Extended Holiday

I'm on a wonderful summer holiday in Vermont and have very limited internet access. Blogging is temporarily halted. I will still be taking phone calls and periodically checking email if you'd like to contact me for coaching or Reiki services.

During the months of June and July I will be on an extended backpacking adventure, but promise to return emails and phone calls as soon as I have phone/email access.

Wishing you all the best!

Confronting Fear in Meditation

Recently I did a meditation where I confronted a typically fearful image or archtype, the Devil, and received some incredible insight. Below is a brief account of my experience and the insights I gained:

The scene was set in a concrete cell, illuminated just enough to see the corners, two human figures and Devil but all else was darkness. As I looked around, I didn't feel frightened, I felt curious and watched to see all that was happening around me.

The Devil steps down from his perch and sits in a pile of hay against a back wall. The man and woman are alive but motionless, indifferent.

I approached the Devil and he rises to meet me returning to his perch.

"Why did you call me here," I ask.

"It was not I who called you here, but you chose chose to come," he replied.

"You do not seem to evil to me," I say with curiousity.

"Whatever people do not like in the world or in themselves they call evil. I represent that part which is feared and hated but am not evil or good."

I notice a man and woman, appearing indifferent, although alive.

He says, "I do not keep them here. It is their fears that chain them, bind them and keep them prisoner. Truly they are free to go at any time they choose."

I sense the Devil speaks the truth.

He is bored but his role, like a watchman, is to be in this space with those who come here.

He gives me a tiny star, the divine spark of life. He tells me, "Divinity is within every person no matter how horrible they may be, and each of us is merely chained by our own fear and hatred. All the world is open to you if you release your fears. It is your divine right to have all you desire, and you can."

I offer him gratitude for his openness and wisdom, and I exit.

Creating what you want: Step 1

Step One: Shift your focus

We are very much a problem-solving oriented culture. We each spend much of our day looking for problems, reporting problems and fixing problems. We're problem experts. We all have a good idea about what the problem is with so-and-so, with the government, or with xyz. In fact, next time you're surrounded by conversation listen to how many people start sentences with "The problem is...".

There are several key steps to creating what you want in your life. Believe it or not, the key isn't focusing on the problem.

Focusing on the problem only makes the problem bigger and leaves little time for illuminating all of the possible solutions. Rather than focusing on the problem, It can often be helpful to shift your attention to thinking about what you actually want. After all, we could spend days and weeks talking about all the problems and what isn't working and how much so-and-so really drives you up the wall... but that is the same kind of activity that has kept you in the same situation, turning your wheels and getting nowhere.

Remember driver's education? When you begin driving you are instructed to watch the road ahead, keeping your eyes on where you want the car to go - the lane you want to be in when you arrive up the road in 15 seconds.

One reason for this is that wherever your eyes are pointed is where the car will go. If you're staring at the accident that just happened to your left, the accident is all you see. Quickly you'll veer off course or not notice the car in front of you stopping and end up in your own accident.

Another reason is that when you're looking up ahead, you have a broad peripheral vision - the ability to see everything going on around you. This allows you to see the car next to you changing lanes, the pot hole on the next block, as well as the new Exit that must have opened up and which is a more direct route. The result is you are better able to navigate obstacles, see opportunities and get to where you are going safely and more efficiently.

Your life is a similar, albeit different, vehicle. If your attention is on the problem, your life will drive right into the problem. Likewise, if your attention is on what you want, your life will drive straight ahead into what you want.

Shifting your attention to what you want takes your focus off the stuff that makes you feel overwhelmed, unhappy, angry, frustrated, and helpless. These feelings leave you feeling drained and often unable to take action or see opportunities for something better/different. Any action you do take will likely also be focused on the problem, keeping your attention in that space of negative emotion, possibly causing you to miss whatever amazing stuff is happening around you.

Conveniently, when you're focused on what you want, your peripheral vision can see all kinds of interesting opportunities and possible obstacles. This can be a tremendous benefit as you navigate the road of your life.

Shifting your attention to what you want allows you to focus on the things that make you feel good, peaceful or excited, joyful, energized and full of possibilities. When you feel good, you are more resourceful, see multiple possibilities, and are better able to take creative action, allowing you to get what want more efficiently, effortlessly, joyfully and peacefully.

When you find yourself focusing on the problem, take a step back and ask "Wait. What do I really want?" Let what you want become your compass and guide on this great journey.