What!?”
I got “Don’t trust Your Instincts,”from #Marie Forleo and it tweaked my brain.
We hear, “Trust our intuition. Trust your gut. Listen
to your higher calling,” and then we hear, “Don’t trust your instincts?” How
crazy is that?
But I see, she’s right. We aren’t wild animals in need
of fight or flight, at least not most of the time--and stay out of dark alleys.
We’re afraid of ridicule, of rejection, of doing it
wrong and thus being embarrassed. We won’t begin the work that will make our
heart’s sing for we have a gatekeeper telling us that we don’t have what it
takes. We’ll fail. We’ll lose our money. We’ll become bankrupt. We’ll be
embarrassed.
Those are the sort of “Don’t trust your instincts,” I’m
talking about. Those instincts are into survival mode. Look at it this way, we
won’t die of embarrassment, and we won’t get ostracized and left in the Sahara
without food or water, where lions will probably finish us off. Your instincts are there to keep you alive,
and they can be tenacious.
“The more
important your project is to your soul’s evolution, the more you will resent
it.”—Steven Pressfield
Old resistance,
fear, procrastination, at play here.
“The need to
feel safe, valuable and loved has focused our attention outward toward what is
external.”—Gary Zukau
This external focus has caused us to study, to learn,
to look to the stars, the plants, and animals and downward into the sea. It has worked for so long we no longer think
about it.
Now, according to Zukau, we need to use our lives,
homes, and friendships for a greater goal—toward spiritual growth.
You have probably wondered as have I how we as a
society can build gigantic machines that built other gigantic machines (watch
road builders shipbuilders, bridge builders, dam builders, skyscraper builders at
work), but we can’t solve poverty, crime, the need for people to alter their
state with drugs, and eliminate brutality.
Brene’ Brown says we cannot be without suffering until
all of us are without suffering.
A bigger, smarter computer won’t fix us. Neither will
a better car, refrigerator, etc. Might be fun though.
We know how to feed (sort of) ourselves and shelter
ourselves (most of us), but we don’t know how to raise our consciousness to
become more spiritually aware, to give up the need to be right in the face of
opposing ideologies, and to allow people their own path.
We are so polarized that we can hardly have a
discussion with someone who has opposite views than we do without becoming
irate.
Do they still have debating in school, where each side
must take the position of the other?
“If you plan for one year, plant rice.
If you plan for 10 years plant trees.
If you plan for 100 years—educate children.” –Confucius
Many people feel inadequate most of the time, feel embarrassed
sometimes, and angry often. 80% hate their jobs.
What can we do about this?
What if we look at life as more of an adventurous
experience, we will then have more excitement.
If we look at life as stress, our brain will pump out
cortisol, and our cells will say, “Give me more of that.”
Once I had a little lady mow my lawn. She found me at
the dump and wanted a job. She was bipolar but had moments of absolute clarity.
Once she told me when I was multitasking to pretend I was washing the Baby
Buddha. Which meant, if you are washing the baby Buddha, you would pay
attention, and not be thinking of anything else. (Wise woman.)
I have put forth a dichotomy, Number one: Don’t trust
your instincts for they are scaredy cats, and Two, trust your intuition for it
will point you down the Sacred Path.
So, how do we tell the difference?
Ask your question:
“Should I marry Ralph?” Or whatever you are questioning.
Does your body fell expansive or contracted?
Expansive is excited, even if some fear is involved.
Contracted is a dread, it feels like pulling eye
teeth.
Your body won’t lie. Talk over this situation with a
friend who will give you their genuine take on your appearance. Did you light
up considering the possibility of marrying Ralph? Or did you look dead?
That should give you an answer.
Many people ask, “What’s the meaning of life?” That
indicates that they aren’t having much fun, or they would know the answer. It
is to experience being alive. It is to be here at this moment and to raise the
consciousness of the planet.
Yes, I know, the planet knows how to take care of
itself. Like our bodies know how to heal, unless it becomes so inundated with toxins
that it must have help, like medicines, surgery, diet, supplements, etc. And we
don’t want our home, our planet, to become so toxic it can’t heal itself.
We ought to be like a physician, taking the Hippocratic Oath, “First
Do No Harm.”
And regarding instincts, preserve them, for, in
moments of crisis, they can save your life.
What would your life look like if you thought it was
easy?
