Mastin Kipp: Claim Your Power

So, for me, this book is about–I see it as–I want to reach like 10 million people with this book. So, I’m thinking of this book as a legacy, not as a first-week thing, because this is going to be a great book for rehab centers, for prisons, for therapy groups, for so many different things.

So, for me, I wanted this to be something that is around for a long time because there’s a timelessness to it. There are things in this book that will always be true.

My hope is that it becomes something that goes much further and longer than the first-week release.

Victor Fuhrman: Mastin, you begin your book with an invocation, and with your permission, I’d like to show the invocation for our readers.

“A day will come when you will be stirred by unexpected events. A part of you will die, and you will begin to search for the elixir that will bring this part of you back to life. You will seek the elixir in friends, lovers, enemies, books, religions, foreign countries, heroes, songs, rituals, and jobs. But, no matter where you look, the treasure will evade you, all will seem lost, and you will lose all hope that this magic potion even exists.

This will be the darkest of nights, and the promise of certain death will lead you to the abyss of despair. But, staring into the abyss, you will see the dim light of your own illuminated soul. Your radiance will transform the abyss into the elusive elixir of life. And for the first time, you will realize that all the while, it was your own life that you’ve been searching for.”

Mastin, It’s just breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.

Mastin Kipp: That means a lot. Thank you so much.

Victor Fuhrman: In Claim Your Power, you’ve broken it down into a series of revelatory exercises over a period of 40 days. Why did you choose that format?

Mastin Kipp: Probably for three or four different reasons. I think that the first reason was that the book is for you if you’re really ready to do the work. If you’ve liked doing what I call spiritual entertainment, maybe just kind of pretending that you’re spiritual or pretending you’re on the growth path, this is not the book for you.

But, if you want to do real work, this is the book for you, and you want to get the results.

And the reason why I chose 40 days is that it’s really deep. This work will take you further in 40 days than you may have gone in a decade in your personal development and therapy practice. And that’s not hyperbole. This is the consistent feedback that we get.

And so, there’s time to integrate it, which is really important. Then the next reason is that there’s the whole idea that it takes 21 days to break a habit. I’ve not found that to be true. It takes a minimum of 30 days. So, I thought 40 days is a good period of time to actually create new habits.

I think the third reason is a spiritually sound or accepted, length of time. Jesus went on a 40-day journey, and many spiritual teachers have. So, I think there’s an archetypal idea behind 40 days, as well, too.

Victor Fuhrman: Now, the first 10 days you call separation. Please share with our readers the essence of that process.

Mastin Kipp: Sure. So, to create a new life, you have to separate it from your current life. And that’s the part that people have the hardest time with because that’s the part where they say, no, I have to keep it the same, because if I keep it the same, then I’ll stay the same, and if I stay the same, then I’m gonna, survive.

What we have to do is consciously get you to separate from your life as you know it. After that, the rest is awesome. So, we start with a really intense, heavy, beginning. But, it’s like that’s the real work and that’s the most important work in many ways.

Victor Fuhrman: Can you give us a little bit of what separation is like, just a little bit?

Mastin Kipp: Sure. There are four phases – separation, initiation, ordeal, and return. It’s based on Joseph Campbell’s Model of the Hero’s Journey. So, this is a journey that every hero, heroine, this is the way every story is told, and this is the way if you’re on a personal development journey, it’s the same structure because this is like innate in human nature.

If you’re hesitant, it’s gonna be a little bit like ripping off a Band-Aid, but it’s a Band-Aid that you’ve wondered about for a long time and now’s the time.

Victor Fuhrman: Now, after separation come 10 days of initiation. What are we initiating into?

Mastin Kipp: The initiation process here is really getting clear on, what is my purpose, I’ve kind of understood why I’ve stayed stuck, I understand the patterns that have kept me stuck. But, like, really, what’s my purpose? And I need to bring that to life.

And ultimately, when you set a goal, you set a goal because you want to hit an emotional target. You know you want to lose weight because you want to feel self-respect or energy. You set a goal for a romantic relationship because you want that love and passion. You set a goal to have more money because you want the financial freedom or certainly, the feeling of freedom or certainty.

The purpose is an emotion that you generate within yourself, and then you share with others in the form of service. And that sounds a little airy-fairy, but let me explain a little bit.

This is kind of the idea of like what Joseph Campbell says when he says to follow your bliss. It’s really a pathway and a framework and a model for it so that you can get really clear on it and not have to have it be confusing.

Victor Fuhrman: Now, your third sequence of 10 days comes under the ominous heading of the ordeal. Do we have to?

Mastin Kipp: You have to, yes, you have to. 40 years of research from Joseph Campbell would say you have to. Every story ever told would say you have to. Every wisdom, tradition would say you have to. It’s just a part of the cycle of life.

And the reason why is, once you get clear on what’s holding you back, once you get clear on your purpose and what you want to create, then you meet all the parts of yourself that have kept you stuck. You come into contact with the parts of yourself that would sabotage your purpose for financial security or for not having to take responsibility or for wanting to be safe.

You get to experientially meet yourself because it’s one thing to, know what your purpose is or to have a vision for it. It’s another thing to not just bring it to life but to overcome and really get to know and have compassion for all the parts of yourself that have held you back.

Victor Fuhrman: And then you finally bring your journey back from the abyss with the journey home. What can they expect?

Mastin Kipp: So the idea there is, now that you’ve had compassion for the parts of you that have held yourself back for a good reason, and you’re clear on your purpose, now it’s really about paying it forward. So, this is really about how to be in service in a way that produces abundance. That’s really the goal.

Victor Fuhrman: So, the other subtitle for Claim Your Power can be Claim Your Power and Feel Good.

Mastin Kipp: That’s right. If you think about anything, like why do you go to the doctor? To feel good. Why do you eat kale? Hopefully, to feel good. Why do you do yoga? To feel good. That’s pretty much all we want is to feel better, you know?

The book is really designed with the idea of, you do have a purpose, and here’s how to find it.