Robert Ohotto’s book, Transforming Fate into Destiny 
arrived on my doorstep
at just the right time in winter of 2007. Ironically, I was in the middle of one my Dark Nights of the Soul. I left a position as Director of Internal Audit after I found the Management team I worked with backdating and spring loading stock option grants. It made the news and attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission. I had to go to the SEC offices in DC to testify against the Managers and the Board. The management team was in no way happy with my findings or recommendations and made it extremely uncomfortable for me to stay. I guess the prospect of going to jail put them in a bad mood. I gave my two weeks notice without having another job lined up. Not easy for a single girl with a mortgage to pay. Standing alone against corporate bullies, I learned I would rather go broke than work with people who were willing to commit fraud, lie about it and blame me because they got caught.
Whistle Blowers are about the most unpopular people on earth in corporate America. The senior management team you work for doesn't like you because you found their dirty laundry. A new management team doesn’t like you, because they’re afraid that you’ll find theirs. Courage and bravery for doing the right thing are infrequently rewarded in the business world. I'm hoping I get my extra credit bonus by the real management team on the Other Side some day. I don't think I'll know the answer for a while.
Transforming Fate into Destiny
Robert’s book was definitely helpful to me during that difficult time. In Chapter One, Robert talks about the Soul’s two agreements—your Cosmic contract. He discusses the difference between Fate and Destiny.
He says that, “Through your soul’s agreement with Destiny, you must transform your Fate into something more life affirming, thus leaving this world a better place. Destiny is your capacity to live out the threads of your Fate in a unique way that only you can do, while having a positive vibrational impact on the world’s energy.”
I found this piece of advice takes a little time assimilate. When you're in the dark, it's hard to see the forest from the trees. It's especially hard to get the positive vibrational energy flowing...but it does come back...eventually. Daily walks on the beach help.
Chapter Two discusses Acceptance and Authentic Choice where we need to ask ourselves if we can accept where we are now and take a look at what we really value in life. Robert says, “…every choice asks us to confront what we truly value. What we choose will always point toward what we hold dear in our hearts, no matter what we say our philosophies are. Values define how we live and what we choose.”
I found my values embedded in my Spirit as I walked alone in the dark. Compromise wasn't a choice for me. Do The Right Thing was the only option regardless of how painful the outcome.
I do love when Robert says, “That said, how do we form our values? Are they even truly our own, or are they handed down by our culture or parents and then unconsciously adopted? If we make choices based on what others hold dear, things that don’t resonate with our soul’s integrity, just how free are we?”
Something to seriously think about if you’re not happy with the choices you’ve made or have been thrust upon you.
What is the Dark Night of the Soul (Ego)?
In Chapter Twelve, Robert talks about the Dark Night of the Ego or as some call it, the Dark Night of the Soul. I think of the Dark Nights of the Soul as those gut wrenching, crying and screaming at the Gods at 3 AM moments of life—when you have no idea Why Bad Things Happen to Good People 
and you have no idea what to do next to make things better.
and you have no idea what to do next to make things better. Robert explains the Dark Night of the Ego as the period “In Between or Liminality.” Robert tells us that, “We need these periods of being ‘in between.’ That’s essentially what a Dark Night of the Ego is: a space in between two identities, a period in which our ego waits to be given new soul coordinates. We must understand that liminity is essential to the revitalization of life and the transformation of Fate into Destiny.” He goes on to say that, “…our first instinct whenever any profound change arrives—especially one that will reshape our lives—is to try to keep things the same…This is when we must enter into the space between identities in order to source a fresh solution. If we’re going to endure, we must animate our interior life and engage in a dialogue with our soul, allow for something new to be born…we must embrace the fact that this dark state of chaos is the genesis of all things new.”
I was definitely animating my interior life and dialoging with the Gods about birthing something new and asking them for a new and improved senior management team to work with. Unfortunately, it didn't come as fast as I would have liked it. They let me stew in my Liminality juices for several months after I quit the unethical stock option grant company. During my Dark Night period, I was wondering if the actual offenders were having the same sleepless nights I was having. I eventually found a position working with some great people who are friends even today. I wouldn't have met them if I didn't choose the light instead of the darkness. Also my website and blog came about during that quiet time as well. You wouldn't be reading this post if I had taken the low road and let the bullies use me for a punching bag.
One of My Earlier Dark Nights of My Soul
Dark Nights of the Soul and I go way back. I was working as a Controller for a high tech start up in 2001. After 9/11, business came to a screeching halt. I was laid off on a second round of lay offs during a very bad time in the economy. As a single woman with a mortgage, it didn’t take long to experience the Dark Night of the Soul. On the day of the lay off as I was leaving the office and loading the contents of my desk into my car, I heard a voice inside me say, “It’s always darkest before the Dawn.” I wasn’t interested in Spirit's editorial comments in that moment, and I believe I made that clear to them.
When my unemployment checks were about to run out (literally my last check), I got a call from a headhunter asking me if I wanted to be the Director of Internal Audit for a public company in Dallas (I was living in New Hampshire). I had never been a Director of Internal Audit but I thought, Anyone can figure out a new position if they put their mind to it. I had been a CPA for a big 4 public accounting firm. I had been a Controller for a company but never Director of Internal Audit—a completely different type of role for me. I had nothing to lose and the money was running out. I said I would take the interview. I flew to Dallas praying that I wouldn’t have to relocate there, but I resigned myself to follow the flow of events wherever they wanted to take me.
Within a few days of the interview, I was not only offered the position, but the CFO let me work from my home office since I would be traveling around the world. He also ended up being one of the best CFOs I’ve ever worked with--an ethical one! This position allowed me the freedom to plan my own schedule. I was able to travel to places I had only dreamed of, such as Paris, Brussels, Zurich, Geneva, Johannesburg and Venice--all paid for by the company for business.
It was always my dream to visit Venice one day. I had photos of Venice all around my home. The Dark Night of My Soul/Ego decided to bring me to Venice in a big way. Over the course of a year, I spent quite a bit of time with the company's business unit in Treviso, which is outside of Venice. I got to know and love the people there. I was able to take the train to the Grand Canal on the weekends just for fun. I was even able to attend the company Christmas party in Venice. There was an eight course Christmas dinner party held at a beautiful family owned restaurant which was part of a vineyard. I got to taste the most fabulous Italian wines with every course and met people from all over Italy.
What I learned is that dawn does come after the darkest of nights, and it can bring an unexpected light to the Soul. It can transform the fate of a lay-off into the destiny of positive career changing job and a trip to the location of your dreams.
If I never experienced the Fate of a lay-off, who knows if I would have ever seen Venice in my lifetime let alone get to know the people there personally. I would have never met the older man at Hotel Cannon D’Oro in Conegliano, Italy who would call me at 10 PM to come down to the lobby to share a glass of Prosecco and talk about world politics. I would have never met the man at the Vivarini glass shop in Murano who took me on a personal tour of the most spectacular glass studio in the world. I may never have taken a trip to Paris and ride on the Seine River or go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I may never have stayed at the Farm Inn outside of Johannesburg which included chickens and roosters outside my hotel room door--at no extra charge. In retrospect, it was the birth of the global, creative part of my soul that needed to expand its boundaries. Birth is sometimes an ugly and painful process that often times produces miracles.
It’s always darkest before the dawn, and I live to tell you that the dawn can be on the Grand Canal or the Seine River in Paris. Where in the world will your Dark Night of the Soul/Ego take you next? Instead of thinking about the worst that can happen, consider that it could be the best that can happen. Read Robert Ohotto’s book Transforming Fate into Destiny to get some perspective on where you’re heading next on your life’s journey.
to get some perspective on where you’re heading next on your life’s journey.Other Blog Posts by R. Ann Rousseau: Eat Dessert First -The Art of Extreme Self Care, Wayne Dyer Needs the 12 Step Quotaholics Program-Excuses Begone Book Review, Queen of the Law of Least Effort-Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Book Review, The Secret of Instant Healing Book Review
Copyright R. Ann Rousseau. All Rights Reserved. R. Ann Rousseau writes about and reviews books about spiritual, metaphysical and astrology topics on her website www.explorebeyondtheusual.com and www.explorebeyondtheusual.blogspot.com She is currently completing her first novel Portsmouth - A Love Story
Disclosure: I am a Hay House Book Reviewer. I am an affiliate of Hay House Publishing and Amazon. This means I receive a commission if you purchase Hay House or Amazon books from this website. My credibility is extremely important to me. This site is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are my own. Sometimes that's very obvious
Seed Newsvine