Pervis Taylor: Surthrival Mode In Motion

There are many reflections and diverse angles of who we are and how we choose to express ourselves. Although we often get caught up in observing our physical world, and we may know there is more to us than just what we perceive with our physical senses, that’s just the first step toward discovering what is beyond that which we can see. Human evolution led us to know that we are more than just our physical bodies, minds, emotions, and even our energies. We are multidimensional beings who are always evolving and experiencing lifeforce expressing itself through all of our physical faculties and consciousness.

“I am a very complex individual, as well as a gentleman,” says Pervis Taylor, an inspirational speaker, mentor, and author, who facilitates people with tools to experience the life they consider is best for them. “I would describe myself as a fun person, very spiritual, one who is vulnerable and transparent, and really loves to see people thrive and lead their best lives.”

All relationships bring something to us. Anyone or anything we pay attention to is consistently providing us with feedback. Regardless of how that reflection makes us feel, whether it’s considered positive or negative, it is always valuable because it’s showing us an angle of us that we might not be fully aware of—it’s an opportunity for us to shift if we want to. Without relationships, we would cease to exist because there would be no feedback. When we appreciate the success of others and see the world around us to its fullest potential, we are simultaneously celebrating ourselves and our own existence. And perhaps, that’s what means being inclusive.

“I see inclusion as seeing people in the space of who they really are. I’m going to allow you to be who you are in that space because I want to see your fragility and all your beauty. So, I think inclusion to me means seeing someone and understanding where they are. I try to bring inclusivity into my work by recognizing people beyond cultural, spiritual, or other identifiers and consistently going back to the space of humanity. We all have had a broken heart in one way or another. We all have experienced pain. And so, I tap into that space. Now, that’s how I tried to bring inclusivity because I have clients from various types and various cultures and racial backgrounds. I believe if we had a lot more understanding and awareness, we would have a lot less pain in the world. Although I believe we will still have differences, I feel that if we had inclusivity in terms of how we perceive and understand others, more people would be disarmed and more open to dialogues and finding common ground. That, I believe, would be the effect of our increased inclusivity,” shares Pervis.

We live in a diverse world and naturally inclusive Universe. Diversity in everything is how we expand. From our physical perspective, we all are uniquely diverse. But from our lifeforce perspective, we all are one. And we are continually moving and dancing between both the physically-focused perspective and the wider, broader non-physical perspective. By being aware of that, we lead by our own example, and that’s where empowerment happens.

“It’s important to know and to be aware of the state that you need to be in,” Pervis says of his perspective on this topic. “And when I thought about it, it came up to me as being curious—being vulnerable. So, that should be your state of being in order to change your life. Because when you are curious, you can ask yourself, ‘What if…’ And being vulnerable entails having the courage to accept the risk of having to live with it. So, in my experience, and the experiences of all of my clients, there was a commonality when they shifted their lives: they were both curious and vulnerable.”

The calling is an irrefutable desire that pervades each and every cell of our beingness. That is a knowing, clarity of a desire so pure and crystal clear that we dive into the discovery of its unfolding. As we move to realize that desire into our existence, we relish the satisfaction of opening all the gift boxes along the way of all the steps towards that which we have already created through our asking. Then, no amount of attention paid to anything or anyone can stop us from becoming empowered and invincible.

“When I wrote my first book, Pervis Principles Volume One, I remember so many people, like friends, telling me, ‘Pervis, I love you, but who do you think you are to write a book? No one knows your name, so why would you include your name in the book title?’ And I had to choose between believing them or believing what I believe. I believe God told me to do it, so I made a choice. I said, ‘I’m going to believe what God told me, and I’m going to write this book.’ And that book ended up changing so many lives. Although it wasn’t a New York Times bestseller, it profoundly impacted the lives of those who read it. That’s when I decided to trust that I have a purpose in life, even if not everyone understands or agrees with it. I have to be okay with that. So that was really a defining moment in my decision to embrace my own empowerment. I had to be my own cheerleader because I didn’t have any at the time.”

We only learn through our own life experiences, but seeing someone who is holding the space of steadiness for themselves becomes an example for others who allow themselves to be influenced by it. For anyone who is a teacher, nothing is more satisfying than to witness and participate in someone else’s becoming and transformation.

Pervis shares his excitement to be an inspiration to others by saying, “First, I want people to always be on a journey of being transparent and vulnerable. I also want them to always strive to improve and understand that they will never be done with where they are because it changes all the time. Third, I want them to understand their inner life and their relationship with it, always to strive for improvement and growth. And so, for me, the one thing I want people to be influenced by is to never stop growing. Never stop evolving. Never stop being curious. Lead your best life and don’t be afraid or ashamed of living your authenticity. Those are the things I want people to experience.”

Pervis continues by sharing, “I have to be honest, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I got tired of being the way that I was, and I asked myself a question, ‘Well, if you feel this way on this side, what can it be like on the other side?’ So again, that is curiosity. I was like, ‘Well, if you’ve been believing this for so long, what if you believe the opposite? At that moment, I learned that what I believe can change. And so, for me, it was that moment where I was just tired of being this victim. I was tired of living in negativity, and I was tired of walking under a dark cloud. I said, ‘I want to live in the sunshine.’ In order to live in the sunshine, I can’t think or believe the way that I think or believe. And so I literally asked myself the question, ‘What if what you were believing was wrong?’  That’s the same thing for anyone. What if what you’re believing is wrong? Just ask the question. And then take that on a journey to discover it yourself.”

One of the inspirational speakers, Abraham-Hicks, says, “A belief is just a thought that you keep thinking.” Another leading-edge spiritual facilitator, Weola, speaks about embracing the power of the mind by experiencing the balance between the laser-sharp intellectual focus and taking the time to also unfocus, to soften up our thoughts, so we can choose the thoughts we want to think instead of thinking them by default. Every thought triggers an emotion, and Pervis says, “I believe emotions show us where we are on our human journey. Therefore, no emotion is bad. Although we sometimes undervalue their importance, they really do indicate where we are on our human journey.”

In his latest book, Surthrival Mode, Pervis reflects on human emotions and mental health through his own experience of depression and low self-esteem, exposing how he overcame all these challenges by applying a process he created and called the ‘4 A’s of Surthrival Mode to transmute his life story.’

“Although I wrote Surthrival Mode, I’m rereading and still seeing new things for myself. I see a therapist regularly. The meaning behind the 4 A’s is Acknowledgement, Acceptance, Articulation, and Alchemy. And I recognize that I’m always going to have to do that process for the rest of my life. So, even currently, there’s a situation I’m working through relationally. Well, I’m going to have to Acknowledge, Accept, Articulate, and engage in Alchemy to transform that thing that I’m dealing with right now into something greater that can actually work. I’ve realized that no matter what, I’m going to have to incorporate this into my life. We’re on a constant improvement journey because we’re not finished. For instance, when you master one thing, there’s going to be another for you to master. It’s like having the tools. So, for me personally, I’m dealing with the relationship situation, and now I’m going to have to integrate those four A’s in order to get to a healthy space around it.”

When we face discomfort, in order to move from it, we first have to recognize it is there. Then, afterward, we need to be aware that there is value in the situation, even though we can’t see it now. Otherwise, when we numb our emotional sensitivity and ignore the signals of our emotional state, it might even appear as physical discomfort, allowing us to finally listen. But if we are sensitive enough, we will never stay in discomfort for long because we know there’s value in it, and we will gently move inward to steadiness so we can apply it to any situation.

“It takes courage to admit that something isn’t working or that I’m hurting, or I’m in pain, or I wish to be better. That takes a lot of bravery. So, as a result, I must always remain courageous. Because you can get complacent or scared if you don’t complete the 4 A’s, you’ll be able to do it again if you recognize that you’ve done it previously. So, for me, it’s like fighting through that fear and complacency and getting to that place of bravery. I had to be brave because the only way I could have become who I am now was to be brave. Even though I had achieved a level of success, I still needed to be brave in order to continue to live my life,” affirms Pervis. “I’ve run into people who’ve read my book on the street and they’ve said things like, ‘Oh my God, this book has transformed my life.’ or ‘Oh my God, I’m in therapy now, or, my marriage is getting better.’ The way I imagined it is the way that people’s lives are being changed. And I’m so humbled by that. Although I wrote the book from my own perspective of being a Black man, I wanted whoever reads it to start the journey of transformation toward a better life, whether they’re male or female, from any walks of life, or whatever they identify.”

When we focus on ourselves as a process that is consistently shifting and changing, adding new layers of steadiness and applying into our life experience, then we see the transformation is always present within ourselves.

Photography // Lalo Torres

Pervis is releasing his new book, Healing Forward on October 4th, 2021 available on Amazon and at www.pervistaylor.com.

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