What’s your opinion about this idea -finishing what we start versus quitting before it feels done or complete?
I had a conversation about this a while ago and am still pondering it.
Like most beliefs, this one was unconscious inside of me until I really began to unpack it. As I did, I began to see how the idea of finishing what I start, has been a big driver in my life.
It got embedded in my system when I was a teenager. I had a challenging (some might say traumatic) experience my sophomore year as a new student at boarding school, after I’d lobbied to go away. Only, a few months later, I was desperate to come home.
In my memory, I phoned home every day, begging to leave. That’s how unhappy I was. Finally, my mother told me I had to stay and “finish what I’d started.”
I resigned myself to being there and eventually graduated.
I read this quote from the poet, Mary Oliver the other day:
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
I found myself thinking about her words all day, both the simplicity and the truth. Maybe that’s the power of poetry. It speaks to that part of us that can hear the simplicity of truth.
Remember when Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth came out? It was in 2008! I have a distinct memory of reading that book one summer while driving around rural North Carolina. I know, random.
That book was filled with amazing insights, and if you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it. In fact, writing this now is giving me the urge to pick it back up! I know there’s more there for me.
But what I wanted to share today was an idea I learned from that book that was a major game changer for me. I’ve been sharing it recently with some of my clients which is what gave me the idea to write about it, too.
First, let’s start with a basic definition to what Eckhart Tolle refers to as the pain-body. He describes it as, “an invisible, semi-autonomous energy field of accumulated, repressed emotional pain.”
Before we dive into this topic- which is a personal fave – I want to let you know a bit about what’s up for me right now. I’m in a transition with my career track. Writing those words feels and sounds SO weird to me! Because it’s more that I’m wanting to focus my time and attention on nurturing my creativity and living more as a visual artist and writer rather than as a coach, teacher and psychotherapist.
When I was thinking about writing this blog, I was genuinely surprised by what popped into my head, but then I knew I HAD to write about it. 😆
It’s… forgiveness
Yes, I know, unexpected.
But the words I heard were, “I forgive and I set myself free.”
I think there’s so much confusion around forgiveness, and rightly so. It often gets confused with thoughts like:
If I forgive, I’m letting them off the hook
Or, if I forgive, they won’t be punished
Or, if I forgive, I have to pretend /act like nothing happened
How has your journey of re-parenting been going?
Have you been able to heal some of that woundedness?
Did you get a glimpse or feel into the excitement of your inner magic?!?
If you’re ready for an even deeper step, this is just for you.
Today we’re exploring how to work with the Divine Mother and bringing that woundedness to the Mother of all mothers, to the essence of the Goddess that dwells within.
I thought for the the next sequence of blogs, we’d explore this idea of mothering, being mothered, and re-parenting ourselves. It feels timely and necessary. Maybe it’s because I also work as a psychotherapist that this topic is much on my mind…
So today we’ll explore the idea of re-parenting our wounded inner child.
Are you familiar with that expression? The wounded child?
From Caroline Myss’ work, we know that we all have a child archetype in our constellation. In part, because each of us experienced a childhood. And, at some point, (unfortunately) we got a negative message(s) about ourselves.
I bet you can see, even touch, a floor right now and perhaps a ceiling overhead- wherever you’re reading these words, yes?
Most structures have both , but did you know that this (floors & ceilings) is also an idea stock traders talk about?
It’s part of a metrics they use to evaluate where a stock may move. As a company’s stock drops in price, it can “hit a floor.” This might indicate a time to buy. Stocks can also “hit ceilings” which could indicate a time to sell. Obviously, this is a basic definition, but recently I took this way of thinking about floors and ceilings and applied it to the process of our inner work.
What do I mean?
I’m pretty hard wired to rush, to move quickly, and make decisions fast.
My mind thinks quickly and my body’s eager to follow along. BUT I don’t want to keep working at that pace! It doesn’t feel good, nor does it help me stay in the flow.
I’m finding that when I stop and center myself and then re-focus, I’m more able to have clarity and see differently.
How about you?
It’s so easy to get caught up in life, in a trajectory of movement, propelling us forward as if life were a race to complete, a journey to a finish line that we’re all hurrying towards.
But what if it wasn’t?
“Patience is also a form of action” Auguste Rodi
I read this quote recently and understood it in a way I never have before. Why, you might wonder… well, I had a realization not long ago about an ingrained thought pattern that’s been adversely affecting my creative process!
Intrigued?
Call it conditioning from family, from society, from culture… the origin of the thought pattern doesn’t much matter but a few months ago, I noticed a kind of frenzied energy that existed within my being. This inner voice was hurrying me to finish my task, to rush and get it done. It wasn’t just a voice, actually. It was a physical sensation of anxiety buzzing inside of my body, preventing me from feeling or being calm and present.
I know I’ve written about anxiety before. But let’s be honest. Most everyone experiences it on a daily basis which is why it’s critical to have tools to support you when you do.
And in my desire to always give you tools, here’s another one. ☺️
From Anxiety to Peace
Step 1: Allow yourself to feel the anxiety
Spring is rolling in! What’s it looking like where you are? Tulips? Daffodils? New buds?
Spring always feels exciting to me. Well, all the seasons do, actually…
And when there’s SO much activity, new growth, and re-awakening happening everywhere I look, it’s hard not to feel excited about my own projects and growth, too.
So how do we align this energy with our own inner truth?
One way is by doing an inspiration check.
What the heck is that!?!
First, let’s quickly define intuition.
Do you have a go-to strategy when you find it hard to concentrate and your brain feels fuzzy?
Or when you can’t seem to figure out what to do next? What direction to move towards?
When I’m in that place, it sometimes feels like I’m spinning in circles, directionless and blind to possibility.
However, when I REMEMBER to use this tool (!), a breathing exercise, it can really make a difference.
Why?
Thanks for taking this journey with me through the seven veils of ego! We are at the final one!
Ready?
Here it is: Wisdom of the Wrathful Person
This one is about anger.
And just like all of the rest of the veils of the ego, there are ways anger (and lust, and gluttony and slothfulness…) can be useful, can be used to right wrongs, to fuel action, to face injustices.
That’s when we use anger in a pro-active, loving way.
Being on this journey can definitely feel challenging and I am SO appreciative that you are here willing to keep opening to the light and the love that is the essence of you.
Ready to keep going with the 7 powers of the ego?
So far, we have explored: darkness, desire, ignorance and zeal for death.
Today we’re diving into the realm of the flesh (whatever that means) and the foolish wisdom of the flesh. Here goes…
