Superconscious

After a long break I reconnected with the producer on one of the documentaries I am working on about the book, The Heroine’s Journey and women’s psychological and spiritual journeys through life. We talked about our whys and soul missions in life. It was so uplifting and joyful to go through this at a time when we both needed it. Making feature documentaries has so far called up in me a lot of resilience. Most feature documentaries take between 2 – 5 years from conception to release and some up to 20 years! Before taking on a project I ask myself will I still care about this issue so passionately in 5 years? Am I passionate enough to keep going even if I get 100 nos? 

Often times when we are creating a project or experience it’s like flying a kite – if the conditions are right we just have to run fast and hard once and the kite soars. Once that initial effort has passed it is a matter of gentle guidance. It is very enjoyable. Sometimes though, the conditions are not favourable such as little wind. In these times it is easy for us to forget why flying the kite was so important, to get tired and give up. I love the motto, “when you are tired, rest, don’t quit.” In these times of rest, of pause we can remind ourselves of our why, reconnect to our joy in the process and outcome, remember our passion, and rejuvenate our energy through self nurturance. These processes of realignment can change our course, redirect us back to a success pattern where we are aligned with what we wanted to create and our chosen purpose.

So whether you are creating a long term or short term project, or a healthy, vibrant relationship with yourself or another or others, or healing some deep seated trauma – if you are feeling a bit tired or over it and ready to flip the table or through the towel in – I invite you realign with your purpose and passion. I invite you to recognise (= re + cognition / re-think) your ability to create.

As hidden in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam we have the power to create within our brains – our thoughts, our imagination. I invite you to get back in touch with the reasons you started on your journey.

What was the change you wanted to make? 

What was the experience you wanted to have?

Keep coming back to the questions: Who am I? What do I really want? And why do I want it? What would it be like if I had it?

Vision boards, mind movies or quotes on your computer home screen are other great tools for realignment something you can watch or see daily to remind you of your dreams, goals, and project outcomes.

Beliefs either liberate us or limit us. But some of the time we are not even conscious of our beliefs. They are subconscious and come from things we were told or observed as children. I invite you to shine a light on these shadows and make the unconscious conscious. 

This month I facilitated two tapping circles and the last one was incredible. We started by tapping with one of the participants who had a belief “I don’t appreciate things”. She also believed “I can create anything I want”. How this was turning up was she had created a lot of success in her life but could not hold onto to it as she would end up in self sabotage. She was anxious at a crossroad wanting to create but afraid of not been able to enjoy and maintain. Through the powerful tools of the emotional freedom technique she discovered where this began as a young girl hearing repeated messages “You don’t appreciate things / me / etc”. This message had become internalised. What we believe turns up in our lives as thoughts, feelings, experiences and the ways in which we can view reality through our perception and deception filters.

How do you interpret your reality? And how does that effect your choices especially what you are willing to explore and go after?

Gary Craig one of the founders of EFT used the metaphors of the palace of possibilities and the writing on the walls. He says we have so much potential we have hundreds of rooms we could explore but we stay in one room limited by the writing on the walls. The writing on the walls has been written by our parents, siblings, culture, school teachers, religions etc things like no pain, no gain, you’re not enough, that room is only for certain people not us / you, you can’t go in there to do art you will starve., etc. 

Please watch the below video for further explanation and a short guided meditation to erase your writing on the walls and choose to write new beliefs and see how your life transforms. 

Where your focus goes energy grows. Last week I had a dream I was drawing a circle of light on the floor and when I did that the floor changed qualities and you could move through it to the other side. I was telling another person you have to maintain your focus. Then I started to go through the hole but I lost focus and got stuck! 

One of my mentor would always say, “take a deep breath and become a 100% focused”. The mind training he passed on has served me very well. This month I wanted to share two videos I made about focus and imagination.

Anger is like fire it can get out of control and be very destructive or it can serve a purpose. As an energy anger is neither good nor bad. Consider e/motion containing e + motion = energy + motion…..

When we allow energy to move it can be processed and released. However, there are tendencies for emotions to get stuck in two main ways…..

1 – suppressing or repressing emotion

2 – wallowing in an emotion

To process and release the emotions is to give permission for movement. I would like to offer you a few suggestions when you are faced with a build up of intense energy.

First and foremost do your best to relax, relax, relax. Sometimes, the first emotion that needs to be processed is the fear of being overwhelmed by the emotions. (If you have fear and there are deep or complex issues it would be beneficial to get support through an EFT or other healing session. Eg clean your own teeth but go to a dentist for root canal.  Get in touch for support.) 

If we fear our emotions we may run away from them with addictions and distractions. This is an indicator of the first tendency of repression. If this is you, after you clear any fear,  becoming aware of what you feel in your body by moving your conscious awareness out of your head and into your body is a fantastic practise. 

You might notice your jaw is clenched, you are holding muscular tension, your palms become sweaty, or your breathing shallow, or your body might become hot. If we are in our heads and not feeling our feelings sometimes we don’t notice our feelings at all. Just acknowledging you are getting angry or are angry can provide movement.

If you tend towards the second option of wallowing then engaging your rational right brain  such  as naming the emotions and its source(s) helps to process the enormity / depth of the feeling state. 

Contemplation to investigate the thoughts and beliefs that relate to the anger is helpful for both tendencies. It can also reveal subconscious anger that is often buried because we feel we don’t have a right to have it. 

Looking deeper into anger we can find two root causes. One is a sense of unfairness and the other is a sense of powerlessness. 

Let’s compare guilt and anger as they both can reveal the ways in which we are thinking about fairness. Guilt relates to thinking we have done something unfair to someone else. Anger relates to feeling someone has done something unfair to us.

How do we know if it is really unfair? It can be valuable to dig deeper and ask is the story I am telling myself true? Is this behaviour / event really unfair? Eg. if you feel guilt for not cleaning the beach for one day and you have been cleaning it every day for years or if you feel angry for not getting flowers twice a day from your lover there may be some underlying beliefs to question.

On the other hand, you may ask the question – Have I really been unfair? And get a yes. Or you may ask – Have they been really unfair to me? And get a yes. This is your emotion giving you a signal to take action. E.G. Communicate and request changes for more justice and fairness or in the case you have been unfair make a mends. 

Many people say, ‘Seeing is believing’ but consider the opposite, ‘Believing is seeing’. What we believe to be true is often what we attract. If we believe life is ‘drab and grey’ (insert any belief about life) then we find ourselves in these situations either because they really are ‘drab and grey’ or we are perceiving them to be ‘drab and grey’. And this is where powerlessness often comes in.

If we believe there is nothing we can do eg ‘it is what it is’ that we have no choices then we can get overwhelmed with anger (or sadness). 

The truth is we are creators. We create. We create all kinds of experiences and things. Anything can be turned into a lesson, lead into gold, lemon into lemonades. Even when it seems we have no choice or ability to create we have the freedom to create our perception and to choose our thoughts.

Contemplate the last time you felt angry…. Did you feel powerless? Was something unfair? Was it truly unfair or did you just perceive it that way? Is there a communication, boundary or choice that can change it? Is there any way of viewing it with fresh eyes?

I remind you, you are a powerful creator. You do have a choice in what you think, feel and believe. Beliefs can either limit us or liberate us and essentially we are making it all up so you may as well make up ones that serve you. 

I know that when we feel overpowered by depression, anxiety, anger, rage or other intense energy the abilities to choose beliefs or consciously create reality seems out of reach. This is why I am an advocate of emotional processing tools such as EFT/Tapping, breathing techniques, writing techniques, movement techniques and other tools to move stuck energy. Thus freeing up energy to remember or awaken your power and your abilities to create. 

What kind of fire do you want your anger to be? One that teaches you and warms you or fire that gets out of control? 

Change is the only constant and yet it is something many of us have resistance to. How can we harness the energy of change to work for us? 

For many attachment forms to the familiar and comfort zones develop. Often times when we are in a comfort zone we can just be going through the motions rather than consciously making choices about what we want to create in our lives. The waves of change come and can knock us off our feet. A master is someone who takes any situation no matter how bad it seems and changes it into better than if it never occurred. No matter what waves roll into your shore you have a choice to how you internally and externally respond. Change is driven at the level of choice.  

Change is happening at an exponential rate. Look at what has unfolded in 2020 – unprecedented change. It is a vital time to be awake and aware of ourselves. Change relates to the energies of necessity and opportunity. When you encounter change what energy do you relate to? When we are deeply in a comfort zone it can mean we miss the call of our soul and what we are really wanting. Ignoring and repressing it to the point where we respond out of the energy of necessity rather than opportunity.

Imagine your true self / higher mind wants to tell you to make a change and it can use a metaphorical feather, brick or bus. For instance, you feel called to make a change in your life’s work but are in a comfort zone in your career. First you may get a feather, a little voice inside that says perhaps I could explore this type of work. If ignored you make get the bus which could turn up as an illness, an accident, getting fired and if this is still ignored duck because you may just get a huge cosmic kick up the butt. Perhaps we have received a collective kick up the butt? It’s a matter of choice. 

Two exercises I suggest to enhance your ability to work with change are:

1. Contemplate what you want. What do you really, really want? Imagine it even if it is just for a few moments. One day I was at a Cacao ceremony on a rooftop and one of the women was cold. She kept talking about how cold she was for around ten minutes. Her partner said, “Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you were warm.” She did. A few minutes later a new person arrived and had a spare blanket. Coincidence? Matter of choice. Personally, I don’t think so. Either way, give yourself a break from ‘being cold’ whatever that is for you and take a few moments to imagine ‘being warm’. Tell your subconscious, “I choose to be warm”.

2. Do things differently. My mentor Paul went to see his teacher one month expecting a profound assignment. He told him to go away and tie his shoelaces differently and come back in 6 months. Experiment with doing things differently – tying your shoes differently, take a different pathway home, wash your body in a different order, brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand and observe your state of being. 

Get in touch with your experiences and questions and enjoy the journey.

What does relaxation mean to you?

Perhaps it is having no where to go or nothing to do. Perhaps it’s spending time with loved humans or pets. A day at the beach or amongst trees.

Relaxation is a natural state for us to be in. However, it is not always normal. Many people are in a chronic state of fight or flight and in great need of relaxation. 

Consciously you may think you are relaxed – (“I’m fine”) – but subconsciously or unconsciously you are in fight, flight or freeze.

Kind of like Marge thinking she is sitting on the couch.

Our autonomic nervous system subconsciously put us in one of two modes ‘rest and digest’ (parasympathetic) or ‘fight, fight or freeze’ (sympathetic). This is ancient programming because fight, flight or freeze would save us from predators  back in cave man pre fire days (think The Croods) and when the danger past we would be free to sit around rest and digest our food. This would happen automatically we would get flooded with adrenaline so we could react. It happens without thinking. A small version is when you think a stick is a snake or your hair is a spider. It happens to our bodies before our minds know.

When we are stressed we don’t sleep well, eat well or feel very creative, chronic adrenaline prevents these natural inclinations. These days we don’t have literal predators but perceived and real dangers that can lead to disease in the body from chronic stress.

We do have choice in this though. We can become more aware of our bodies, our emotions and our subconscious. Breath is one of the major bridges between our conscious and our subconscious. Breathing happens subconsciously the majority of the time. Breath is a clue to how we are feeling. If we are breathing shallowly or rapidly it often indicates stress. 

I would like to share one quick technique with you. It only take 1.5-2 minutes and will do wonders for you physically, mentally and emotionally. It requires you to consciously turn your attention to your breath.

It’s called 3,3,6 breathing.

• Sit or lie in a comfortably position.
• Fix your gaze on something just above eye level.
• Take a deep breath all the way into your abdomen, bellow your belly button (rather than chest breathing).
• Breath in through your nose for the count of 3, hold for the count of 3 and exhale out your mouth for the count of 6. Repeat 3 times.
• On the third exhale, you may close your eyes, if it feels good stay in that relaxed state for a few moments and when it feels good internally count to 3 and open your eyes.
• Go about your everyday life feeling more refreshed and relaxed.

This technique physically gives your body the message to relax through the stimulation of the Vagus nerve.

I suggest doing it once in the AM and once in the PM. And by the way, it totally counts as a meditation if you are wanting to have a daily practise. 

We live in a world of duality but also of spectrum and continuum. Often masculine and feminine energy is associated with gender but every woman, man and non-binary person has an individual makeup of their own personal energy.  

Often when we think feminine we think woman and when we think masculine we think man. There are also all these definitions and meanings around what men are and what women are. There are a lot of limiting beliefs floating around our collective unconscious about women being crazy or men being arseholes. Many people have grown up hearing ‘men only want one thing’ that limits a natural flow of connecting on mental, emotional, physical and spiritual levels. Many people regardless of gender want a deep connection and many people regardless of gender want a purely physical connection. 

It is interesting to contemplate qualities of these energies. Maureen Murdock writes about qualities of light and dark feminine and light and dark masculine. She includes light feminine qualities such as being nurturing and creative and dark feminine as chaos and manipulation amongst others qualities. For light masculine she describes holding space, being assertive, making choices and dark masculine as being domineering and aggressive. 

As human beings we are constantly in shift and what we feel and express can be different day to day and moment to moment. What is your current balance of masculine and feminine energy? Is it showing up in its light or dark forms? What would like to develop and explore more? I have been working on drawing in light masculine energy to give more structure and assertiveness to my morning routine. 

We can find balance internally between our energies or in our partnerships wether they be romantic or professional. It is valuable to have balance. Globally, we are out of balance. This world has seen a denigration of feminine energy for eons and it is my hope that we will as a global community move towards more balance of these energies. For example, to have a triple bottom line where the social and environmental is just as valued as the economic. Where we can have intelligence and growth but be in harmony with the earth.

 It is much like enjoying a beautiful cup of tea where the cup represents the masculine energy and the tea represents the feminine. A cup without tea is empty and tea without a cup is just hot liquid all over the floor. We need to use our logical minds and our imagination in life to create effectively. Our logical, conscious minds relates to the masculine energy and our subconscious and imagination relates to the feminine. When you want something you use both parts to effectively achieve the results you desire. I have work with many athletes and artists to create peak performance using their conscious and subconscious and the results are incredible. 

Self Hypnosis

This is a powerful tool that can be utilised to enhance any area of your life. It works with relaxation techniques to stimulate alter states of consciousness and with the power of suggestion.  We are more suggestible when we are relaxed (or in trauma but that’s another story). Think of suggestions and relaxation this way if you are relaxed your mind is like a still pond you can drop a pebble in it and it makes ripples. When we are stressed our mind can be like the ocean in a turbulent storm or even a squall. You could chuck a whole building in and it wouldn’t effect the water.

Suggestions can come from ourselves or others. They can come from language, image, music, subtext and more. Self hypnosis brings awareness to the ways in which we are communicate to ourselves on deeper levels and why this is happening. Let’s take could and should as examples of words and there subtexts.

Could vs should

I should get up at 5am

I could get up at 5am

What is implied with these statements? How do they make you feel? Often shoulds make us feel less than or not enough and could imply choice and wanting.

I would like to make a suggestion that every time you hear yourself think or say should replace it with could just for a day or a week and see how that goes. It is an upgrade that feels wonderful. It takes away the shame and self judgement as motivators and creates choice and encourages making decisions towards your ultimate goals from a place of wanting to create something rather than wherever your should comes from.

Where do your shoulds come from? Mum? Dad? Guardian? Teacher? Culture? Religion?

Where do your deepest desires come from? True self / individual spark or spirit?

Do you ever say things to yourself that you would never say to a friend? Especially when you don’t live up to your own expectations? Have you ever noticed scenarios where you give advice to a friend that you don’t follow? Many of us inherently have more kindness, patience, empathy for friends and sometimes strangers than we do ourselves. 

It’s common to have an inner critic judging the self as better than or less than. The truth is we are no better than or less than any human. Part of the human experience is a drive to improve that often creates harsh criticism. There is often a belief if we are too kind to ourselves we will become indulgent, lazy and unmotivated. 

The research shows just the opposite. When we are harsh on ourselves our cortisol fires we get stressed and overtime depressed and don’t want to do anything. When we are kind and supportive we feel more connected, in tune and in touch our serotonin and feel good chemicals fire and we are more likely to create. 

3 exercises to develop self-compassion:

1. Treat yourself as you would treat your bestie. Imagine having a coffee with yourself and telling yourself what is going on wether in relationships or in creative or work projects. Respond to doubts or judgements with love, kindness, empathy and patience. 

2. Awareness / Mindfulness – become the neutral observer in your mind. For example if you notice yourself doing something ‘wrong’ say hmmm that’s interesting. Become curious as to what is going on for you rather than telling yourself you are bad. Ask yourself what am I really wanting or needing here?

3. Get off the better than or less than see-saw. If you notice you are feeling better than or less than go hmmm that’s interesting and remind yourself you are no better than or less than anyone. You have inherent worth and you matter just because you are human. You are a creative being so why not focus on what it is you want to create in life. 

Photo credit: Marlon Alves 

The opposite of unity includes polarity, stress and fear which has peaked in recent times of enormous change and fear in the global community in the last few months. Sometimes you may become more away of what separates us than what unites us – a ‘us vs them mentality’. People have different beliefs of what is wrong and right and how we need to operate. Often times people can comfortably adopt a live and let live attitude but what happens when the stakes are raised? It is easy to walk across a 200cm long x 50cm plank of wood when it is on the ground but when it is 3m, 30m or 300m high it gets increasingly scary when the consequences of the fall increases. I do not know what the answer is. What I do know is we are going through times of incredible change on a global level.

Imagine we all live on an island and there was a red button. Some people believe if we push the red button we die. Other people believe if we con’t push the red button we die. Both people have research and studies that support their beliefs. People are angry and scared. Families, friends and communities divided. 

How do we come to peace, remedy and resolve? How do we act as a community and avoid judgement and competition? How do we respect each other when we all love the baby (the baby could be health, the earth, peace)?

Respect contains re/spect re = again and spect = look. To look again, to look deeper. How do we look deeper into one another when we are sacred? How do we find what unites us in that moment? I practise respecting and accepting others and their beliefs even when they are different. I have been taught to listen and to open to all possibilities even if they are not probable. 

There are many dimensions to the human experience, those of form and those of formlessness. There are many paradoxes. I have trained over many years to involve myself not only in the outer world of human experience but also the inner worlds including meditation, day dreaming and dreaming at night. To explore places in my consciousness for fun, creativity and peace. 

What is it that unities us? Our earth and our free will connect us as humans. We each have the ability to make choices. My wish is that we are able to make choices for ourselves that feel true for us with harm to none. I do not know what that looks like at this moment of time when the current reality I am seeing holds so much division. 

What I do know is often the only way out is in. At times when it seems impossible we can imagine something new for ourselves, our families, our communities. Taking time to do our best to relax and breathe through it. 

There is a saying it is always darkest before the dawn. My wish for you at this time is relaxation and peace. I invite you to do the meditation to find a light in the darkness and welcome the dawn. I dream of new beginnings with more unity and recognition of what it is that unties us. With more practises that look at the social and environmental and not just the economic which has been dominating the bottom line for a long time. I vision that we find ways to work with each other and the earth that brings forth more harmony. Again, I don’t know exactly what that looks like but I am meditating on that and I invite you to join me.