Category: Spirit – Soul, Courage

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Dazed and Confused – The Unexpected Lessons

Some lessons come out of the blue. Yes, I’m on a sincere quest to know myself – but damn! Those revelations that catch me sideways are booger-bears.

While I’m familiar with the “Aha!” of sudden insight, a recent and unexpected epiphany threw me.

Brené Brown’s book Atlas of the Heart explores the language of experience. She helps us define meaning and gain understanding from emotions. In the chapter on “Places We Go When It’s Beyond Us” her insights helped me appreciate that surprising and confusing Eureka moment.

She began quoting Adam Grant who wrote Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know:

“I need time for my confusion.” Confusion can be a cue that there’s new territory to be explored or a fresh puzzle to be solved.”

She continues saying “.. confusion like many uncomfortable things in life, is vital for learning. According to research, confusion has the potential to motivate, lead to deep learning, and trigger problem solving.”

With my area of focus the past six months crystalizing, I found that I’d hunkered down in my story. When I was presented with some sound logic revealing a persistent blind-spot I was dumbfounded.

Had to sit with that discomfort for a little minute.

However, it led me to move into another emotion Ms. Brown groups with confusion – curiosity.

Many of my recent discoveries are sound, and I’m pointed in the right direction. But the nuance I found by removing this barrier revealed a treasure trove to explore.

Now, I can’t cop to being comfortable sitting in confusion; but curiosity motivates me.

I KNOW – that I don’t know what I don’t know. I have decades of willingness to be uncomfortable and risk being wrong under my belt. And still, I have blind spots.

So let me be curious and follow the breadcrumbs of confusion. Let me hold that space and continue to surprise myself.

“Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. We have to ask questions, admit to not knowing, risk being told that we shouldn’t be asking, and, sometimes, make discoveries that lead to discomfort.”

― Brené Brown; Atlas of the Heart
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Hooked by Illusion – Snap out of It!

Living in the present moment wants tenacity. Relentless worries about some possible future – or triggers from old narratives surface regularly. Getting hooked by the illusion shaped by these tales opens the door to suffering.

At the height of my Corporate adventures, musing about my next holiday lightened the daily grind. Before that my daydreams were filled with achieving the very role I then wanted to escape. And so on and so forth. An unconscious way to walk through life.

Something was amiss.

My curiosity on this puzzle led me to many great sages, like Dr. Joe Dispenza and Eckhart Tolle. Their books struck a chord, bringing together concepts and perspectives, particularly about the nature of time, that continue to influence my studies.

Time isn’t real. It’s simply a mental construct.

When I came across this Alan Watt’s thread on Twitter, I snagged it. The Universe generously and consistently sends me reminders. Which apparently, I need always and forever.

How curiously easy it is to disconnect from the only moment I genuinely have. Angst about the past. Dread for the future. Bonds used by the media, culture and habit, keep my eyes off the divine moment I inhabit.

Alan Watts says, “you can’t live at all unless you can live fully now” . . and that “we are living for an abstraction which has not yet come to be.”

Waking up to the moment is a good message to play on repeat – to watch for and acknowledge, to meditate on. Especially for a storyteller like myself.

“Glance into the world just as though time were gone: and everything crooked will become straight to you.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche
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“Don’t Worry, My Story Ends Good”

Thank you Lisa Nichols!

When I encounter those who would tear me down and point out how I fall short of their ideal, you remind me. You remind me to ignore the naysayers. You remind me to stand tall in my convictions and aspirations – to keep moving forward.

One thing that boosts my nerve to face the inevitable critics is the backing of kindred spirits.

Taking big risks to meet eccentric objectives is a habit I made early. The first few were reckless and impulsive. Without serendipity there for me things coulda gone sideways fast. Encountering a supportive, caring posse saved my ass, most of the time.

Subsequent leaps off the cliff were a bit more calculated. Now I apply the lessons learned; nurture a mutual, committed support system. And tuck away a tentative Plan B.

My community balances the critics. Everyone has an opinion. Listening to my personal board of directors helps me evaluate the contradictions. And yet, it is my peculiar insight that has the final say.

Ms. Nichols says, “other people’s perception of you ain’t none of your business.”

She’s right. It’s my unique knowing that matters. It’s me defying gravity.

“After all, the true seeing is within.” ― George Eliot, Middlemarch

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My Eagle Has Landed – Far Out!

A Bald Eagle visited us last week. We got the heads up she was around, then I saw her. My husband and I spent the next hour bird watching – fascinated by the size and power of this creature.

Birds are symbolic for me. Perhaps being born into a family with the surname “Hawk” predisposed me to watch out for these beautiful animals.

Maybe the dramatic dream event featuring a flying oracle that arrived at a pivotal moment in my life is what influences my persistent sky gazing. Certainly, Richard Bach’s book Illusions kicked off a decades long habit of collecting blue feathers as a reminder of my ability to manifest my life.

What message is this Eagle here to deliver? Watching for signs from the Universe is enlightening, and personal. This particular visit happened just before the Winter Solstice, while I was meditating on my Intention for the coming year.

In his article about Eagle Symbolism & Meaning (+Totem, Spirit & Omens), Garth C. Clifford suggests:

“An encounter with an eagle is a moving experience which has the potential to broaden one’s mind and open the heart to new experiences. Encountering an eagle is often uplifting. Eagle encounters may occur during times when we are most in need of the eagle’s fearless majesty. Eagle encounters remind us to have faith in ourselves and to choose the righteous path.”

Eagle symbolism is found in many philosophies, including Christianity, Greek Mythology and Celtic Lore. Certain Native Americans believe the eagle to represent “the upward direction. The eagle spirit is a powerful leader, a messenger between earth and the heavens, and even a sacred healer.”

Joyce Elliot looks at What Does a Bald Eagle Symbolize? 7 Powerful Meanings. Her enquiry proposes:

  1. The Power of Freedom; The bald eagle was chosen as an American national symbol in 1782 because of its great size, strength, and beauty. . . it has no natural enemies in North America and thus can fly anywhere it pleases.
  2. You Are Trying To Control Everything; This bird symbolism represents the idea that you are trying to control everything in your life. While this may sound good, it may lead to da [sic] destruction of relationships with other people.
  3. A New Chance In Life; The bald eagle is one of the most recognizable birds in America, and it’s also one of the most powerful symbols. And it’s not just because of its strength…the bald eagle represents a fresh start in life.
  4. Showcase Your Talents; Seeing a bald eagle is a sign from the Universe that you need to start using your talents and secret powers. The animal itself is a symbol of power, freedom, and wisdom, so if you see one, it means that you have a lot of untapped potentials that can be unleashed.
  5. Don’t Pretend; The bald eagle represents the power to be yourself and to do whatever it is you want to do, without fear. Seeing this bird also implies that you need to stop pretending and be yourself.
  6. Don’t Neglect Your Soul; Seeing this bird means that you should not neglect your soul. The bald eagle is a symbol of the power of the spirit and its ability to soar above the material world. It also represents divine guidance and protection.
  7. You Can Do It; Seeing a bald eagle is a positive sign and it means that you need to believe in yourself and your abilities. It represents strength, power, and freedom. It’s also considered to be a sign of good luck and prosperity.

My last bald eagle sighting was in Alaska during the 2003 Summer Solstice. This new spotting was magnificent and momentous. Recently I learned that the Raven is my spirit animal. Between discovering my new envoy and the Eagle sighting, I’m encouraged and eager for my next chapter. Being aware enough to listen to messages meant for me is a gift I give myself.

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” ― Henry David Thoreau

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Choose to be Different – If You Want To

We are who we believe we are. Choosing to be different is within our control. Seth Godin’s recent blog post points out this opportunity. He told a friend of his:

“The person we see when we look in the mirror is the person we become, the person we fight to defend and persist with.

If you see someone who doesn’t have a lot of friends, then every time a potential friend comes along, you will find a way to distance yourself from the heartache of being rejected, and you’ll continue to not have a lot of friends.

If you see someone who isn’t happy with inputs you can’t control, then when new inputs come along, you’ll find something wrong with them and seek more control not less.

If you see someone who thrives on challenges, challenges will become a chance to thrive.”

Seth encourages me to show up every day and see the person I want to be. This requires I acknowledge habits of thought that perpetuate a self I don’t want. With this insight, he suggests I change the stories I tell. Stop the drama and the dogged discontent I narrate – to myself and to others. Tell better stories.

Then behave accordingly.

“If you want to become the kind of person who can teach an 8-year-old how to play basketball, you can start doing that right now.

If you want to be the kind of person who leads, you can begin to lead.

If you want to.”

Acknowledge the problem.

Decide to change.

Reprogram beliefs.

Apply new behaviors.

Again and again and again . . .

“If you want to.”

“But this is human life: the war, the deeds,
The disappointment, the anxiety,
Imagination’s struggles, far and nigh,
All human; bearing in themselves this good,
That they are still the air, the subtle food,
To make us feel existence, and to show
How quiet death is.” – Keats

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ― Confucius

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