It has been raining cats and dogs, y’all. We’re under a flash flood warning, and I swear to god, we were awakened by the loudest thunderclap I’ve EVER heard. Afterwards, I just patiently waited for a tree to come crashing through the roof to crush us as we were cozy in our bed. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

I want you guys to know that we won’t be having the radio show tomorrow because Kim will be traveling to Houston for the event. So exciting!!! Filmmaker Max Carlson is going to be flying in tomorrow to interview me for his documentary, and then he’s going to film the event and the life of my family and me in general. I’ll let you know when that film comes out. 

Thanks for patiently waiting for the last Ask Erik column to come out. It’s also going to be published in the Sedona Journal of Emergence, but click HERE to read it on the Sivana blog. In fact, explore the entire blog because it’s wonderful. 

I want to thank everyone for their condolences and well-wishes for the passing of my cat, Bluebell. Now enjoy the first part of our series about success!

Me: Hi, Robert.

Robert: Long time, no see.

Me: Yeah, like 5 seconds. We’re going to have the second part of our session, and Erik, you’re still doing okay, obviously.

Really? I just asked that? Jeez.

Me: You still know I love you.

Erik: I missed you, Mom.

Me: Oh yeah. Sure.

Robert laughs.

Me: Here’s a good one that Erik wanted to bring up. What is the true definition of success? To a lot of people it’s a big yacht, a fancy car, a big house…

Erik: You know, Mom? It’s so fucking simple. It’s the fact that you came here and lived a life.

Me: Well, this is going to be a very short video!

Erik: I know, but it’s so fucking simple! Human beings make success so complicated. I’ll tell you how, as a human being, you can tap into the success that your soul knows you are achieving. Do things that make you happy. Do the things that allow you to feel joy. True success is that. It’s about finding a place of emotional balance, peace, serenity, comfort, joy, happiness and all those things.

Me: Isn’t there some success to be had for going through pain and suffering, at least if you find the value in it and incorporate those into your life.

Erik: Sure, Mom because from a soul perspective, they understand that it’s creating a deeper connection to other people, right? Greater empathy and compassion. Many times human beings don’t see that because they’re wounded and they don’t necessarily have anyone to help support and love them through it. The soul’s idea of success is what you’re already doing, which is to experience the contrast of things. You can’t have light without dark. You have to have the two together. They complement each other. So success is really simple. It really is. Humans have a hard time being simple, though.

Me: And it’s harder when we make it complicated. They use the mind and ask a lot of questions, and those questions have lots of answers and those answers create even more questions. It becomes the long, infinite loop that never ends until you decide you’ve had enough and you’ve gathered enough information for your human mind to then allow your mind to take that wisdom and those experiences and connect it to what your heart knows to be true. When those two things come together, that’s fucking powerful.

Me: Yeah.

Erik: Now, you know how to act on your passions without allowing them to take you over. You can’t be passionate without a little bit of wisdom and do that in a balanced way. This can create a lot of conflict. When people get angry about something, they’re very passionate about it, but then that anger takes them over and they go off.

Me: So what can you tell people so that they can redefine success for themselves and achieve that kind of success for himself?

Erik: Well, number one, you have to stop comparing yourself to everyone else.

Me: Oh god, yeah.

Erik: Your journey is your journey. Ultimately, when you tease out all the experiences of your life, it goes back to an emotional place, and those emotions that you’re experiencing are the same as everyone else’s. We’re all the same, so stop comparing yourself. It just makes you unhappy. Another things: You have to know when to focus on yourself and when not to. So many people focus so much on themselves that they—

Me: Narcissists!

Erik: Well, a lot of times it is, but sometimes they focus on themselves because they’re injured, and they’re trying to figure out, “Where is this injury coming from.” Sometimes you have to kind of step back from that and start focusing on other people or other things. That will help you put your life in perspective.

Me: Yeah. Okay.

Erik: Those are the main two things I’d say.

Me: Okay. What can we tell people who see success as having material possessions, a really powerful career and things like that.

Erik: Well, Mom, some people will call that egocentric, and of course it can be used that way, but for some people, it’s really about projecting to the world how that person feels about themselves, like they feel like they have enough. For some people, that’s literally how they feel. They get these material things because they’re trying to say, “I have abundance.” Other people might not do it that way. They do it because they’re trying to impress others because they don’t feel good about themselves. They want to feel powerful, and that’s not always sustainable, not necessarily from a financial standpoint because that might not be a problem, but from a place of mental and spiritual health. Eventually that will all crash down. I’ve had experiences with souls who have lived those types of lives. Popi, for instance.

Me: Yeah, my father. He had wealth.

Erik: You can have everything you want and still be as miserable as shit.

Me: Yeah.

Erik: It comes from a feeling of inadequacy.

Me: I remember—this is a side story and I hate to interrupt, but I’ll forget because my mind is really old—when we were younger, he asked the accountant if he could take all of this belongings and money with him in his coffin instead of bequeathing it to his children. He didn’t want anyone to have it. The accountant said, “No, that’s illegal.” What kind of person does that?

Erik: That’s somebody who—

Robert: What? I’m sorry. Popi, José came in.

Me: Sorry, Dad. I outted you!

Robert: I heard him come in, and Erik started talking to him and he said, “Are you talking about me?”

Me (laughing): Yes, we are.

Robert: And he kind of did this things like—

Robert moves in close to the camera like a nosy eavesdropper.

Robert laughs.

Robert: Sorry, José! He always shows himself as young.

Erik: That’s ultimately about vanity. “I own this. It’s mine. It stays with me.”

Dad: I agree. That’s why I always show myself as young.

Me: Well, you’re an angelic being now. You don’t have the terrible personality that you had before. You’re a being of light. You’re a wonderful soul now.

Dad: I know, but I’m still me so don’t cross me.

I chuckle.

Dad: I’m not talking to you. I’m just saying how my personality is.

Me: Oh, okay.

Robert: I know that to be true!

Me: Yeah, you do. You’ve been on the other side of his wrath! That was when my dad was alive. Bella, stop growling.

Robert (laughing): She knows he’s here. Sorry, José!

If you have time, check out some of Erik’s other lives. Doing so will help you know and understand him that much better.