Tina Lifford - The Little Book of Big Lies: A Journey into Inner Fitness

Some names have been changed in this book to protect peoples privacy.

THE LITTLE BOOK OF BIG LIES . Copyright 2019 by Mary Tina Lifford. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Originally published as The Little Book of Big Lies in the USA in 2013 by WUF Publishing.

FIRST US EDITION

Cover design: Amanda Kain

Cover photograph: Leta Taylor

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2019 ISBN: 978-0-06-293030-9

Version 10162019

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-293028-6

One morning I woke up to the devastating news that my brother was using heroin. This drug turns users into the walking dead. When I think of the choice my brother made for his life, I think about the lies he ingested that led him to this unhealthy choice. Devastating choices are preceded by the devastating lie that somehow we are not good enough. We swallow this lie whole.

The lie, once ingested, becomes part of us. We speak the lie, we think the lie, and we tell ourselves the lie whether were conscious of it or not.

This book is for Steve, who now rests in peace.

Contents

P EOPLE ALL OVER OUR PLANET ARE WAKING UP TO THE truth that there is a great destiny loaded and coded within us all. People are becoming aware that their destiny is not in the hands of seeming external forces, their DNA, their environment, or decisions made by younger versions of themselves. More and more individuals are becoming aware that our life experiences are determined by our beliefs and our perceptions that then form themselves as our life experiences. Holding The Little Book of Big Lies in your hands right now indicates that you are indeed ready to take total responsibility for your own happiness, health, success, and prosperity. In fact, you are indeed ready to consciously participate in your own unfolding while relinquishing excuses and incessant complaining about how life has done you wrong.

I have known Tina Lifford for many years. I have watched her put into practice the Universal truths found in her book and observed how her life continues to bear witness to the ever-increasing success and wellbeing in which she genuinely glows. So, The Little Book of Big Lies is not just a theoretical treatise that was forced into expression through the intellect. Tina has lived what she is teaching, which makes this book ever more powerful. As you read it you will uncover lies about yourself and about life that you may have unconsciously been living. Remember, a lie believed acts as a law until its neutralized. Tina will assist you in neutralizing those lies so you can be free to live the life that you are meant to live.

I dare say that everyone has a meant-to-be within them. Everyone is filled to overflowing with infinite potential and limitless good. What separates us is our habits, including our mental habits. This book will assist you in changing your mental habits and the lies that helped bring them into being. This seemingly little book is big in what it delivers. It delivers real transformation for those who are willing to not only read it but also practice the inner fitness principles that are clearly laid out for us. It is the Truth that will make us free, and Tina leads us right to it. Now, its up to you.

Peace and Blessings,

Michael B. Beckwith

Founder, Agape International Spiritual Center

Author, Spiritual Liberation & Life Visioning

Heartfelt sharing helps to unravel lies and heal and transform our lives.

I AM AN ACTRESS BY PROFESSION. BUT FOR THE PAST THIRTY years, alongside my acting career, my passion for personal developmentmy own and the field in generalhas led me to study how to navigate the mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges human beings face.

My earliest memory of being interested in learning how to live life well dates back to the second grade. I used to walk to school along the edge of the sidewalk so that my friendGodcould walk next to me. I sat at my desk scrunched to one side for the same reason. I loved talking to my friend. I loved talking to people and asking (what I later learned were) uncommon and often uncomfortable questions. Adults often called me an old soul.

I have experienced profoundly touching and healing moments while sitting with myself, with clients, with peers in workshops, and in a masters program in spiritual psychology. I find it both an honor and a gift to listen to people share their hurts, dramas, traumas, upsets, disappointments, and fears. Hurts, dramas, traumas, upsets, disappointments, and fears is my phrase for the lies that crash into our lives and make us feel small or fearful. From this perspective any experience or event that leaves us feeling worthless, not good enough, afraid of discovering or being ourselves, or disconnected from our innate value is a liea false impression. False impressions are not the truth.

But today, science is discovering ways we can rewire our brains regarding hurts, dramas, traumas, upsets, disappointments, and fears. The reality that we can change the things we have struggled with most of our lives is exciting and important.

The Little Book of Big Lies is a compilation of stories about the inner challenge of being a human being and steps you can take to discover and own your innate powerand start rewiring your response to old challenges and triggers. These stories work together to offer a look at subtle ways you can become disconnected from your sense of innate worth and wind up feeling not good enough. They aim to help you to recognize lies that have made their way into your life and that try to make you feel small or broken. They will give you effective tools for saying No! to these lies and Yes! to more Self-awareness, Self-acceptance, and Self-care. Self-care means acknowledging and honoring your innate worth and tending to the needs of your inner Self.

Each story presents an undeniable, irrefutable truth that can help you reconnect with your Self and take your power back from the challenges you encounter in life. You will learn ways to take new steps to heal old wounds and aim for new possibilities. Each story builds upon the others and is designed to lead you to an awakening of your deeper, innately whole Self.

I have learned that no problem is unique. We are all in this together. Our personal challenges are societys challenges. The details may vary from person to person, but the basic human experience is the sameabuse, feeling unwanted, betrayal, illness, addiction, bad choices, crushing disappointment, unresolved hurt of all kinds.

The good news is that our greatest challenge or pain is also the experience of tens of thousands of others. When we see our personal experiences as reflecting a more common social experience, shame and secrecy become unnecessary and unhelpful.

The realization that we are not alone in our struggles is comforting for most people. The even better news is that countless others have found their way out of the challenges they faced and into more freedom than they ever thought possible. This is the possibility for each of us. The stories in this book celebrate this possibility.

Lets stop turning sadness into shame; lets stop taking the human condition personally. Research tells us that one in four people has experienced some form of parental abuse, one in five Americans was sexually molested as a child, and one in eight grew up with alcoholic relatives. We all have had experiences that dimmed our light, and at times irrational fear has lived in all of us. The best we can do for our Self and society is to learn more about who we are and talk openly (and constructively) about our experiences. When I am not in front of the camera, this is what I do. Through my play