WHEN YOU'RE STRESSED or in the midst of a painful crisis,
it's harder to connect to your higher self and have confidence in that
connection. How do you connect within and develop confidence in that deeper
part of yourself, in your intuition, when you're experiencing self-doubt, when
you feel stuck or when your life seems to be falling apart?
To empower you to utilize the "how-to" steps below
most effectively, I will first touch upon viewing life from a deeper-level
perspective. Consider for a moment that your higher self is ultimately in
charge of your life, has always been in charge, and that your higher self's
primary purpose is to grow and to come to know who you are through firsthand
experience. Since personal growth is bliss to the soul, you will sometimes find
yourself in challenging and painful situations that encourage such growth.
Because even though it may seem easier to connect to your higher self when you
are relatively comfortable with your life, when you are lying on a beach
somewhere in the Caribbean sipping margaritas, it's probably not very likely
you'll actually follow through on its guidance (in other words, take action) if
doing so causes you to step even slightly outside your comfort zone. Remember
that your soul would find the stagnation that results from remaining within
your comfort zone completely unbearable.
Because pain and suffering (also known as "learning
through contrast," or "duality") was traditionally the fastest
way to spiritual growth and evolution, your higher self had planned plenty of
it in your life. From your soul's point of view, stepping into the creativity
that takes you beyond your ordinary life makes the often relatively short-lived
crisis well worth it. In times of crisis, people are much more likely to search
for creative and inspiring solutions to their problems. Historically,
incredible technological as well as social advances resulted from experiences
that were painful to the collective human body and psyche. And contrary to what
we have been led to believe, separating from our higher selves was something
our higher selves actually engineered, for some highly noble purposes, too: for
the learning experiences that will benefit the whole of humanity.
Currently, we are in the midst of what some call the
"end times," the beginning of a "new earth." My
understanding is that the higher self will lead us there. By reconnecting to
the higher self, we are heading in the direction of the "Golden Age."
By reconnecting to the higher self, we are also shifting the learning
experience from one of "learning through pain" to one of
"learning through joy." This is wonderful news, of course, and what I
feel will change on a fundamental level.
So how do you reconnect as easily and as gracefully as
possible when you're going through stressful life changes? The first thing to
remember is that since your higher self had planned your life, including your
biggest problems, you have the knowing and the capacity within to resolve all
those problems successfully. All you have to do is to connect and to gain
enough confidence in that connection so that you follow through on your inner
guidance promptly and consistently. By following through, your higher self will
take you into your own "Golden Age." Understanding this will reduce
your fear and anxiety, which will in turn facilitate your reconnection. For a
more thorough discussion of these concepts, please read the articleThe Truth
about Awakening: Reconnection with the Higher Self.
Let's now go to the "steps" of the reconnection
process. NOTE: I use the term "steps" loosely because this process
isn't quite linear.
Ask Your Higher Self To Help You
This is important because your higher self will respond to
your intention and your willingness to reconnect. Your higher self also knows
what works best for you and how to get your attention. Remember that your goal
is to develop a stronger, deeper, clearer relationship with your higher self.
Indicating your readiness will help the process.
Meditate and Pay Attention To Your Sacred Space
The next step is to pay attention to your "sacred
space." Your sacred space is your center, the area that's defined by the
heart, the "soul seed," and the solar plexus. The soul seed is
located at the center of the breastbone where your ribs meet, and the solar
plexus is below the sternum about an inch or two above the navel. You don't
have to pinpoint the sacred space exactly, only to have an idea of its general
location. From here, you will do two things: you will meditate with your
attention on this area, and you will "check in" to this area several
times a day.
Meditation
You can use whatever meditation you like while focusing on
the sacred space. I like to meditate right before I go to sleep by placing my
left hand on my heart and my right hand over the soul seed as this helps me
focus on this area. Putting your hands on your sacred space also helps calm the
body, which helps you get into a deeper state of meditation. This is a good
time to reconfirm your commitment to your higher self and to ask any questions
you may have. Then, rather than trying to have the thoughts go away, pay
attention to any feelings and thoughts that come into your awareness. At first,
you may notice some subtle feelings. Then after a while, the feelings may have
thoughts associated with them. Don't try to force anything because whatever
happens is perfect for you. Try to meditate for about 10-15 minutes in the
morning when you awaken, and another 10-15 minutes at night (or as long as you
can before you fall asleep).
Checking In
Several times a day, "check in" by placing your
attention on your sacred space and noticing how you feel. Is there a feeling, a
thought or a message from your higher self? What you're doing here is preparing
to receive messages from your higher self by consciously anticipating them
rather than letting them go by unnoticed. (Remember that we often ignore our
intuition and later regret that we did.) Checking in usually only takes a
minute or so.
Paying attention to your sacred space and the feelings
associated with it will help you recognize and discern your inner guidance from
the thoughts, feelings and beliefs that come from outer influences and mental
conditionings.
Follow Through On Your Guidance Promptly and Consistently
Make the commitment and build up the courage to follow
through on the inner guidance promptly and consistently. In the beginning, when
you are building up trust in your higher self, you will be asked to do some
things that shouldn't be all that difficult to do. For example, you may receive
guidance (in the form of a feeling or a thought) to call an old friend, to
write down an insight, or to do something in a particular order that isn't your
normal way of doing things. Go ahead and follow your guidance as soon as you
can. Notice what happens as a result. When something favorable happens as a
result of following through, your trust in your intuition and in your
connection will grow. Keep this up and it will continue to grow until you get
to the point where you begin to trust your inner self more than anyone or
anything outside of yourself. This is an important milestone, as things will
get really interesting from here on. I call this milestone "critical
mass." (The concept of critical mass is often misunderstood in the New Age
community.) Critical mass is when the relationship with your higher self
becomes at least as important and as real to you as any of your other
relationships. My understanding is that this is the point where you tap into
the magic of interconnectedness - synchronicities, amazing insights, signs from
the universe, and universal cooperation.
Ask For Clear Guidance When You Feel Stuck
When you need immediate guidance but don't trust yourself to
interpret your inner thoughts and feelings correctly because you're
stressed-out or afraid, you can ask your higher self to send you guidance so
plain and clear it can't be misinterpreted. I have received such "signs
from the universe" on a number of occasions and they came rather quickly
after I asked for them, too. (At that point, I was already gaining trust in my
intuition and was pretty confident that I would follow through with the
guidance when I received it. It's just that my choices were rather difficult to
make.) For more information on these "signs," you may want to read my
article Is it Coincidence, or a Sign from the Universe?
Be Prepared To Let Go Of Old Beliefs and Conditionings
Sometimes, old beliefs and conditionings (about yourself,
about other people, and about the world) seem to get in the way of your
progress and will need to be released. Again, this will get easier as you get
further into the process because you will reach a point where your trust in
your inner guidance will simply override your beliefs. The heart and soul can
override false beliefs held by the mind. Remember, many of your beliefs didn't
come from you in the first place but from society's misinterpretations and
misunderstandings.
Connecting to your higher self and letting go of outdated,
false beliefs go hand in hand. I know it isn't always an easy thing to do. It
helps, of course, to have examples of others who did this and how they did
this. It also helps to understand that your beliefs had an important purpose
for humanity's growth and evolution. They allowed for an enormous range of
experiences for the collective consciousness to grow through. It was the
perfect and right thing for you to have them; it happened for the greater good
of the whole. It's just that it's time for a whole new paradigm now, it's time
to let go of what no longer serves us because we have outgrown the old.
When you let go of cherished beliefs that you suspect may be
false (your suspicion just may be your higher self whispering to you) you
enable insights and new possibilities to come through that previously were
blocked by those beliefs. The flow of creativity and abundance in your life is
thus unblocked, making it easier to achieve your heart's desires in the end.
Continue the Process To Find Your Life Purpose
Sometimes you will need to recommit to your higher self more
than once. It's almost like you'll be tested; you'll come across an obstacle
and you'll have a choice about how to continue. Will you recommit to your
higher purpose no matter what it takes? It's much easier to do this when you
can see the bigger picture - which is why I've been explaining the bigger
picture rather than just giving "how-to" tips. I found that I had
breakthroughs (in creativity, productivity, insights, connections, etc.) soon
after I recommitted to my higher purpose. These breakthroughs and the feelings
of triumph they fostered motivated me to keep going even further.
The breakthroughs in creativity, wisdom and insights are the
"hidden gifts" that are part of the "inner repertoire" of
your soul. (Remember that your higher self is your connection to the wisdom of
your infinite life, your connection to the larger universe, and the gateway to
the abundance and the unexpected blessings of the universe.) In other words,
when you reconnect to your higher self, you are consciously activating your
"super-conscious" mind.
Continue on this process and you will be able to make sense
of your life which will give you not only confidence in your inner self but
ultimately the success and the inner peace that your deepest heart longs for.
Contrary to popular opinion, when you find that you're making more sense of
your life, when you are beginning to understand the bigger picture of life,
your intuition and your logical reasoning will begin to go hand in hand and you
will no longer feel that you're fighting the inner battle (between your mind
and your heart). And when you stop the inner battle, the outer battles will
also stop.
The process above will not only reconnect you to your higher
self for guidance, but it will be exactly what you need to do to find your
higher life purpose - your soul's blueprint for success. Furthermore, this
process will be your entry key, your initiation into, and your contribution
towards the Golden Age. The source of your creativity, of your highest
potential, of the experience of flow, and of abundance is your higher self.
Relax, and allow it to unfold within you!
