Change, Limbo …waiting and letting go …trust..allow..
Seems my life is in a constant state of change! Have you found yourself at a crossroad on a yearly basis…or every few years? No one ever said change would be an easy transition; however, it is a necessary element to personal growth and without change there is stagnation and complacency.
It is always easier to witness the change in others’ lives and deny what is rumbling under the surface of our own need to change. Personally, I have been told in the past that I am; a flake, unstable, unpredictable and well…a whole myriad of other judgements and labels. At first, I internalized every word and allowed other’s judgement of me to be a poison that would eat me up. Wayne Dyer iterated this point by stating. “Snakes bite, it’s not the bite that hurts as much as the venom that flows through the veins.” So true! Of course, once a person is aware that the poison that was injected into our space originated from the INSIDE of the “snake” and is a judgement of themselves…then and only then can we release ourselves of the poison and let it go.
Letting go….I have come to understand that for those of us who it seems every year we find ourselves in a new job, relationship, alone, new home or location….we are constantly being faced with choices of change! We are in a classroom of rapid change and it can be painful and a test of true grit to choose to the pursue change. A lot is at stake when moving forward with personal progression, we may notice friends or relatives fall away or we lose the comfort and familiarity of a home or situation/relationship. I studied with Isaiah Monks who explained that when a person holds on to a relationship, place, job, object, etc.; that the very act of attempting to hang on and control a certain element of our lives results in blocking the flow of change….which equates to closing off the flow of energy needed for our self-evolution…and we become closed off to receive.
Action…jumping off the cliff into the unknown…so you give the 2 week notice at work, left the relationship, moved away from home and took a leap of faith…knowing that no matter how scary the change is…NOT changing is even scarier! Then comes LIMBO~~
Limbo….yes…waiting…waiting for the infinite timing of God, the universe to unfold our divine plan. This stage of change is a true test of one’s resolve, tenacity and tolerance. This is the stage where our thoughts and words become the defining lines of what we will live in the near future. Limbo…is the time of being in the waiting room of life and when we begin to reflect on all our past deeds, good bad or indifferent. Our thoughts start to stir around in a soup of confusion that can lead to self-sabotage. Limbo is the stage of change that truly tests our resolve and if we are strong enough to push through to the other side or fail safe back to our familiar “boxes.” The box is our self-made prison of safe…familiar…stagnation and suppression. Our thoughts revert back to the past…because the past is packed away in the box you just left and it feels safe and familiar. This behavior is linked to our “survival” patterns and “flight or fight” responses.
How do we navigate through the Limbo stage? Well my friends, it is surely a test of our will and mind over matter! This stage of waiting is where I start to employ positive mantras every time a “survival thought pattern” arises. For example, (survival pattern/thought) “if only I would have stuck it out at that job/ relationship/situation.” Then survival instincts lead to the attempt to replace the dead end job/relationship/situation that we just left with another similar scenario with the same dead end, falling back into the box. When I find my thoughts defaulting back to the security of past scenarios; I start to “rewire” my neurological thought process with a mantra of what I want to progress towards. Hence, (survival thought) “I should have never left that stable job/relationship/situation,” replaced with, “ I am peaceful, loving, prosperous…I AM confident and successful .“ Each time you have the awareness of a survival thought, immediately replace it with a positive mantra and you will begin to rewire the thought pathways to peace. Sometimes, I have to feverishly repeat my mantra to stamp out a survival thought and eventually that particular circular thought pattern will disappear!
Just when you think God and the universe has forgotten the situation you just left behind to have faith in change and growth….the right people, places and synchronicities will begin to line up for you….if you are intuitively “seeing” the direction. Meanwhile, until the plan begins to unfold, use your limbo as a time to be constructive! Doesn’t mean that you sit around the living room and visualize/manifest all day! Nothing was ever achieved through inaction! No one is going to knock on your door and offer you a job or deliver the magic elixir to your mailbox….you must demonstrate that you are willing to invest your energy and faith in the divine plan as well. Apply for jobs that progress or challenge you and is something that brings joy into your life and not just a paycheck. Wayne Dyer related that he never met anyone who stated as a,“death bed regret” that they “wished they spent more time at the office.” Another metaphor; “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life!”
Consider a return to school for a new certification or license to start your own business. Possibly, being on your own is time to reflect and go within to discover what makes “you” happy and not everyone else. Go ahead, cast out your fishing line into the universe, knock on doors or whatever metaphor works for you and then “see” what comes back on the end of your “hook” and which door opens and for those that do not open or take the bait, view it as just “direction”…”not there”…”over here.”
Allow, trust, let go and let God, universe or your higher self, guide you to and through the change. Once you arrive at the finish line for those stages of the human adventure…celebrate….and know that “change happens” and sometimes it happens A LOT! Till then…recognize the stages of change…practice moving through it gracefully and enjoy the journey! Awareness (that change needs to happen to progress…behavioral cycles. Definition of insanity) Courage (to take steps & leaps of faith) Transformation (evolving through change ) A-C-T…nothing ever happens without action!
Much love to all~ Rev. Elizabeth O’Carroll
