TPM Introduction Transcription
Hi there. Okay, before I begin, on a personal note, I just wanted to let you know that even though TPM is considered a prayer ministry, I want everyone to know that wherever you are, if you're disappointed with God or mad at Him, or maybe you don't believe there is a God, or really don't know what you believe, but just would like to have an honest conversation with Him, if there is one, or sometimes give Him a piece of your mind, or maybe work through why you're angry, and if you're angry with Him, or have trust issues with Him, no matter where you are in life.
One thing I've learned in the last 19 years, I've never seen a situation where God doesn't want to talk to someone.
He loves all of His creation. You will always be welcomed and wanted.
Also, I want to let you know that I understand how hurtful religion is.
I've been down that path myself, and there's a lot out there that doesn't reflect the heart of God. He really does love all. He loves the whole world, and I just wanted to reiterate again that all are welcome and wanted, and I'm thankful that you are taking the time to listen to this, and I hope to see you soon.
Hi, my name is Bonnie Keathley, and I would like to give you a brief explanation of what TPM is. First of all, it stands for Transformation Prayer Ministry, and there's so much more wonderful information about TPM, and I have a link below that you can check that out if you want to.
There's one called TPM Explained. It's by Ed Smith, the founder of TPM Ministries, and then there are other ones which give information about the map that I'll be using during the session if you want to learn more. Okay, but for now, there are a few important concepts that I'd like to cover to help you understand TPM before your session. The first one is our brains learn and gather information in two different ways.
First, we do so intellectually. We observe and think and reason, and this is called intellectual knowledge. This knowledge can be updated and changed anytime we learn something new from teachers or books or classes, and we do this all the time.
For example, when we listen to a podcast and we change our mind about what we were previously thinking was true. The second way that we learn and gather information about ourselves or our world is from our experiences. We've all learned not to touch a hot stove or pet just any dog, and we've learned from our experiences such as being in a car wreck or an abusive situation or losing a loved one, and this type of learning is called experiential knowledge.
And just like everything we know intellectually is not always true, it's the same with our experiences. We can pick up beliefs about ourselves or our circumstances from our experiences that are not actually true. These are called lie-based beliefs because they are not how our creator sees it.
Some common lies that we pick up in life maybe about our identity can be, I am stupid, I am ugly, I am dirty, I am less than, I am not enough, I am worthless. Or we can pick up lies about our circumstances at that moment that we are helpless and this is hopeless and we are powerless or alone or we are going to die. But unlike intellectual knowledge, the information that comes from our experiences, it just can't be easily updated or changed by just changing our minds because it's more than just the information and facts.
It is in our memories. It is our life experiences and our story. And so the beliefs are attached to those memories so they stay in place. Now we can definitely as we grow older have new thoughts about those memories and tell ourselves what's true there. But what we believe at the time or came to believe at the time and how we felt in that memory at that moment, it stays the same. And we know this because if we go back to the memory, the painful emotions will still feel true.
This is because our feelings don't change until our beliefs change. What we feel will always match what we are believing. Which means we may know better now but in that memory we can't go back in time and the lie-based belief stays intact.
The problem with this is that our brain continues to still use the misinformation or the lie-based beliefs that we formed about ourselves or our circumstances from our experiences to help us navigate in our current circumstances. Even though we may have been very young when we formed a belief about ourselves or circumstances that we experienced and we might not even remember the memory consciously, our brains don't forget traumatic memories or the beliefs that we formed there.
And they use this information to protect and guide and inform us in our current circumstances.
We don't even realize we're doing this. It's just such a fast neurological process that happens. It's how God created us and in a perfect world that would have been great.
What we learn from our experiences is so very very valuable but if what we learn from our experiences is not based in the truth, it can be devastating. Constantly influencing our perspective and choices now in a way that is not based in freedom. And the sad thing about that is we get stuck feeling the same old painful things our entire lives because our emotions will always match whatever we are believing to be true.
The feelings don't change until our belief changes. And as you've experienced, these two methods of learning don't always agree with each other or come to the same conclusions in life. We can hold two opposing beliefs at the same time.
I can know that I know that I know the truth but it still doesn't feel true. For example, I can know and truly believe that God will provide all of my needs and I really really believe that. But if I lose my job, I can find myself just shaking in my shoes because it doesn't feel true.
And what feels true is usually more powerful in shaping our lives and our ability to be at peace than what we believe intellectually. Another example is I could feel safe. I can know that I know that I know that elevators are safe, but still if I try to get on one, just have a sense of panic come over me.
For example, I had a friend that he really wanted to go on an airplane on a trip, a business trip, but he was just, he said every time I try to board a plane, I just feel this extreme sense of panic. He remarked that he just felt crazy. I suggested doing a session and since experiential learning always has emotion tied to it, if we just feel the emotion, our brain will show us the experience where our belief was formed.
So that's what we did. So just feel that feeling when you first started to get on a plane. What were you feeling right there? Okay, so hang on to that feeling and just focus on it and let's see if there's an earlier time you had that same similar feeling. Well, it's just a natural neurological process that happens and it happens all the time. We're just not aware of it, kind of like blinking or your heart beating, but he did that and he immediately went back to a memory when he was a little kid playing kings and swords and battles with his brother and he got captured and his brother put him in the closet, turned out the lights and was shoving his little plastic sword under the door. He felt trapped and powerless.
The belief was he was going to die. So we asked Jesus what he wanted him to know and he just immediately calmed down, asked him how he was feeling. He said, good, I don't feel afraid anymore. I said, really, why is that? He said, well, Jesus is here in the closet with me and you know, he has the ability to calm the storms.
When I first started doing TPM, Jesus would tell people simple things that I knew those things and I would just kind of roll my eyes and say, I could have told him that, but what I realized is I don't have the power to say, peace be still, nor do I have the power to speak to, I can speak to a person in the present, but I can't speak to the two-year-old or the five-year-old that went through something, but because he's outside of time, he can speak to that five-year-old that's in the closet and that is in the current moment and that five-year-old now has a new experience or new experiential learning that has replaced the old beliefs that were there.
And when I say we asked Jesus, what I mean is he will give you a thought, a picture or understanding that you didn't have before, or sometimes he just gives peace. And the wonderful thing is, is what God does is permanent. So now he no longer has that feeling when he tries to board an airplane, the fear of the danger of confined spaces no longer feels true to him. So the experiential part of his brain doesn't bring it up anymore and now he's able to live what we call a maintenance-free life in that area because he no longer has to keep trying to convince himself of the truth.
It's what feels true.
TPM is about addressing our experiential knowledge and asking God his perspective so that we can not only believe what is true intellectually, but experientially as well. And when we know the truth experientially, we will have the corresponding emotions that match it, which will be love and joy and peace.
And spoiler alert, you are his creation and he loves and likes you and wants to carry all your griefs and sorrows. But we all have an accuser in this fallen world who lies to us and seeks opportunities to steal and kill and destroy. I've never seen Jesus not like someone and not want to talk to someone because Jesus really does love you and he really did pay for it all.
And as far as he sees it, there's nothing between you and him. TPM reminds me of the scripture that says, taste and see the goodness of God. Taste and see are both experiential. And that's what TPM is. It's not me trying to talk with you intellectually and change your mind about something. Chances are you don't even need your mind changed.
But back in the memories, that's where the change needs to happen. And that is where only Jesus can meet us because he is past, present, and future. And that is where we can taste and see his goodness in that moment.
One of my very first experiences with TPM, I was at a conference. That's where I had learned it. Didn't know I was going to learn that.
It was just a three-week conference for counselors. But it was like, oh my gosh, okay, this is a weird thing. But you know, I didn't know if I wanted to be the weird one who didn't do it or just do a weird thing.
And I decided, I'll just do this weird thing. And so I did my TPM session. And the next day, the group of us was just walking down a hill. And I slipped and fell. And I just rolled all the way to the bottom. And my shirt was like up over my head.
My hair was all over the place. And I was just a mess.
And normally I would have said, stupid, watch what you're doing. But I didn't. I just rolled over and belly laughed. I thought it was the funniest thing. And then I was like, okay, that's never happened before. And the Holy Spirit reminded me, remember your session yesterday, we dealt with shame. And I didn't have to try to, you know, lay there and apply the truth to myself saying, I'm a daughter of the Most High.
He loves me. I'm secure in my identity. I didn't have to do any of that. It was maintenance free. I just automatically, the pain wasn't there and I was able to laugh. So in this session, even though it's prayer, we're not going to just like, you know, sit around and you pray some and then I'll pray some. I'm going to ask you questions that'll help you identify what you were feeling or what you're feeling and where the first time you felt those feelings began.
Cause you always, we always want to go to the very root. It's kind of like, you know, if you're weeding your garden, you don't just pick the leaves off of the weed. You go right down and you want to grab it from the root so it doesn't come back. And don't try to figure this out before your appointment. It's not hard. It's so much easier. I know when I first started, I was thinking, I'm never going to remember this, but it truly is a natural neurological process that you are tuning into. So then once we know where that past memory or what memory we need to be in, I will just ask you a series of questions to help you identify the beliefs that you formed in that specific memory.
And you'll be surprised how they will match. Even to this very day, it just amazes me that someone can come in with this heart-wrenching stuff. And I think, how could there be something that this, a memory that this is in? And there always is.
You may be 30 years old now, but it's not the first time that you've ever felt sad or alone or shame. It always goes back to an early time. And maybe it's not a real extremely painful memory, because that's not what we're looking for.
We're looking for where the belief about ourself or our circumstances got formed.
Then we will ask Jesus what he wants you to know or understand in that memory. It's prayer because it's not your logical part of your brain trying to convince the experiential part of your brain of the truth for the thousandth time.
It's hearing from the creator and he gives you his insight that you didn't have before at that time or in that memory. And that changes everything because he really is the wonderful counselor. And I remember thinking, how is something way back then? What does that have to do with what I'm going through right now?
But surprisingly what we learn back then, if we pick up a belief or pick up a belief that's not based in the truth, it will magnify the pain of our current circumstance. My most favorite part about TPM is I don't ever have to feel like I could get stuck in life. Now when I have a painful negative emotion, I know that those negative emotions are just my lie detectors. They tell me when I'm believing something that is not based in the truth or as God sees it. And he just doesn't get stumped. There's nothing too hard for him. He is able to give us peace, his peace in all circumstances.
And now when I have negative emotions, I know they're kind of like my nerve endings. Like, you know, if I touch something hot, I don't like that pain, but I'm glad it happens because it lets me know that, oh, I have my hand on something hot and I need to move it. It's the same thing.
When we have those painful emotions, they alert me to the pain so that I can renew my mind in his truth and not keep carrying it around. I truly have learned that there's nothing too hard or too wonderful for him. There's time in sessions I think, oh my gosh, I don't know how you're going to get yourself out of this one, Jesus.
But he always does. Nothing's too hard for him. And if I'm willing or if we're willing to have an honest, open conversation with him and be real, he is able to give true peace that goes beyond our circumstances. And the reason I say if we're willing is because I tell people all the time, he is not like a mother. A mother will say, sit down. This is what we're going to do and you can thank me later.
He doesn't do that. He is so respectful of people's free will. Sometimes I just want him to tell them something and he will know if they are, you know, if there's something, if there's, if 99% of their brain wants to hear from him, but there is 1% that says, no, I need to stay right where I am because what I'm believing is keeping me safe or it's protecting me.
He won't ever just bully through over that part of us. He'll go right over to that part and he wants to bring grace and truth there. That's called a block.
And when we deal with that, why it's not okay for us to move forward or look at something, he just gives us peace there. And then we can move forward through this whole process, always from a level of peace first. Just a quick note, if you are wanting to deal with any form of addiction, you know, whether alcohol, p, I would say food would be mine.
Our brain is always wanting us to keep in balance and it can tell if we're fixing, if a negative emotion is fixing to come up, it just derails it and says, Hey, how about we go get something to eat? And I can have just eaten supper and I am not hungry at all, but I'll find myself standing in front of the refrigerator. So when that happens, I haven't actually felt anything negative yet. I just had the idea to eat something, but I tell people stop and just take account.
What was I feeling right before I had the thought to go get something to eat? And I will know, Oh, I was feeling overwhelmed. I was feeling alone. I was feeling stressed. It's the same thing with p or not, you know, not wanting to eat anorexia. There is some belief right there where that feels like the solution. The things that we think are the problem, maybe alcohol or whatever, my gosh, we have so many different things, cutting ourselves, whatever those things are, they are our solution.
They're not our problem. And the thing to do right there is to go, Okay, what was I feeling right before I had the idea to do that? And that's what you want to look at because that is the emotion that your brain is trying to avoid. But with Jesus, we can get peace to go back and look at it. We don't even have to just power through and look at it. I won't even want you to do that. He'll give us peace through every block.
Why our brain thinks that is not a good idea. And then when we have peace, we can look at it and he'll give us even more peace there. He really is the wonderful counselor and is so good at what he does. So just a few more points I want to make of miscellaneous things is one is we often think that others are the source of our pain. And the good news about that is God doesn't put our lives at the mercy of another person. Yes, we can suffer some truly awful things, but it is the beliefs that we are holding about those events that are causing the pain.
The event ends and is over, but the beliefs we pick up from those memories continue. Then people come along and circumstances happen and touch those painful beliefs. Minds have been carrying and we think that they cause them, that they are the problem. But the problem is that the belief was there in the first place, not them touching it. So another thing I wanted to just briefly mention is grief. When we go through something really hard that causes a lot of grief, there can be lie-based beliefs along with it.
But the grief itself that comes from loss, that is truth-based pain. That's not lie-based pain. And that is just something that he wants to carry for us. And so as the Bible says, there is a time to grieve. We just have to go through that grief. But when that grief, when we stop progressing through it or get stuck in it, then we know we have a lie-based belief attached to it.
And that is really common. We can get stuck in grief over things such as, if I stop grieving, that'll mean I don't love them, or that they weren't important, or that I might forget them, or it's a way to honor them. And those TPM is great for because the Lord wants to free us from that. Because grief really is meant to be just for a time. And as it says in 2 Thessalonians 3 16, now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.
Next, one of my favorite things is TPM is private. You know your memory. Jesus knows the memory. So I don't even have to know what it is. I'll be asking you mainly what you feel and what you came to believe from that. Just how does that make you feel and why do you feel that way? Those will be my two questions. Or helping you through blocks, which are just three questions.
Would you have any hesitancy to let that go? And I'll want you to feel for the hesitancy. Not power through and make yourself let it go, but feel for the hesitancy. And when you feel it, that's going to tell you why you need it.
Because what would happen if you did let that go? And we'll just look at what feels true, not what is true logically, but what feels true to you could happen if I let it go. I could get hurt again. I could end up alone or something like that.
And then the third question. So then the reason for whatever that block is, what's it doing? Well, it's protecting me. It's keeping me safe. It's righting a wrong. It's getting justice. And then we just ask Jesus. So I really love that about it, that it is extremely private.
And next, the sessions last about two hours. So just want you to be prepared for that because it is, I don't want to have people in a bad place. I want to get all the way through. So we take two hours. Also, it's free.
Donations are accepted, but it is a ministry and we want everyone to feel free to come. Because negative painful emotions play a big role in our health and our joy in life. So please don't let money stop you from coming and coming as much as you want.
And the great thing about TPM too is after you've come a while, you'll know what I'm going to say because I'm sticking to the map and walking through it. It's amazingly accurate in being able to get to the live-based beliefs that we're holding. And before long, you'll go, I can do this myself.
And you'll be able to. And I love that because it's a lifetime tool. I just follow a simple map and I'll go over the map later. And the questions don't change. It's more about learning to navigate where you are in a session and listening for potential blocks that stop us from moving forward.
Okay, so thank you so much for listening and I hope to see you soon and I wish you true peace and healing.