Awakening
We often think of awakening as a process of doing or becoming. What if awakening is merely having the courage to allow all aspects of ourselves, and to honour ourselves with unconditional love?
Today I was drawn to notes from my journal from 9 July 2022 where I wrote a passage on awakening. Again, it resonates as I move through circumstances that arise to gain my attention, to ask, ‘Are you ready to face this yet?’. And, ‘Are you ready to accept that you agreed to play this role before you came into this physical body?’.
When our experiences flow, all is in alignment. However, when we feel discomfort in any form, whether emotional such as resentment, bitterness, criticism, or sorrow; or a physical response such as tightening of our shoulders or nausea in our stomachs; we are being shown what we need to address.
Many of us push this discomfort away. We force food or alcohol upon it, blame how we slept and perhaps take a painkiller. We learn to ignore it. To numb ourselves to the discomfort. Just maybe today, like me, you are ready to hear the message and use the activity that follows to untangle what we are being asked to examine.
When I check in with a soft gaze, my spirit companion sits high above encouraging me to find my courage and follow his lead.
This is definitely for the brave of heart - and those who also realise what has served in the past is no longer working. Know, too, that we are always supported.
Awakening
Notice what you normally ignore.
Notice the process of interruption that seeks a more acceptable thought.
The burst of inspiration you judge to be foolish is the Egoic projectoin of the unworthiness that will not allow you to receive.
The Ego would have you believe awakening is derived from knowledge.
Awakening is the journey of the heart.
Doubt and distrust are wounds. Move through them with love. They are not who you are but limitations you are here to resolve. Transmute and transform them.
Embrace the darkness within and move into Divine balance.
Align.
My will and Divine will are one.
Medicine Wheel
Using the sacred Medicine Wheel used for millenia by indigenous peoples, be guided to your personal power and inner wisdom. Ask yourself each question and, without examining, judging, or doubting the first answer that comes to mind, record your response.
Activity
Draw a circle and label it North, East, South and West. Imagine yourself standing at each point and asking the following questions:
SOUTH - What am I holding onto that no longer serves? Which past events am I clinging to? What does holding tightly to the past offer me?
WEST - Which relationships am I holding onto that are draining my energy? that feel toxic? What is the secondary gain from holding onto these relationships? Do I need to learn to step out of another’s journey? If they are my mirror, what am I not seeing about myself?
NORTH - What is my passion? Do I know how to express it? For many this is a tricky question. Allow yourself to move back through your timeline until you find a point where you felt passionate about something. If you have difficulty, spend some time allowing your mind to roam without limitation. The world is filled with possibility - allow it.
EAST - Visualise how you want your life to be. Regardless of where you have been or where you are, what does this next chapter look like? What would you like it to look like? Dream big.
Take as much time as you need, and when you have answered the questions, see yourself stepping out of the Medicine Wheel and then reflect on what you have discovered.
What comes up is often a little challenging - but we are brave! And we are willing to trust our inner wisdom because the alternative, not trusting ourselves, has brought us to this circumstance. And now it is enough. We are enough.
When we choose a path that ‘feels right’, and whichever path it is does not matter as much as the act of making a choice, we will be guided through the ‘mistakes’, the twists and turns our Higher Self will offer to help us on our way. Doing nothing, however, has no momentum and action is what is needed following our inner guidance to bring our dreams about.
Hold gratitude for those who provoke our changes, and bless our experiences for the wisdom we gain and the wisdom we remember.
All is well.
Blessings
Michelle x
Spiritual Leader/Teacher/Learner
Copyright Michelle Cowles 2023
Disclaimer: The information on this page is general, lifestyle information and should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. If this article raises mental health issues, please contact your General Practitioner, mental health worker, or Lifeline on 13 11 14
You have outlined very important points to hold on to as we journey through life. It's only now in my mid-life I am able to pull many of these variables together to have a more peaceful and meaningful existence, and also appreciate how important they are.
Having the courage to let go of a relationship that no longer served me, allowed space and energy to devote to a new friendship that serves me better.
Burning the bridges to alternative paths allowed me to devote myself wholly to the selected path. And as you mentioned, momentum is vital. It easier to change direction when you are moving, and impossible at rest.
Having a passion allows me to endure the more mundane or difficult aspects of my current life, it provides joy, inspiration and focus.
Visualising my future has always been important. But the truth is, I'm probably at the place of my last visualisation, and I really need to get busy and think about what is next for me. I think in the last few years I've felt confined by my circumstances and therefore limited by my responsibilities, treading water a bit in survival mode. More recently I've felt that there is a lot of room to move in my personal space, and visualisation of my future can be more about personal growth, compared to in the past where it seemed to be about education, family, business and assets.
Utilising discomfort instead of drowning it has been the goal for 2023. Being able to feel, undistracted and without fear. Forgiveness of one's self, forgiveness of others.
I will be brave and attempt the medicine wheel!