Reflection Or Guide?

I’m not one who resonates easily with ‘either/or’ statements or binary conclusions, however, there is something interesting and undoubtedly ‘true’ about this statement…and I’m sure there’s more possibilities than are stated…but I kinda liked this one.

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I learnt this principle when I read “Conversations with God”…! It resonates with me :slight_smile:

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Sorta the “Is this a YES for me, or contrast in some way?”

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That’s very much the response I get to the meme myself…which, I suppose is what makes it a bit intriguing for me, feeling that energy tension move around between ‘Yes or contrast’. Thanks for that.

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This is a mind-tickler for me :slight_smile: I feel that it’s expressing something I’ve been circling around recently. Maybe triggered by all the talk of ‘getting back to normal’…

This quote feels more like a…challenge to me, to wake up and pay attention. Really think about how I want to move forward in in my life, in this world… I’ve recently been hmmmm… observing (and reacting to!!) some pretty gut-stirring fears. And by tapping, walking, writing through all that, I have begun to… feel stirrings of curiousity… Nothing specific, just… a sense of wondering what’s next…

And maybe it’ll be that ‘getting back to normal’ will feel like a novelty! :grin: But then again, maybe there’s a something or someone or somewhere that, if I’m paying attention, will show me that I’m heading into a… new something… Hmmm…which is tantalizing, yes – but also, for a sixty-eight year old Taurus, a real challenge! Hahahahhaa…

Don’t know if this makes a lot of sense, but it’s been a relieving exercise for me to attempt to detangle some recent thoughts in a safe place – Thank you!

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Makes sense to me, Jo. I’m a different person, and I’m aware that more depth is what matters right now than more “activity.” We-spaces. Espcially ones with more crafting feel than “getting it done… so we can move on to the next thing!”

How will it look? What assumptions and expectations can I let go of or at least look at with fresh eyes?

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Yes, Rick – that’s the question, isn’t it? For me, it’s the assumptions and expectations that I HAVE looked at and found to be…wanting. Learned and accepted. And I find I can’t accept them anymore. My perspective has changed.

When I re-read that quote today, I still felt that sense of Challenge – but I realize now that the challenge isn’t about stepping into something new; it’s the challenge to NOT be mesmerized by the allure of ‘same shit, different day’ – all that familiarity. Comfort zone stuff. It doesn’t sound comfortable to me anymore.

And this isn’t a brand new thought, of course – every life change poses the same challenge, to some degree, anyway. I guess, for me, this current time feels like a bigger step away from what I ‘knew’ and that’s why I’m… mmmm… willing to express this here… hmmm…

More untangling? Or am I completely unravelling!!! Hahahaaa… It’s all in the point of view, innit? :slight_smile: Jo

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The allure of ‘certainty’…it’s what makes a ‘comfort zone’ feel good. I think the biological need to feel certainty is a fundamental driving force in us as mammals. But of course there is a balance necessary for thriving. The need and willingness to move into ‘uncertainty’ is what allows us to leave our nests and acquire food…and new knowledge…and new experiences. Too much certainty is stagnation and boredom…too much uncertainty creates anxiety and Primitive Brain reactionary behaviours. I’ve come to see the ‘certainty/uncertainty’ dynamic as our most fundamental yin/yang energy that flows through us.

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Yes, I agree with you; it’s the natural cycle of life, isn’t it?

But I think, for me, these past two years have over-loaded my uncertainty circuit – maybe I’ve got ‘Primitive Brain Exhaustion Syndrome’ :slight_smile: Now it’s just cranky – and tired… ‘What’s this – another crisis? Ho-bloody-hum…’

Ah, well – I’ll just keep doing what I always do – take one step at a time and I’ll get to my ‘what’s next’ in due time :slight_smile:

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I hear ya!! ‘PBES’ has got me in it’s grips too and no doubt millions of others… :frowning:

I know for myself that I had no more access to many of my parasympathetic rituals that I had established (that help create the experience of certainty) and I suspect that’s the case with huge numbers of others. Limited or no access to friends, family, group activities, hobbies, etc. Too much certainty may make Jack a dull boy but two years of intense uncertainty makes Jack and Jill just a little bit f***ing krazy!!! Some large doses of Vitamin C(ertainty) are what is called for I think.

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Yes to this! :yin_yang:

In Daoist Alchemy, part of the practice of Stage One Alchemy is to get comfortable with uncertainty, to be willing to enter the darkness and unknown, and find deep trust within ourselves and in our connection to the cosmos, that we are where we need to be in this moment, and have the capacity to choose how to perceive and respond to whatever arises, even if it’s something new… or something old, but with new energy, and different possibilities than were available to us before!

I’ve been doing a lot of Alchemy treatments for clients these two years, and it’s beautiful to see how getting comfortable moving into the unknown allows greater Ease and Flow in life than does clinging to certainty!

Part of Stage One Alchemy is also to practice a Letting Go meditation at the end of each day, to let go of ALL the things that “caught our breath” during the day, whether good or “bad”, so we can go to sleep at peace, and move into the next day with fresh perspective, not clinging to the expectations of good/bad things to come based on the previous day, but opening to the morning like a child, ready for What Is to unfold, and to dance with it, and to co-create our world in a way that feels aligned and true, and moving into greater harmony and health for all of us, in our immediate We-Space and beyond…

No easy task, but good to keep the intention! :wink::yin_yang:

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EGGGGGGZACTLY, Glenn! The constant clamour of doom has taken its toll on even MY congenital optimism (I’m generally known as little Miss Sunshine, believe it or not!) :grin: And if the ‘certainties’ that have been offered (here in Ontario, anyway) are all I have to look forward to…well, it’s all a little 1984-ish for my taste…

So it’s no wonder I’m feeling QUITE ready – Taurean caution notwithstanding – to break out of ANY repeating cycle and head for new pastures; and even if they aren’t green, I’m a gardener, dammit – I’ll bring my seeds of trust and reverence in the basic goodness of Life and human nature and create to MY vision!

Tally-ho! Jo

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Ohhhh! Would be wonderful sometime to do this together in a circle session (or even for you and me in our home). I’ve been doing that, in my way, and there’s a poetry in how you describe this that helps take it to a more fresh intention. Love you!

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I was thinking the same thing… but since you know Jem better than me I’m glad you asked… :slight_smile: I’d love to learn the meditation…it would be very helpful.

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It’s on my list to record a new version; with a little more childcare coming soon, maybe that will happen! I’ll keep you posted. :yin_yang::sparkles:

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