8 Degrees of Yes!: My Experiences with Truth, Transformation, and Healing

By Truth T. Akins, Ed. D.

This book is my story, perception, experiences, and manifestation based on my willingness to forgive and no longer define myself as a victim of circumstances. God gives that which is good when we seek to follow the good path. It is verified in the Psalm of David:



Mercy and truth have met together;

Righteousness and peace have kissed.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Yes, the Lord will give what is good;

And our land will yield its increase.

Righteousness will go before Him,

And shall make His footsteps our pathway. (Psalm 85:10-13)



We all have domination over our choice to live life at a higher frequency.

The fundamental elements of transformation are perception, experiences, and manifestation. Our view of life shapes our desire to live our life to the fullest. Perception shapes our degree of saying yes to life. Reflection allows us to recognize, forgive, and let go to shift our present view of life to a higher vibration. The higher vibration creates a higher degree of desire to live and let life unfold. Life events are lessons or blessings that shape our journey. Storytelling is adding the sequence and details to our experiences to understand. Sharing those stories with others builds collective hope to change unjust conditions or become a better person. Transformation is seen in the manifestation of our life structures. We see shifts in our financial, egoistic, livelihood, health, spiritual beliefs, world views, community, and relationships. We grow stronger in who we are and become beneficial to the community by giving the gift that our soul came to give. We say yes to life at a higher level and create more happiness and fulfillment in our lives. This is transformation and this is the 8 Degrees of Yes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781646707591

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The First Degree

The Second Degree

The Third Degree

The Fourth Degree

The Fifth Degree

The Sixth Degree

The Seventh Degree

The Eighth Degree

Conclusion

References

Chapter 1 Questionnaire

Chapter 2 Worksheet

Chapter 3 Worksheet

Chapter 4 Questionnaire

Reflective Worksheet: Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Worksheet

Chapter 7 Worksheet

Chapter 8 Questionnaire

8 Degrees of Yes Transformational Worksheet-Testimonial Maker

About the Author

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8 Degrees of Yes!

My Experiences with Truth, Transformation, Healing, and Ancestors

Truth T. Akins, Ed. D.

ISBN 978-1-64670-758-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64670-759-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2020 Truth T. Akins, Ed.D.

All rights reserved

First Edition

With Workbook Companion and Online Resources for Spiritual Study

All the pictures of flowers in this book were taken during my meditative walks from 2014 to 2016.

For Spiritual Teachers, Social Science Teachers, or Narrative Therapists with Workbook Companion and Online Resources for Spiritual Study Spiritual Study Tool For Students

What Does Research Say? In each chapter, I will share current literature on relevant subject topics. Thus, this book is supported by current empirical research about education, empowerment, leadership, spirituality, storytelling, meditation, happiness, and authentic leadership. This research is valuable and needs to be shared to raise the quality of life for all communities.

Online Resources and Videos with Workbook Companion for Spiritual Study Workbook—A Spiritual Teaching Tool

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

To all my family members, friends, teachers, and ancestors. Thank you for your assistance in guiding me along my journey. I know that God is present everywhere. I thank God for wisdom, peace, healing, and guidance. To the ever-present essence of my father, grandfather, and grandmothers, thank you. To my brother, Kavan Akins, the Genius, who named me Truth, I am so thankful that you saw the truth about me and held the space for me to transform. To Mom, Danny, and Pamela, you all are amazing and I love you!

To my children, Joshua Mozell, the Strong; Tayla Domini, the Creative; and Alex Akins, the Charismatic, I love you all and thank you for your unconditional love that holds me and makes me always reach higher. To my grandchildren, I am so grateful to be your grandmother. I love you. Always do your best to live your life to the fullest! My intention and goals are to live life to the fullest!

Foreword

This book is the beginning of my public spiritual journey and a guide to anyone called to a spiritual life. It is about transformation from a life filled with blame and victimhood to a life of faith, joy, and love. It is the foundation for the Center of Truth, Speak Your Truth: Healing the World through Personal Testimonials. In this book, I practice the ancient wisdom of storytelling by telling my story. This is a guide to freedom and living your soul's purpose. Storytelling and narrative therapy are ancient practices. Ancestors used to tell their stories and wisdom to assist the youth in finding their path and in finding courage. Narrative therapy seeks to replace negative experiences in the past with positive affirmations to heal old wounds from life's journey.

Our stories are needed to share knowledge and wisdom from our experiences.

Telling our story helps us let go of the past, forgive, and live for today. Through storytelling, I believe the entire world can be transformed. I created the center to assist in a mass transformation and assist in leading the world into a new era of peace. It is time to evolve, share our stories, and give the gifts of our soul. All proceeds from this book will go toward building the Center of Truth. Find out more at 8degreesofyes.com, Center of Truth Facebook page, and on my YouTube channel, Center of Truth, Speak Your Truth. Center of Truth is a nonprofit organization that seeks to assist individuals to live out their soul's purpose through spiritual practices, planting seeds of prayer, meditation, and intention setting.

Preface

There was a transitioning point in my life in which I looked out of my bedroom window and I stated, I want to live life to the fullest, whatever that means to my soul. I was tired of blaming everyone else for my problems and I surrendered. I had no idea that I would be sitting here writing this book about the fullness of life and transformation. I now have the key to eternal transformation after going on an interesting, spiritual journey and career change. I will share the secret to my full life in this book. It can be simply described as the universe responds to the degree of your desire to live your life. We desire to live life after we break free from false illusions of unworthiness, blame, and fear.

I have discovered that there are eight degrees of desire to live my life and illusions, or limited perceptions, can be broken free through sharing personal stories. In this book, I will explain the degrees of yes to life and how to identify which degree of desire is perceived through my actions at that time in my life.

Also, I will explain how to increase the desire to live a fuller life through gratitude. I will share my own personal life story of transformation as an example. I know that through our personal stories, we find common ground and gain insight into our own life (Ginwright, 2016). In sharing my personal story and listening to the stories of others, I have increased my desire to expand, break free from false illusions, and live my life to the fullest by faith, not by sight.

With faith, there comes an increased self-awareness, compassion, and elevated consciousness by relating to the stories of others. We gain insights toward transformation and an ability to eternally take a closer look at our own life. We were made to be in communion with each other, uplift each other, heal each other, and do the same with this planet. We are never truly separated from other people, the planet, or the entire universe (Goldsmith, 1991). We rely and depend on each other because we all share this common thing called life created by God. We realize together that we are made of an emotional body, a mental body, a physical body, and a unique soul that has a divine blueprint waiting, almost, bursting at the seams to express itself. God is everywhere and the Holy Spirit can express the divine perfect blueprint of our life, through us, if we are willing. A blueprint made from the same substance as the Creator. The same glory seen in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, who teaches how to live fully. The body is the temple in which the divine blueprint dwells. It can be seen in you in your lifetime. Second Corinthians 4:10–18 tells us this. We are here to glorify God. Be yourself, glorify God, and bless others by sharing it with them! When you are your true self, it sets us all free! The ultimate truth sets us all free!

It is seen in the classic movies, which remain classics because we are touched by the life of the main character, who learns about the experiences of their coworkers, employees, business partners, family members, and sees how important life is at the end of the movie. They learn that life is greater than their worries, fears, or selfish wants. Life itself is good, and that includes everyone. They gain compassion, self-forgiveness, and desire to live fully, give fully, and love fully. First John 4:7-21 tells us that God is love and tells us how to love each other and that perfect love casts out fear. Life stories tell us that the most important aspects of life are right in front of us. We can be blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4) by false illusion of lack, fear, worry, but we can also be shaken free from the illusion by loving like Jesus loves and accepting the truth that God is real and walked this earth to show us how to love. The story of Jesus is the first love story to embrace, and then we can easily embrace each other. Classic movies reveal this too. The main actors have a revelation in the spiritual realm, like the movie Scrooge or It's a Wonderful Life. For example, in the beginning of the classic move, Scrooge, there is a grumpy, miserable, greedy, old man that does not desire to give himself to others or to share himself with others and lives for material things. Basically, he refuses to love. He resists living and does not desire to live the life the Creator gave him. He lives in a false illusion of materialism. He operates successfully in the materialist world and thinks life is about hoarding things and saving pennies. He fears lack; therefore, he saves all his money for himself, no matter what cost.

The ones closest to him (his family and his employees) suffer the greatest from his greed. For him to be set free, a higher perspective would have to be realized. He must realize that his true nature and purpose in life is to be generous, prosperous, and to bless those around him. God blessed him with a gift to create financial prosperity with his inherent talents and intelligence.

But how does he come to this realization? How does he escape a false world of lack? What an unhappy world to live in! No wonder he was so grumpy, it would be hell on earth to have the ability to create prosperity but never share it with those closest to you. In the beginning, his desire to live is based on the laws of his limited perception. There is no joy in withholding, and it takes a lot of energy to suppress inherent gifts.

In the end, three spirits came to visit him. They showed him his own childhood story (self-love), and they showed the stories of the people closest to him (compassion). He felt love. Then, he broke free from the illusion! He became a joyful, generous, lover of people. Now, that is a life worth living!

In the illusion, he was suffering, and so did those close to him. After he breaks free though compassion, love, and storytelling, he desired to live higher and was no longer suffering. Also, the people around him no longer suffered. They also broke free. Finally, he lived his deep purpose to bless others. When he broke free and desired to live, it was still Christmas. It was not too late to live life to the fullest, because the universe supports such a desire a hundred percent. There is still time to live your life to the fullest. If you are reading this, then you have not missed it either. Go live your life!

In this book, I share my reflections on my experiences with storytelling, spiritual healing, and theory. I reflect on how personal stories build hope in communities, along with my personal story and a critical experience, during my career change from law enforcement to teacher, of learning how hope expands by sharing personal stories, praying, and meditating. Also, I reflect on how healing theories align with biblical principles and have practical use in our everyday lives by journaling, desiring, and setting intentions. The meaning of dying daily is in meditation, prayer, desire, and setting intentions every day.

One main theory that I reflect on comes from a researcher and activist, Professor Shawn Ginwright. Researcher Ginwright (2016) posits that persistent injustice in low wealth, urban communities of color, causes a sense of hopelessness that destroys aspirations and dreams of young people. However, through personal stories and finding common ground, a sense of collective hope can be created that breaks one free from the perception/suffering of powerlessness to the truth of collective power and critical action. This leads to viewing the unjust conditions as changeable, causing the community to work together in a collective hope through creating critical action to change the conditions into positive/thriving conditions.

I combine spiritual practices and teachings to support healing theories. If life gives persistent experiences that induce fear of lack, death, survival, and heartache, individuals begin to see that as the truth of life. They fall into the illusion that needs to be broken. They become hopeless of never having joy, love, or forgiveness. But the truth is that our souls need lessons that push us to express the soul in order to live out our destiny in this lifetime. If we lose our path, then we fall to fate.

By sharing the vulnerable experiences of our life, we can break free from the illusions that bind us. When we share personal stories together with the intent to learn from each other in a loving community—stories of survival, broken relationships, and trauma—then we see life anew. Our life structures begin to heal and reflect the new view of life. The communal sharing of personal trauma, broken relationships, and survival stories show how similar we all are, and it breaks each other free from false illusions of self-loathing or unworthiness. The sharing of personal stories breaks down our illusions of fear of self-expression, fear of imperfection, unworthiness, and insecurity which originated from someone else's view of our life. For instance, as a child, someone told us we were useless or stupid. We can leave these false beliefs behind through sharing our stories of struggle with each other. Then, we can start down a path of success in living our life to the fullest. Through the sharing process, we see how alike we are and give permission for others to break free from roadblocks of fear. We are inspired to break ourselves free to live our own life to the fullest. We become inspired to forgive, heal, take self-responsibility, and let go of the past stories of traumas, broken relationships, and fear of survival. We begin to see that we are perfect in the eyes of our Creator who created us. We are creative, lovable, honorable, and beautiful. We discover that the power of living our life is inside of us. It is our desire to live, to do whatever it takes to be free—free from fear of survival, grudges, heartaches, and pain.

We stop focusing on what was taken and begin to focus on what was given in John 3:16. Then when we break free and raise our desire to live, our blue print supports our every move, because that is what we came here to do—we came to give the gifts of our soul to the community. Thus, I simply combine Ginwright's (2016) theory to spiritual principles: that we all are here for a purpose and the purpose is to be willing to express our soul gifts to the fullest; there is only one power, one life, the life of God; in this we glorify God (1 John 4; Goldsmith, 1991).

It is best said by a beautiful soul that beneath the skin, beyond the differing features and into the true heart of being, fundamentally, we are more alike, my friend, than we are unalike (Maya Angelou). So, as a spiritual teacher has said, Let's change the world for the better, here and now (Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith) by living our own life to the fullest. By doing that, we are changing the world, one life at a time, one story at a time, starting with our very own life. Then, sharing our story of transformation with others to inspire their journey. We become contagious. We can uplift and inspire communities. It is possible to do the impossible. When we hear the stories of those who have transformed and learned that they are just like me, just like you, then inspiration spreads like a wildfire. So, here is my story, my lineage, and my dreams. I come to give my life so that you can live yours, and I pray that you will do the same. It can happen, if we just believe and desire it to happen, then the entire universe provides everything we need.

Reflection: Journaling and Recorded Dreams

The only way to reflect is to journal. I started journaling on February 2, 2014. I will share reflections from my journals so that my personal journey can be authentically felt for all those on the path of healing.

Acknowledgments

I found healing and truth. I pray for all to find peace beyond human understanding and happiness in every area of their lives. Life structures are the areas we balance to have peace. They are our relationships, ego, spiritual beliefs, social beliefs, community, health, financial status, and livelihood. Sometimes, even our dreams require contentment. I journal and reflect on my dreams too. Spirit speaks to us in ways that we can understand, even through dreams. I am thankful for all the teachings, dreams, insights, spiritual classes, sermons, lessons, songs, poems, mystics, friends, family members, prayer partners, guides, pictures, and sacred places that brought fourth knowledge, love, and healing on this journey.

There is no way that I would have made it through this journey alone. I love people and all the people that assisted in my awakening. I give all glory to God who is present everywhere. I am so thankful to wake up to what is real. I am extremely grateful for all the masters, teachers, and practitioners at Agape International Spiritual Center who have assisted in my transformational journey. I started attending there on January 19, 2014 and began recording my unfoldment in February 2014 through journaling. I am grateful for the teachings of Affirmative Prayer Treatment (APT) taught to me at Agape International Spiritual Center, founded on new thought and ancient wisdom. I am eternally grateful to the founder, Rev. Michael Beckwith and Dr. Ricki Byers-Beckwith for shining their light and paving the way for others. Thank you for your love, Agape International Choir.

From this journey and all the teachings, I learned to shift life structures according to truth principles and ancient wisdom. The affirmative speech