the Ionosphere. In the place of weather, new phenomena occur, such as the appearance of the colorful and picturesque aurora borealis (northern lights) and aurora australis (southern lights), which become increasingly visible as you approach Earth's northern and southern poles.
LEVEL 5: Polishing Stage
After all the heartache and struggle of the Refining Stage, the Polishing Stage represents another metaphysical "Arrival" of sorts. This destination is most welcomed and may be marked by explicit and tangible successes that start off gradually and then accelerate in quality and quantity over time.
While your initial entrance into the Polishing Stage might signal a "break" or a "rest" compared to the fiery heat, pressure, and stress of the Refining Stage, it is not meant to serve as a mere plateau in your progression. It is not, therefore, a cue to embrace rest exclusively; nor should it be used as an excuse for idleness. Rather, it provides YOU with with golden opportunities to exercise your growing agency, capacity, and potential that have been so beautifully developed and refined in previous stages.
As Elbert Hubbard once put it: The reward which life holds out for work is not idleness nor rest, nor immunity from work, but increased capacity, GREATER DIFFICULTIES, MORE WORK. (3)
"The reward which life holds out for work is not idleness nor rest, nor immunity from work,
but increased capacity, GREATER DIFFICULTIES, MORE WORK."
—Elbert Hubbard
The Polishing Stage corresponds to the Ionosphere, where the dazzling aurora borealis and aurora australis (Northern and Southern Lights) occur. For those who make it past the agonies of the Refining Stage, the metaphysical views in the Polishing Stage are similarly refreshing, rewarding, and spectacular—and sorely welcome. (4)
By the time you arrive at the Polishing Stage, you begin to discover by degrees the extent to which your
seemingly endless efforts and sacrifices were, in fact, worth it all along. The deeper you progress and the higher you rise into the Polishing Stage and beyond, the more you realize it was worth it
many times over.
While I sincerely shudder to even think about doing it all over again—thank God I don't have to!—I can also say without reservation that I have no regrets about successfully enduring my own Refining Stage and that it has been entirely worth it... and then some.
The Refining Stage changes you in important and fundamental ways. As a result, life looks very different from the "far side" of the Refining Stage than it did from the "near side." In the acutely astute assessment of Oliver Wendell Holmes: I wouldn't give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity; [but] I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity."
"I wouldn't give a fig for the simplicity on the near side of complexity.
But I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity."
—Oliver Wendell Holmes
It has been my ongoing observation that in some respects, life doesn't even fully begin until after you've successfully passed through the Refining Stage. Thus, the precious and even priceless vantage point accessible only on the "far side" of adversity and complexity is worth everything it costs to achieve it. It also highlights how unfortunate it is when someone decides to give up before one's refining is complete.
By the time you arrive at the Polishing Stage, your character and integrity will have developed great strength through commitment and resilience over time. Having significantly matured as a self-action leader, you can now take joy in doing more of what you truly want to do most in an environment where your chosen actions will increasingly serve and benefit others while simultaneously bringing glory and honor to yourself.
This does not mean, however, that your journey is over; nor does it signal an end to your growth and progression as a self-action leader. Far from it, in fact! Moving forward, however, you will be "polishing" your skills as opposed to "refining" them.
There is a big difference!
For example, buffing or polishing a sword is a much less invasive process than forging it in the first place. Once your character has been forged in the Refining Stage, you will be given opportunities to make it shine in the Polishing Stage whereby you can take your knowledge, skills, and talents to the next level through continual practice and fine-tuning.
You will still face difficulties, irritations, and obstacles in the Polishing Stage; but they are typically less intense, shorter lived, and more easily transcended than they are in the previous stages, including the Refining Stage.
Another blessing and boon of the Polishing Stage is the measure of financial security (not to be confused with financial independence) that typically accompanies your entrance into Level 5. Thus, you no longer have to rely on others for your basic survival as well as for moderate creature comforts and freedom.
This financial security blanket will include an emergency fund to cover all your expenses for 6-12 months. You will also have begun in earnest to build a financial "nest egg" for retirement. Lastly, you will have obtained the necessary education and skills to be able to successfully absorb and rebound from a job layoff or other temporary financial setback.
At this point in your existential development, you've purged toxic relationships from your life and you're secure enough to laugh off and rise above any lingering existential crabs that may still try to nip at your heels. A fresh and confident sense of being "at home" in your own skin engenders a deep sense of personal satisfaction, fulfillment, and happiness.
While the "explicit," "obvious," and "noisy" variety of crabs will have mostly disappeared from your life at this point in time, there may remain a number of "phantom" crabs that will continue to challenge your confidence and security in this stage. "Phantom crabs" refer to those who at one time may have been champions and cheerleaders of YOU and your cause; but have now fallen silent as they observe (perhaps jealously) how much you have achieved and how far you have progressed from lower levels where they once knew you so well.
The danger of these kind of crabs is not so much what they say to you, but more a matter of what they don't say to you. The lack of explicit feedback may cause your brain to play tricks on you by formulating fears about what these phantom crabs might be thinking about you. While there's likely little or no proof that they are thinking about you at all; your imagination can produce a variety of mental and emotional demons by conjuring up phantom crab-like pressures that may or may not in actuality exist. There is no question that much of our suffering as self-action leaders is self-imposed and based in fear rather than reality.
As Mark Twain once said: "I have suffered a great many calamities in my life; most of them never happened." And as President Franklin Roosevelt famously suggested in the depths of the Great Depression when FEAR abounded throughout the United States and World: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
1882-1845 |
"I have suffered a great many calamities in my life.Most of them never happened."
—Mark Twain
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
—Franklin Roosevelt
YOU will need to diligently PRACTICE working through and ultimately transcending the negativity of these self-constructed "phantom crabs." In my own experience, these kind of crabs can be even more difficult to transcend than the more obvious, noisy, and immature ones you faced on lower levels. But like any challenge or struggle, if you face up to it and focus on overcoming it, you will make steady progress toward healthier planes and freer pinnacles over time.
As you work to increase your knowledge and polish your skills, your life's purpose gains clarity and increasingly comes into a sharpened focus. You better comprehend who you really are, why you are here in this world, where you are headed in your life, and what contributions you are best suited to make for the benefit of others.
You are preparing yourself to enter the next level—the SAL Actualization Stage.
A fascinating component and phenomenon of the Polishing Stage is the accelerating and intensifying presence and influence of Serendipity. This metaphysical power remedies a host of loose ends that may remain marginally frayed from your time in the Refining Stage. Serendipity, the passage of time, and the words and actions of others all contribute to this natural process that both heals old wounds and tightens up loose ends.
In reality, Serendipity is usually the most present in the Refining Stage even though it may, ironically, seem to be the most absent. You might say that this "irony" becomes "ionized" or "ironed out" in the Polishing Stage, thus allowing you to see, hear, and feel the fuller weight of Serendipity.
As this serendipitous rehabilitation process progresses, you may find that you feel and act "younger" and have more energy and passion for life, despite the fact that you are, in actuality, older than you were when you passed through the Refining Stage. Such a reinvigoration of your physical energy and vitality may feel and seem miraculous—a truly Serendipitous gift—which is why many self-action leaders will humbly acknowledge the countless graces that accompanied their treacherous journey through the Refining Stage onward to the much more peaceful palace of the Polishing Stage.
In Your Journal
- Is there an area (or areas) of your life you believe has already been successfully refined? If so, what step (steps) might you take to begin polishing that area?
- In what specific ways do you think Serendipity plays a role in the Polishing Stage and process?
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
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Chapter 16 Notes
1. New Oxford American Dictionary. Electronic Version (Mac OS).
2. Ibid.
3. Hubbard, E. in Hubbard, A., Editor. (1946). An American Bible. New York,
NY: Wm. H. Wise and Co., Inc. Page 8.
4. A clever phrase coined by a fellow named Val Killian, of Pleasant Grove,
UT. Val was a member and leader of our local church congregation in St. John’s,
Newfoundland, Canada.
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