Real Journeys. That was the name of the company that took us through Milford Sound, but whose name epitomized the incredible three-week vacation to New Zealand I took with my husband, Larry, to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Our real journey was filled with seeing beauty that was beyond words, experiencing adrenaline-packed adventures, and relishing the joy and love of being together for this “bucket list” experience. I also underwent a “real journey” inside as well, as I came face-to-face with another layer to this illusion of “powerlessness” that is making itself known to me this year.
When we are lost to the illusions of our deep conditioning we are clueless that we could feel differently and are drawn to certain feelings and behaviors, even when they don’t feel good. These feelings do, however, feel familiar and there is consistency/safety in that familiarity. When we awaken to our illusions we are still enticed by the familiarity of old feelings and behaviors, but now can recognize just how disconnected and uncomfortable those feelings are. Thus becomes the spiritual practice of rewiring neural pathways to integrate new behaviors that are more in alignment with our connection to our authentic self, our Higher Self.
What conditioning surfaced for me with this journey was the overwhelming preponderance to anticipate a negative outcome (which boils down to the illusion of powerlessness to create). Yuck!!! I found I kept feeling huge amounts of free-floating anxiety as I prepared for our trip. This was a familiar feeling alright. But now it felt intolerable, not consistent at all with whom I know myself to be, but present none-the-less. On the morning we were to fly out I worked with my buddy coach, Amy, to find that dimension of myself that exists way beyond this anxiety. Aaaaahhh, that felt oh so much better. In this dimension I could feel the pleasure of experience, for experience’ sake, the “is-ness” of life, and the creativeness of being divine spirit playing with the physical. It felt like I was playfully “swimming” in the ocean of all possibility. So “swim” became my touchstone, my anchor for pulling me out of anxiousness and into expansion.
Interestingly, it wasn’t the cycling on unfamiliar roadways, or paragliding high above the city, or crawling through squeeze holes in a cave that provoked anxiety for me. It was during transitional times (hmmm, interesting in the bigger metaphor, eh?) such as getting to airports on time, finding places to stay, or choosing from among the myriad of advertisements about where we wanted to spend our time and money that provoked my conditioned anxiety about future consequences. Being aware of this anxiety was the easy part because it was soooooo uncomfortable. My “practice” became how to shift/rewire this behavior. I called upon many of the tools that I teach to others, “swimming” until I found the one that worked for each particular situation. I like having a number of simple resources to call upon to feel the sweet spot of connection, which would bring me to the present moment to then feel ease, peace, and pleasure.
I do love the way my personal, professional and spiritual lives are now so intertwined. This is my “real journey.” I know I am here to discover many simple resources around living day to day from a connection with my authentic/Higher Self and to share these resources with others.
Simple Tools to Shift from Anxiousness to Connection:
Create an “anchor” that holds the morphic field of connection for you.
o During a time when you feel completely connected to your Higher Self, notice what word, image, or bodily sensation you most identify with this state of connection. “Anchor” the word, image, or sensation by telling your Higher Self to return you to this state of connection anytime you invoke this word, image or sensation. This is how I used the word “swim.”
- A new (free) video series by Dr. Christian Pankhurst teaches a “heart intelligence” approach to awakening to your sabotaging conditioning and tools for living more in alignment with your authentic self. He gives great value in this video series and it is worth the optin to get it.
- Join the Consciousness Playground to learn, practice and integrate new skills every month that deepen and expand your ability to connect with your Higher Self.
- Do you have a resource to share? Please do so here!!!