How to Thrive in Radically Changing Times...Without Killing Your Spirit or Losing Your Way

How to Thrive in Radically Changing Timesrn…Without Killing Your Spirit or Losing Your WayrnBy Bud Inzer In these profoundly uncertain times, we need more than brilliance and ambition to thrive—we need the breathtaking fluency of soul to live out the grace and deep meaning of our lives. Many of us live in what Carol Pearson calls, the in-between—where familiar doors have closed and new doors have yet to open. It’s easy to become as Seth Godin has suggested, nostalgic for the future—wanting things to be as they were, only a little better, yet our real safety lies in widening and deepening our trajectory, not in replicating our past. Perhaps our real security can only be found, as mythologist Michael Meade suggests by “taking the risks that the soul would take.” But first we must get a sense of what that means. The ancient Hawaiian navigators, the wayfinders, navigated tens of thousands of miles of open sea without charts or instruments. Relying on their inner-compass, they had the capacity to feel where they were headed. Noah Thompson, a modern-day wayfinder guided an ocean-going canoe, the Hokule’a, from Hawaii to Tahiti without instruments or maps, even under cloudy skies. He describes this remarkable ability, as being “in-the-navigation— navigating from inside-navigation. Saying, “when you are in the zone, you feel ahead of the game. You find yourself naturally thinking about what will happen next and you are acting in-the-future not reacting to things in the past.” This non-conscious way of knowing, this “compass of the gut” is more of a feeling-clarity than strategy. It appears when we learn to read the signals that are all around us and within us. This capacity may be what Cynthia Bourgeault refers to as “seeing with the eye of the heart.” She writes, “we come into life with another operating system already lying in latency, and if we wish to move in this direction, we can learn to steer by it, understand through it and ultimately discover our deepest sense of identity within it.” How do we gain access to this non-conscious way of knowing and open new capacities of perception and direction? I believe the following gateways can provide guidance: One, Learn to Sail by Swell. When it comes to navigating uncharted waters, it’s more important to know when you are on the beam than be tied to a fixed position. Become a non-instrument navigator and learn to discern a deeper guidance. As you learn to trust this compass of the gut, you will begin to notice the nudges life is offering as guidance. You will begin to experience yourself as flowing rather than striving. According to Anna Miller-Tiedeman PhD “there are many people, who will tell you that you need to know what you want and where you are headed or you’ll end up somewhere else. More than likely, you’ll end up somewhere else anyway. Ending up somewhere else may just be your destiny.” Two, Make Friends with Not Knowing. You don’t need to try to force knowing—it is always emerging and we only need to see it. When rattled by life’s changes, stop and remember that you are not alone. You have a companion-presence and source of knowing that you may not have been in touch with lately. The deep self can reveal horizons and guidance you have been too busy to consider. Drop your rules about what you should do, learn to trust your impulses and take the next step. Every choice in life is an act of faith. Three, Know What Belongs. What belongs to you is unique to you. `When we know what belongs,” as John O’Donohue wrote, “ we will know what we are for.” Loosen your image of yourself in order to learn the difference between your role and your soul. In other words, live your life, not someone else’s. You will know you are living ‘your life’ when who-you-are-being becomes more important than what-you are-doing. When you know in your heart, “this is my joy” you will begin to feel a new momentum. Four, Think With Your Heart. Contrary to conventional thinking, listening with your heart is not mere sentimentality—it’s more like gaining another intelligence where the impulse of doing gives way to the impulse of being. We don’t need to become mystics to trust its guidance. We only need be present to the unfolding moment and give attention the subtle signals all around us. Imagine moving through the world with attentiveness as well as intention. Doesn’t the significance and enjoyment of life come from experiencing it rather than just moving through it? When you realize that neither the human brain nor the most elegant computer experiences anything, giving attention to an inner life begins to make more sense. “We are alive or dead according to the condition of our souls” suggests James Hillman. Five, In Life the Wildcard is Joy and it Trumps All Other Formulas for Success. Polishing the personality can instill confidence but not belonging, expertise but not joy. There is wisdom in our joy and in what we love—it offers guidance when we have lost our way. When we lose touch with it, we begin to live someone else’s version of our life, not our own. The joy of life is a product of the heart. As Thomas Merton suggested, “If you are too obsessed with success, you will forget to live.” In the end, we realize that there are no ordinary days. We know from experience that “revelation doesn’t come easy, as the poet Stanley Kunitz suggested—we have to fight for it.” Each day offers an opportunity to reach beyond the story we tell ourselves with our plans and fears and instead feel the gladness and significance of just being alive. rnCopyright 2010 © by Bud Inzer