I know many of you have been living through very challenging times in the last few years. Since lockdown we have moved collectively into a much more intense transformative process; a global dark night of the soul. I was watching a report from the devastating earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria a few days ago where one of the survivors, sitting amongst the rubble described the situation as Armageddon, and it doesn’t get much worse than that. For me, it’s not possible to watch the suffering of so many people without feeling heart-break and we don’t have to be in the disaster zone to feel the impact of all that is breaking down in our world; even those of us living in peaceful circumstances are being shaken to the core.
If, like me, you are on a conscious healing and creative path, I believe part of the soul work we have taken on is to find meaning, purpose and inspiration within the devastation of the old world structures that are passing away now. By coming to understand our own inner-world earthquakes and creating a common language for our experiences, we free ourselves into compassionate being and creative action and contribute to conscious evolution.
For the last few months I have been writing as an attempt to put into words the experience of losing my bearings during an intense period of psycho-spiritual transition, which I call my walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This story, which I’ve called Gathering Wisdom at the Edges of Uncertainty, covers a period of five months when I was experiencing limitation in every aspect of my being – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. This began at the end of July as I was completing work on the first phase of the Sitting with Death and Choosing Life Programme. I broke my right wrist and, combined with osteo-arthritis in my left hip, for which I was awaiting surgery, this rendered me immobile and dependent. It was one of those times when the meaning, direction and excitement of life disappeared. My consciousness contracted and the old identity that had served me well up until this point faded away; the whole process left me disconnected, confused and bereft.
I’m sure, you will have experienced something similar, for although this particular tale is mine, it is part of the much bigger human story of how we are evolving as spiritual beings having a human experience at this particular moment in history. I sense recently, many more of us are moving through these transitions, and more quickly. This may be manifesting for you as a crisis in physical health, deep grief at the death of a loved one, or a draining away of joy that has left you feeling isolated and unable to find motivation.
BUT, it isn’t all doom and gloom. You and I have the opportunity now to let go of old conditioning that has been forged over centuries of history and held in our psyches, and to move into a more creative and unified consciousness.
This is exciting.
Healing happens through a gradual deep process in which we are willing to sit with, witness, and release whatever is interrupting the creative flow of life as it moves through us. As uncomfortable, even life-threatening, as this may seem when we are fully in the process, it is an opportunity to clear everything inauthentic which hinders the journey forward and to reclaim and integrate the strength and power that has been hidden and repressed.
This is liberating.
When I take up the challenge to face into my personal shadows, grief and suffering, and to sit with them and invite them closer, fear and shame miraculously fade away to be replaced by acceptance, forgiveness, love and compassion. As I sit with death in this way, suffering transforms, consciousness expands, the heart opens, and I am once again free to choose life.
My writing practice becomes a source of sustenance, connecting me more truly with myself, with others, with what it means to be human, and with the whole magnificent dance of life and creation. The creative imagination nourishes me and brings me guidance by transforming my pain into a process of discovery.
This is inspiring.
The practice of sitting with death and choosing life is not easy. When we come together in intentional community to explore and share our experiences and our truth, we create a bigger, uplifting field of consciousness into which new insights and new inspiration can enter.
If what I am saying speaks to you, please join me for our first monthly Deep Discovery Conversation to build conscious community. We will explore together our experience of navigating troubled times and how we can re-source ourselves so that we live from the flow of creative inspiration. We meet on Thursday March 2, 6-30-8.30 or Saturday March 4, 10-noon. You can find out more and book here: https://www.tribeintransition.net/gathering-wisdom-from-the-edges-of-uncertainty/
