the gift of staying fully present in a world of change
by Licia Berry, March 2008
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
-Robert Frost
She knows how to make it in this world. An expert planner and achiever, she has always been admired for her ability to manifest what she wanted when she wanted it. But lately, she seems to be having trouble doing this. It is as if what worked for her before is no longer applicable; the rules seem to have changed. In a previous world where making things happen worked so well, now it seems as if she can’t make something happen no matter how hard she tries. It is as if there is some barrier between her and her old self….she can barely reach it anymore. Things feel upside down. What she was sure of before no longer has any foothold. She has developed health problems, has lost her job, and is in the midst of a divorce. She is in brand new territory. What’s next? What the hell is going on with her life?
This is a true story; in fact, it is a story that is being told to me over and over and over by clients, friends, and people on the street. We thought 2007 was a year in which many changes happened, but ever since 2008 rolled over it has been intensified ten-fold (at least!) Some people are having more violent changes occurring in their lives, such as the example above, while others are noticing more subtle but profound changes in the way their lives are manifesting. However, I can’t think of a single person who is not feeling stretched to live their lives in a different way than they ever have before.
We (the collective of physical existence on earth) are in an energetic cycle that could be summed up as the time of the Great Shift….no need to wait until 2012 to feel the change in collective consciousness, it’s happening now! We are in a time of rapid expansion that was ramped up as soon as the year 2008 began. Like a racehorse that explodes out of the starting gate, the changes are bursting with energy right from the beginning, and seem to be gaining momentum to take us through to the end.
In order to be more, hold more, radiate more, do more, and live with more joy, we are being faced with all the ways we limit the expression of our infinite soul. Our soul is our truest essence, it is who we really are, it is the larger part of us that guides and molds our existence. Our soul has a personality, it has preferences, it has desires. And it knows deeply and intimately who you are.
God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me. ~Author Unknown
If we have forgotten how to hear our souls’ guidance and instead have allowed the ego complete power over how we live our lives, then we can go out of alignment with our soul, our truest nature. A split occurs, and over time that split can grow wider and wider, until we don’t recognize ourselves any more, and we wonder whose life we are living. It feels very bad to be out of alignment with yourself. Feelings of panic, anxiety, fear, self doubt and uncertainty abound when we are trying to keep our ego in charge all by itself. The ego was not meant to captain our lives; it was meant to work in partnership with the larger guidance of our soul. It is like promoting the least competent worker to the CEO position to ask the ego to be in control of our lives. It is only a matter of time before we fall flat on our faces, or our lives come to a screeching halt. Our natural state is to be in alignment with our soul, with who we truly are.
Now, in 2008, we see things that we counted on to be there for us disappearing. It is as if we have hit a brick wall, and we have run smack into what is not fitting anymore. There is a reason this cycle of change isn’t feeling too good to many of us; we can trust that if something is falling apart in our lives, it is something that is out of alignment with our soul’s desires. But our ego freaks out because it is under the illusion of being in complete control, and that powerful status is being brought into question right now!
There is a lot of anger collectively because we are having trouble adjusting to the feeling of powerlessness that our ego is experiencing. But our soul, our spirit, the infinite essence of who we are is so in alignment with this change! The chaos that we are experiencing is part of a large collective cycle and we are right on track, we are part of the expansion of something bigger than ourselves. Whether you are riding the wave of change rather than being clobbered by it depends greatly on whether you are flowing and allowing those parts of your life to fall away or whether you are resisting and hanging onto something that is crumbling apart.
I find it helpful to keep in mind that when something dies it is making an opening for something new (and better!) In this time of supersonic letting go, it is very crucial to dig deep into our hearts and ask what we want for ourselves. On my radio show the other day, the Archangel Gabriel said to a caller that, “…the energy of chaos and upheaval that is being experienced is direct reflection of the lack of clarity in humanity about what they want….Humans have a habit of asking for static, so static is what is given to you by the ever-reflective universe. Whether humans are asking for static consciously or unconsciously, this is what they are asking for if they have not identified what they truly want. This the time to get crystal clear about what they want and, once they have identified this, to say it out loud to focus their energy.” If we have not been in the habit of giving a clear message to the universe about what we want, it takes some extra effort to put your order in. You have to learn how to communicate first!
Why being present is so crucial right now
I have been going through my own intense self examination and release this year, too. It has been a remarkable process! I work with my angel friends every day to assist me in moving through the changes as gracefully (and painlessly) as possible. One consistent message that I have been told over and over again this year is to “be present”. What is being present? Being present is when all parts of ourselves are collectively aligned in the current moment in time.
I notice that I get fearful when I don’t know what is coming…..I feel the sands shifting under my feet, and I feel how wide open my future is, so my ego gets in there and demands to know the specifics of what is coming. When those answers don’t come, my ego gets scared. And then I get caught it the wash cycle of thoughts about future that may have absolutely no bearing on what is real or true for me. But when I choose to be fully present, I pop out of the wash cycle. I get right here, right now, in this moment. And when I do, I notice that not only does my fear disappear, but all the information I need to make the next step forward is right there for me.
A second reason that being present is so important is that I don’t really know what I want in my heart of hearts unless I get present. Sure, I know what my ego wants because it’s those thoughts that are running repeatedly through my mind like a wild dog through the flower bed…..but to get to the quieter expression of my soul’s desires, I have to get present to hear/feel/discern them.
What I am being told and taught is that the future is completely up for grabs. In the past, it was true that we were on a path and that our future could be predicted within a certain degree of success. But now, the angels can’t even tell me what is coming 72 hours down the pike….the future is that movable and uncertain. And they’re Angels! What that means is that we get to make it up! And if we are being present, we know what we want. We are in touch with our feelings and with what is true for us in our hearts. And we know exactly what we need to do to get to living our soul’s desire.
I have been practicing being present. First, I say out loud, I choose to be fully present at all levels of my being now. Then I experience parts of myself that were out gallivanting around come back home to me. It is a subtle energy body experience of feelings parts of myself come back home to me. It feels good to be present. It feels balanced, grounded, centered, wise, still. I have all the information available in that moment; I have no fear, no confusion, no anxiety. The world is incredibly beautiful. It feels like being free and having all the keys. It feels like living the joyful life the angels are always telling me I was meant to live.
In contrast, when I am not present, it is becoming more and more uncomfortable for me. I had a conversation in February with a dear friend of mine who is coming to visit me this summer; in the call we were enthusiastically exploring how excited and grateful we were for each other (present feelings), when she shifted into talking about the logistics of renting a car, planning what we would be doing each day and other things that had no bearing in the now. As much as I wanted to follow her, I noticed my energy start to slide down a slippery slope; it was a feeling of watching bath water go down the drain. The more she talked, the more tired I got….. instead of gaining energy, I was losing energy. A thousand things could change between now and the future she was attempting to plan. Trying to go into the future, even just a few months away, pulled me away from the present moment, and I got the amazing opportunity to experience it how bad it felt.
A third reason it is so crucial to be present right now is that opportunities are showing up and we will miss them if we are not fully present to notice them! If I am so wrapped up in worrying about my future and wondering what is coming, there is a significant part of myself AWOL from this present moment, where all the information and opportunities are to create my future. Something wonderful, perhaps an answer to my soul’s desire, could be knocking at my door, but if I am not in the room to hear it, it becomes a missed opportunity.
And last, but not least, it is important and helpful to be present because then we can notice and be grateful for what IS working in our lives.
Try this:
a powerful little ceremony to find out what your soul wants and allow your dreams to come true
Create holy space for yourself. Collect a piece of pretty paper or a lovely journal and a pen. Find a quiet place with comfortable seating and pleasing surroundings. Light a candle if you’d like, maybe put on some soft music. Make sure you will not be interrupted…give this gift to yourself.
Once settled in, choose to be fully present by saying out loud, “I choose to be fully present at all levels of my being now.” Notice what you feel shifting in you as you speak this intention. Do colors get brighter? D you feel more at ease in your body? Do you notice having a little more energy?
Now state the intention of this little ceremony you are creating. I suggest saying out loud, “The purpose and intent of this ceremony is to come to clarity about what my soul wants for me and to begin manifesting it with ease and grace in my life.” The universe and all of those beloved spirit/angelic helpers in your life who are always working in your highest good and who are gathered together to assist you will benefit from your saying this because then they know clearly what you want.
Get quiet and very, very still. You are now going to have a conversation with your precious, infinite, powerful soul. Ask it, “What do we really, really want? What would bring the most joy to me? What would make my soul sing? Please tell me, I am listening.” Then listen, as if your heart had elephant ears. Be present. The soul communicates in many ways, including images, feelings, intuitive knowing, dreams…..be open and pay attention to what you can discern. Notice how you are feeling when you receive pieces of information. Does this information make you feel more joyful? More at peace? Did you receive some information that is a surprise to you, yet somehow feels deeply right? Be sure to thank your soul when you have received the information you seek.
On your piece of pretty paper or in your journal, make two columns. At the top of the left column, write “LEAVING”, and at the top of the right column write “ARRIVING”.
- LEAVING: In the left column write down the things you perceive that are falling away from your life. Include the big ones, like relationships, jobs, places, situations, plans, and include the more subtle ones, like beliefs, identities, attachments, fears, habits that you are releasing. These are the things that are falling away, the things that are leaving in order to make room for your wonderful, soul-led life.
- ARRIVING: In the right column write what you most desire. Write the things that your soul whispered to you, too, if they feel good to you. They should cause you to feel very joyful when you think about them. These are the things that you are making room for in your life.
Many of us forget that nature abhors a void…there is a direct relationship between what is leaving your life and what is arriving to fill that space. What will you, the creative master of your own wild and precious life, sing into existence for you? The sky is the limit!
Putting it into action:
Now, it is time to consciously release that which is leaving. Address each entry you made on the LEAVING side as if it were a person, saying out loud in a truly heartfelt and reverential way, “Thank you for the experience and learning that you brought to me. I choose to gracefully release you from my life. Blessings on your journey.” Breathe in and out, consciously letting go of what you are parting with……..you are a partner to this universe and it feels so good to fully acknowledge the gifts that you received from what is leaving.
Now it is time to breathe in the vision of your future…who will you be? Address each entry on the ARRIVING side as if it were somebody you are so excited to see, saying out loud in a grateful and expectant way, “I welcome you into my new, soul-led life!” Breathe each time you say this, in and down, exhaling as you ground this vision. Ask your Angels and all those who work in your highest benefit to assist you in manifesting this vision.
As you complete this practice, again thank your soul for being in partnership with you to live a joyous, fulfilled life. Your soul is guiding you; we have the choice to get quiet and listen, then to cooperate once we know what our soul is guiding us to do. As you come to closure in this ceremony, thank your angels/guides and helpers for assisting you to manifest what you have spoken. Make the choice to trust that you are in good hands. Move forward into your days grateful, expectant, in integrity, and choosing joy with every breath.
“The choice is whether one expresses one’s nature truthfully or spends the rest of one’s life lying about it.”
Marlo Thomas
There is no doubt that our world is changing; the flying debris as our old world is exploding (rather, imploding) can be a bit unsettling at times! What the angels have told me is don’t be distracted by the chaos. Keep the focus on what you want, once you have truly identified it. The slate is being wiped clean (forcibly in some cases), as if the hands of the universe are shaking us by the shoulders and saying WAKE UP! Let go of what is not truly you!
We are being asked, no urged, to look hard at who we really, really, really are and to be in integrity with that, and to let go of those things we have brought into our lives that don’t match the vibration of our souls. It is so vital right now to get super clear about what we want, who we are, and not to settle for anything less. It is too painful to try to pretend any more. Our truest self will not be denied!
“You have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be.”
Chuck Palahniuk
