Friday 27 April 2012

Grasping The Nettle


In this time of change, shift and movement, it is all too easy to become lost in the chaos and feel powerless drifting with the currents of life. We can, at times, lose our momentum and flow for the currents are strong and can pull us off course. We may try to fight the currents, but they are powerful, and resistance can be exhausting, and perhaps a little futile. The constant struggle can see our inner light subside as the passion and spark gets sucked out like a vacuum cleaner on full power.

This is a challenging time, but it is a breakthrough time as well. How we think, feel and act now looks set to shape the rest of our lives; a scary thought perhaps, but this has been a long time coming. It therefore seems that the more consumed we become in this tidal battle of fighting the currents or going with the flow, that we can lose sight of the bigger picture. We can get so focused on the intricate patterns of the bark, that we stop seeing the tree let alone the forest!

Human nature gives us tunnel vision when life gets challenging, we have to focus on what’s important in order to survive. Yet, when we take a step back we can begin to see solutions where previously all we saw was brick walls; we can see light where there was dark, and hope where there was none.

Stepping back is hard when life demands our full and unbending attention, but sometimes we just have to if we are to regain our perspective and re-focus. If we become too lost in the stormy seas of shift, we can disconnect with our essence and then all sense of clarity wanes for we have lost sight of our Truth and purpose. Yet, remaining connected to our essence should not be a battle; it should not have to be fought for in stormy seas, for it is always within us. It seems that by becoming so focused on the chaos and the storm that we can forget this and allow confusion and fear to take over, but when we pause even for a fleeting moment, we can sense our essence as strongly as ever.

It is important to know that our essence is always there; it does not leave us, but we can ‘lose it’ by becoming lost in the storms of life. Yet, all we need to do is to take a deep breath and feel it close once again like a comforting blanket on a cold, dark night. Once we have re-connected, we can then see life differently, for we can then walk in Truth and knowing towards a new dawn. The storms and the chaos wash over us and no longer consume us, for the journey to Self is complete. It takes practice, dedication, determination and faith, but these are all a part of life!

‘Grasping the nettle’ may be a somewhat strange heading, for the nettle stings! Yet, it only stings if we brush past it; for if we grab it boldly and firmly we avoid being stung! Moving beyond metaphors, it seems that the stronger and more firmly we grab hold of life and connect to our essence or Truth that we can begin to let go of the chaos and walk a new path of knowing, freedom and bliss...

This is a time to break the cycles in life in order to become free from conditioning and stagnancy. In part, this is connected to taking more responsibility, owning our choices, and embracing our true power, for the more consciously we walk the earth, the more we grasp that nettle and allow our full magnificence to shine. This is a time to love ourselves (every single aspect), to regain our perspectives and to reconnect to our essence; for as our inner warriors stir and awaken, we are preparing to let go of confusion and uncertainty in order to embrace clarity and vision which are beginning to surface with inspiration, strength and passion...



Wednesday 18 April 2012

The Cosmic Super Spin


As the washing machine of life continues on fast spin, it is all too easy to get disorientated in dizziness from the spin cycle. We can become confused and befuddled by even the simplest tasks; a bit like trying to concentrate at high altitude where the air is thin and lacking in oxygen. Of course, we find ourselves in this spin for a reason, for it is part of the cosmic super spin or ‘wash’ cycle taking us from one state of consciousness to the next; we have to go through the spin cycle in order to become free of the excess in our lives in order to be free to embrace the next step in our evolution.

The spin is part of the cycle, and we can choose to avoid it, and try to slowly drip dry over a longer period of time, or we can ride the spin knowing that the destination makes the dizziness worthwhile. Of course, it is only when we can look back on the spin whilst we are gently drying in the brilliant sunshine of a new day, that we can see the value of the experience, for riding the white knuckle ride makes rational thought somewhat challenging!

So we may feel a little battered and bruised, squeezed, twisted and wrung out, energetically speaking, but there does seem to be a ‘higher purpose’ to the madness. However, knowing this and living with it are very different things...

Keeping on, keeping on can be exhausting and arduous, and it can be hard to ‘keep the faith’ when life feels like a series of brick walls or locked doors to breakthrough. Of course, we know that each wall or door is another layer to face, heal and set free, but when each one comes relentlessly crashing in like huge waves onto the rocks of our personal reality, it can be hard to come up for air. Yet, we have a choice; we can either give up letting the waves consume and devour us, or we keep on, keeping on. The warrior within us may not always feel strong, but as our inner light and guide, the warrior keeps us riding the wave and keeping the faith.

Of course, keeping the faith and championing ‘love and light’ is hard to digest when life is hard, but when we keep our eyes fixed on the destination, it somehow becomes easier. At the same time, we intuitively know that change is happening, albeit quite subtly on many levels, and we can begin to sense the shift towards more freedom and liberation in life.

At the current time there is a ‘push/pull’ effect occurring in the wash cycle, the push comes from an emerging sense of strength, energy, passion and focus; a desire to be active and to ‘be the change’. On the other hand, is a strong inner pull, seeking out healing and release within, and experiencing the ending of cycles or patterns (which, whilst necessary, can be hard to bear). As the inner world grows more intense though, strangely the confusion begins to subside, for our true strength, passion and energy surfaces as we realise that we are not powerless pawns in the game of life, but we are warriors, pioneers and visionaries! Sometimes, we need to experience the full power of the spin cycle to realise our Truth and to connect to our true essence.

So, whilst it can be hard to have faith when the going is so bumpy, riding the wave on this tumultuous journey to Self seems an important step, for it is only when we stop fighting the process that we realise by going with the spin, we can overcome the dizziness for we can go with the spin and enjoy the ride. It is at this moment, that we can fully embrace the process and know that we are ready to surrender to our true magnificence and to live the life that we are destined to live...



Tuesday 10 April 2012

The Warrior Returns

Despite the somewhat confusing myriad of energies that seem to be bombarding us from all directions at the moment, there is a growing sense of strength emerging. Although we can feel whole and complete in one moment, and lost and discombobulated the next, through the mists of confusion, the sun is rising up like the sunrise of a new dawn piercing through the mist bringing clarity, stillness and energy.

The sun is our strength, our passion and our essence; and despite the challenges that life and the universe still continue to throw in our general direction, the light is growing in warmth and intensity. Of course, the sun never truly leaves us, for even in the darkest days of winter, it is still burning brightly, but during such times we can lose the connection and feel lost, alone and without hope. It is only when we can feel the sun warming our skin that the feelings of hope and possibility begin to re-emerge.

For many, this is a time of facing the full Truth of our reality; it is a time of opening up all of those locked inner closets in order to de-clutter on a grand and epic scale. Whilst this process is part of the natural progression of things, it is hard and it is an arduous journey, for these closets contain memories, traumas and pain from the past. It is easy to say that in order to heal the present, we need to heal the past; but saying this and actually doing it are very, very different.

Healing the past means facing the Truth, taking responsibility for choices made, facing the pain, letting go of guilt and accepting that whilst the past has had a profound impact on the present, the time has come to be liberated, healed and set free. Wanting this and achieving this are also very different things, but where there is a will, there is a way! Perhaps the biggest step one can make is to have a true desire to want to heal; this may sound strange, but so many seek out sticking plasters and quick fix solutions which barely cover the cracks. Wanting to heal comes from a deeper and perhaps truer place, where we go beyond surface issues right to the core of things; and it is from here that true and lasting healing takes place.

Yet this takes courage and it takes strength, and this is where the warrior comes in. We all have a warrior within us; we all have that fighting spirit that can see us keeping on keeping on even when the going gets tough. However, sometimes things get too much and like the long dark winter days missing the sun, we lose the connection with our inner power and fighter. Yet, the warrior remains within us as he/she always has; it is simply up to us to access this part of our being. Sounds easy, and in some ways it is, for this is about having a clear intention, but at the same time, it can be hard to call the warrior when life feels like a prison cell, with infinitely high walls and dense, immovable bars. When we feel trapped in life events, it can be hard to even feel a connection to the warrior, let alone embrace the energy.

Sometimes where there is no clear escape route from the situations that we find ourselves in, to continue to struggle seems fruitless. Yet, think warrior, think passion, think personal power, and when we re-focus, we somehow find a little more energy to keep up the fight. Perhaps looking at life as a battle or a fight gives it a more challenging energy? Maybe we need to see that life is but a journey, with undulating hills, tricky mountain passes and white knuckle rides down twisting rivers? We all have a mixture of terrain in life, and whilst there is a strong sense that at the moment the energies are a little too confusing to make sense of, perhaps we need to stop battling ourselves in order to find answers? Maybe, just maybe, if we can give our inner warriors the time and space they need to heal and re-build then we can, in our own time, get back up on that white horse, with charger in hand and ride off into the sunset with peace in our hearts and strength oozing from every cell.

Knowing whether to fight or whether to refrain is such a difficult question at this time, for each of us is a totally unique individual. Yet refraining from ‘fight’ is not about giving up, it is about surrendering to the flow of life in order to ride the currents rather than fighting them. Sometimes we have to trust the flow and know that we can escape the prison cell and the darkness, and as the sun continues to rise up within now, the warrior will show us the way...