--- title: Physician Associate and Spiritual Coach Elizabeth M. Lykins Says Lasting Change Begins in Stillness description: Urgent care physician associate and spiritual coach Elizabeth M. Lykins on stillness, spirituality vs religion and her book Reflections on Transcendence. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-09-21T20:06:53.314Z updated: 2026-09-21T20:08:30.906Z canonical: https://richbooksmagazine.com/article/elizabeth-m-lykins-reflections-on-transcendence image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/elizabeth-m-lykins-featured.webp categories: Self-Development, Non-Fiction, Authors & Writers content_type: Spotlight region: California publication: Rich Books about: - type: Person name: Elizabeth M. Lykins description: "Elizabeth M. Lykins is an author, spiritual transformation coach and physician associate (PA-C) who has practiced in emergency and urgent care medicine since 1996. She trained at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and her coaching draws on the Three Principles of Sydney Banks and the work of Eckhart Tolle and Don Miguel Ruiz. She is the author of Reflections on Transcendence: Everything You Have Been Searching for Is Already Inside of You, illustrated with 59 paintings by the late expressionist artist Steven D. Lyons, and writes the LinkedIn newsletter Tips for Inside-Out Living. She lives on the California coast." url: https://www.amagnificentmetamorphosis.com/ jobTitle: Author and Spiritual Coach --- Elizabeth M. Lykins has worked as a physician associate in emergency and urgent care medicine since 1996, and in her book Reflections on Transcendence: Everything You Have Been Searching for Is Already Inside of You, she makes a case that will be familiar to anyone who has tried a new diet, a new wardrobe or a new city and felt the good feeling fade within weeks. Outward change, she says, brings only temporary satisfaction, and the change people really want starts with becoming still enough to hear what is going on inside them. ### Book: Reflections on Transcendence *Everything You Have Been Searching for Is Already Inside of You* By Elizabeth M. Lykins Reflections on Transcendence sets the short spiritual reflections of author and coach Elizabeth M. Lykins among 59 paintings by the late expressionist artist Steven D. Lyons, who chose each piece himself to match the text. A book of meditations and reflections on self-awareness, inner stillness and letting go of anxious thinking, it is written to be opened at any page. A BookLife Editor's Pick, described as "awash in calming insight" and recommended for readers of Sydney Banks's The Enlightened Gardener and Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. [Amazon (Paperback)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLT3K7P9) "The inner voice does not scream at you," Elizabeth says. "You have to eliminate the distractions and become still enough to hear it." ## Elizabeth M. Lykins and the Three Principles of Sydney Banks > "For years I sought answers outside myself, through religion, teachers, therapy and certifications in life coaching. Thirteen years ago, the work of Sydney Banks, Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle gave me the 'aha' moment: everything I had been searching for was already inside of me. That realization changed how I show up in the world, both in my coaching and in my work as a medical provider in urgent care." > — Elizabeth M. Lykins Elizabeth says she was always drawn to spirituality, but had been conditioned from an early age to look for it in other people and places, in religion, in teachers and in leaders she believed could give her the tools to find inner peace. She read widely on self-discovery and on overcoming conditioning, went through therapy, and trained in life coaching, neuro-linguistic programming, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and clinical hypnotherapy. Those qualifications improved the way she thought, she says, but she was still relying on techniques and practices to direct her. The Three Principles, the teaching Sydney Banks developed from the 1970s onward, holds that people experience life through their own thinking rather than through their circumstances. The realization it gave her became the subtitle of her book. The teaching is now the basis of her coaching, which she describes as an inside-out approach drawing on Banks, Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz and other spiritual teachers. ## Spirituality vs Religion in Elizabeth's Coaching Elizabeth calls herself a spiritual advisor rather than a religious one and draws a clear line between the two. "Religion is about following rules. It is about belonging to an organization," she says. "Spirituality is about looking within yourself and connecting to your higher power." She does not ask readers to leave their faith behind, only to recognize that no church, teacher or other person can do their inner work for them. "Religion will not improve you," she says. "The only way you can improve yourself is to work on yourself." "There have been many moments in working with clients where I can see the shift in their thinking, as they awaken to their unconditioned self and embrace shedding the conditioning that no longer serves them (and likely never did)," Elizabeth says of her coaching. "It is very gratifying work to gently guide a person inward, where they can gain a greater understanding of who they really are for themselves, underneath all that they have been conditioned to believe about themselves." ## Being Present With Patients in Urgent Care Elizabeth says she now treats patients with more intention and presence than she did before, and that patients often tell her about the most painful moments in their lives as well as their physical symptoms. Being fully present lets her hear what they say and also notice when there is something they are not saying, which leads her to ask deeper questions and offer support. "I do not use AI and am not charting while I am in the exam room," she says. "I look at the patient and devote all of my attention to them. This results in a more powerful encounter for both of us." ## A Daily Reflection Practice for Hearing Your Inner Voice Each day Elizabeth reads a short inspirational passage and reflects on it for at least a few minutes. She arrives early for clinic shifts and appointments so that she never feels rushed, and spends a few minutes reflecting in her car before she goes in. Music is the most powerful way for her to look inward. "It is the language of the soul and does truly speak to me at the deepest level of my being," she says. She believes most people lose that inner voice to noise, and that [much of the noise now comes through their phones](https://richbooksmagazine.com/article/is-lack-of-self-awareness-contributing-to-poor-mental-health). Someone may scroll past a violent or negative post in seconds, she says, but the mind can hold onto it long after the screen is gone. "Don't get in negativity," she says. "You have to be conscious of what you are allowing into your mind." ## Becoming Your Authentic Self Elizabeth says people can spend years trying to fit into relationships, friendships, careers and places that do not reflect who they are, and that time spent in self-reflection shows them when it is time to change. "The right people will stay and love you. The wrong people will leave. Have courage to be yourself," she says. "If you are becoming a new person, your environment needs to reflect the new you," she says. She suggests art classes, music lessons, local libraries and community meetups as places where people with shared interests are more likely to meet. "When you start doing the things you like, you start discovering who you are and who is naturally drawn to you." "Change is going to happen," she says. "Look within yourself to find the change that best suits you." ## The Expressionist Paintings of Steven D. Lyons > "The 59 paintings in the book are a living legacy of a few of his select pieces, chosen by Steve personally to match the text of the book." > — Elizabeth M. Lykins Reflections on Transcendence sets Elizabeth's short reflections among 59 paintings by Steven D. Lyons, a lifelong friend. Steve grew up in the foothills of Appalachia and spent most of his working life as a corporate writer before he began painting on scrap wood on his back porch. He went on to paint full time from a studio in Chatham on Cape Cod, opened a gallery in Westport, Connecticut, in 2019, and was named one of the top five expressionist artists in the world by the American Art Awards in 2016. He used the impasto technique, building the paint up thickly so that it stands out from the canvas. Elizabeth says his work helps readers step out of the constant stream of thoughts in their minds and simply appreciate what is in front of them, which is the purpose of the book itself. Steve passed away from brain cancer in March 2021, six months after the first edition was published. "As a lifelong friend of Steve, I feel honored to feature his work in my book," she says. The book is meant to be opened at any page, and BookLife made it an Editor's Pick, calling it "awash in calming insight" and recommending it to readers of Sydney Banks's The Enlightened Gardener and Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. The first edition was published in October 2020 and a second edition followed in November 2022. The book is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook and audiobook. ## Elizabeth M. Lykins, Spiritual Coach and Author Elizabeth lives on the California coast and trained at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Alongside her medical work she runs a spiritual transformation coaching practice, A Magnificent Metamorphosis, and writes a biweekly LinkedIn newsletter, Tips for Inside-Out Living. She previously published Magnificent Metamorphosis Magazine, which ran for 12 issues, and wrote an earlier memoir about adoption and motherhood, Letter to Caroline, under the name Elizabeth Fannin. **About Elizabeth M. Lykins** Author and Spiritual Coach Elizabeth M. Lykins is an author, spiritual transformation coach and physician associate (PA-C) who has practiced in emergency and urgent care medicine since 1996. She trained at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and her coaching draws on the Three Principles of Sydney Banks and the work of Eckhart Tolle and Don Miguel Ruiz. She is the author of Reflections on Transcendence: Everything You Have Been Searching for Is Already Inside of You, illustrated with 59 paintings by the late expressionist artist Steven D. Lyons, and writes the LinkedIn newsletter Tips for Inside-Out Living. She lives on the California coast. [Website](https://www.amagnificentmetamorphosis.com/) ## FAQ **Q: What is the difference between religion and spirituality?** Elizabeth M. Lykins describes religion as following rules and belonging to an organization, and spirituality as looking within yourself and connecting to your higher power. She does not ask people to give up their faith, but she says no organization can do a person's inner work for them. **Q: Can a person be spiritual but not religious?** Yes. Elizabeth calls herself a spiritual advisor rather than a religious one, and her coaching focuses on self-reflection and inner stillness rather than any particular faith, so it is open to people with or without a religion. **Q: What are the Three Principles of Sydney Banks?** The Three Principles are Mind, Consciousness and Thought. Banks taught that people experience life through their own thinking rather than through outside circumstances. Elizabeth says discovering his work, along with that of Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle, was the turning point that led to her book and now shapes her coaching. **Q: What is Reflections on Transcendence about?** It is a collection of short spiritual reflections by Elizabeth M. Lykins set among 59 paintings by the late expressionist artist Steven D. Lyons, who chose the pieces himself to match the text. Its subtitle, Everything You Have Been Searching for Is Already Inside of You, sums up its message, and it is written to be opened at any page.