There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.
Rumi
Sometimes, life can feel like a funhouse.
Have you ever been in one of those boardwalk amusement attractions, where everything is distorted and confusing?
I’ve gotten lost in one of those when I was really young. It was extremely difficult not to be amused at the extreme width of your girth, comical length of your legs, and wicked point of your ears as you passed by each mirror – showing you differing, warped versions of what you look like.
When I was little, it mattered little to me that I analyze how things were distorted. I got lost in the experience and took each turn for what it was. But as an adult, every image I see is an opportunity for me to discern what’s real and what isn’t.
Life, you see, presents us with so many opportunities to discern truths from non-truths like the boardwalk funhouse.
Being an idealist, learning how to be more realistic and logical (when needed) has been a challenge. But learning to trust my instincts and my intuition… this came as a hard-earned strength.
For you, too, I can imagine, it would be important to know when to trust your intuition: when to call a spade a spade, and when to take a leap of faith.
How do you learn to trust your intuition?
In life, learn to take multiple perspectives.
Collect as many shades of sunglasses as you can, if you will. Those that do the following are most useful: removing structure (increasing spontaneity), and understanding calamities (they’re just opportunities). Do more outside the box – be your own devil’s advocate and remove patterned ways of thinking. Also, get really good at seeing challenges misfortunes as simply opportunities in disguise.
In love, pursue your bliss.
When you follow what makes your heart go thump-e-dee-thump, you’ll find that there’s no escaping the following: healing your soul, acknowledging your dreams, and creating space for new paradigms. When you follow that undeniable rhythm that is all your own, you’ll come across what seem like red herrings – but in fact, will be the exact things that you need to heal on your journey. Healing and expansion go hand in hand, and in following your bliss, you can’t do one without the other. So heal the things that come up: the people that make you angry, the possibilities that make you fearful, and the illusions that make you sad. You’ll see that once you do the healing, you’ll be nudged along by the Universe to own your dreams (they’re made of the same star-stuff that you’re made of). Learning to state with confidence what you know is possible, will make way for new ways of perceiving yourself in the context of this world (new paradigms).
In purpose, pursue peace and compassion for thine own self.
You have limiting beliefs because others made you believe your voice didn’t exist. In order to remove barriers to fulfilling and meeting your potential, give back. Whether it’s your time, finances, or any other resources such as gifts and talents you’re lucky to have in this life, share them liberally. Find areas in this world (e.g., helping veterans or previously incarcerated readjust to society, teaching social skills to mentally handicapped) that pull and tug at your heart strings. And start there – give what you can, and you’ll find that life purpose finds a whole new meaning.
If you can do all of the above, you’ll see something magical happen: your emotions will begin to balance out. When your emotions balance out, you’ll find that the doors to intuition will swing wide open. And when you’re connected to your intuition, you’ll know – every time, without a doubt – when to call a spade a spade, and when to take a leap of faith.
Live with intention. Inspire with love.