Any chance experiences have seemed heightened within your relationships with others lately? And by lately, I mean, over the past 3-4 months...
I ask because not only has this been a part of my experience, but I have also noticed it as a trend amongst many friends and clients I get to support. Like this image of boats on the Niagara River, this life experience offers continuous opportunities for reflections; catching glimpses of self. At times, due to the heightened intensity of an external situation, our focus can remain outward and it may take awhile to remember that that which we are experiencing externally is often a call to shift the gaze, discovering new ways of self-care, nurturing our emotional needs from within.
Thoughts and feelings that we have in relationship to others, when engaged consciously, have the potential for acting as mirrors of insight. Offering glimpses of understanding and invitations for self-love.
As we wade through the murky waters of interrelationships we are often keenly aware of all the ways it would be so much easier if the other person were to change. It seems so obvious, so clear - strong thoughts of who is to blame may rise and we feel able to see the moves they could make - which would simply make everything better.
When we hold these visions with certainty, while witnessing another engaging little to no change, our tensions and frustrations are bound to intensify. These stressful states can take a toll, sparking internal thoughts of calling it quits and walking away. (Of course! When experiencing the unpleasant - it is natural to want it to end, and if we can't end it, to want to get away.) This is where patience, strength, broader intentions, and discernment come in. There is a difference between engaging boundaries to protect from toxicity and turning away from a deeply unpleasant states that may in fact be inviting us to expand. We’ve all heard of growing pains – the discomfort in the legs or arms that kids experience at times as they grow. Perhaps through such moments of tension, we are being invited to see situations and experiences differently - broaden our perspectives, grow our hearts, and open to deeper levels of love by standing still amidst discomfort. These are the growing pains of the individuating heart, sensations met standing on the threshold of expansion.
You may have heard that phrase, “we create our own experience.” At times this can feel so clear, so spot on. While at other times it feels ridiculous, confusing and we may wonder how, if this is the case, we consciously take back the reins so that our experience and desires feel more aligned, more pleasant.
What I’ve noticed is that the more strongly I think I know better – how someone else should be living, acting and/or engaging in their life, the more tension arises in me.
The world around us acts as a mirror: when we are projecting out, nature invites us to reflect within.
This months practice offers an opportunity to step back into the drivers seat of our emotional experience - which we may have unknowingly placed in the hands of another.
Together, let's use these reflections to take back the wheel. Maybe the path to getting there sounds a little something like this, "Although I see it this way today, what would it feel like if I trusted your journey, opening to the possibility that I know not better than you?"
Energy and space exist within and all around us. As we release, there is space to fill. Through this simple conscious practice, we get a say in the energetic signature we create, which touches all we encounter – inside and out.
AXC Reflection in Practice
Today, I am releasing righteousness (thinking I know better). Today, I call in acceptance of the people and circumstances in my life, opening to curiosity around things that previously felt known and certain. Today, as I exhale, I release righteousness (thinking I know better). Today, as I inhale, I call in acceptance. I release righteousness in relationship to others. I release righteousness in relationship to the unfolding of my own life. I open to receive acceptance of the life choices/journey of another and their capacity for conscious engagement of choice. I open to receive acceptance of the unfolding of my life with all its unplanned events and surprises.
In doing so, I open more to life in the present moment, surrendering into the loving arms of trust and acceptance. I'm curious, what are you releasing? What are you calling in? Reply and share with me, I’d love to learn and hold space for your conscious engagement of this practice.
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