Jeff Saperstein

A coaching principle of mine is to partner with clients to help “open their eyes”.

To see opportunity where they might feel limited in their choices…
To choose life and success, freedoms open to everyone regardless of their status…
To get in touch with wisdom, that’s within them, and re-imagine pathways to success…
To help them focus, so they can raise their consciousness to higher levels…
To do all these things for themselves, and for the impact they will then have on others and the world…

One need not be religious to benefit from well-known Biblical stories. Parables that parallel the above mentioned “coaching truths” as ever-lasting wisdom passed down through the millennium. Here are four human archetypes that literally show how revelation—revealing that which is already there—leads us to open our eyes to higher consciousness and change.

Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom he loved and was promised that he would become the progenitor of a great nation. Abraham views this test of faith that required human sacrifice as a binary choice: either disobey the command and save his son or sacrifice his son to show his fealty to his Lord. As Abraham raises the knife to kill Isaac, he hears an angel say, “do not touch the boy”. At that moment he observes a ram in the thicket, whose presence was already there, but was not seen by Abraham, and he sacrifices the ram.

This is the moment that human sacrifice, a common ritual at the time, was replaced by animal sacrifice. Abraham saw a third way that replaced the binary choice. May we all seek alternatives to the binary choices in our lives.

Hagar, Abraham’s concubine, was banished to the desert. She saw her child, Ishmael’s fate, as “doomed” and she placed him away from her so she would not see him die. An angel appeared to her, and Hagar saw a stream that was not apparent when she sat and wept for Ishmael. Hagar had a lowly status as a slave and a stranger to the tribe. Yet, she saw through opening her eyes, the possibilities for life and the propagation of generations that would become the great Arab nations. All of us, regardless of societal standing, have the right and capacity to see how we can move on from despair and deprivation.

Joseph, who interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, provided the solution that saved Egypt from the devastation of famine. Joseph was not smarter than Pharaoh’s wise advisors, but he could imagine possibilities not apparent to the Egyptians. Joseph, who took on the role of advisor to Pharaoh, understood the Egyptian reality, but came from the land of Canaan where he had a different lived experience.

The Nile overflowed regularly each year, so Egyptians believed that there was a natural cycle that did not require human ingenuity and action. Joseph came from a shepherd people, who moved with the fluctuations of available water. So Joseph could use his discernment and re-imagine possibilities to succeed despite adversity. May we all be in touch with our capability to discern and re-imagine success for others and ourselves.

Moses, who was born from slaves, but was raised in the palace of Pharaoh, was a complex man. He had self-doubt, and was troubled by his privileged status as a Prince of Egypt, while he had empathy for the suffering of the Hebrew slaves. He discovered, that indeed, he was descended from those slaves and took time to be in the wilderness to contemplate his own inner journey. While in solitude, he saw a bush that was on fire, but was not consumed: a burning bush that spoke the voice of God.

Many people might pass a bush that appeared to be burning and not see the miracle of it not being consumed. Moses saw something miraculous, because he had the concentration and imagination to open his eyes to what could not be explained. Moses heard that it was his task to free the slaves, while the plan and likelihood for success seemed far from certain.

Through Moses’ confronting of Pharaoh, passing through the Red Sea, the receiving of the Ten Commandments, and leading his people to the Promised Land, he changed history through his belief of what was possible and his leadership to act. May we all take the leap of faith to dream big for the world and ourselves and then initiate the actions that bring the unimaginable into being.

May we be inspired to open our eyes, to help others to open theirs, so we can all co-create a higher consciousness or mindset. And may we possess a fearless pursuit of the many ways to make life better for everyone and the fortitude to take initiative and turn it into action.

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