When you are in harmony with yourself everything unfolds with grace and ease. ~Panache Desai
Putting your life back together after being seriously injured in what should have been a fatal accident is no easy task. Especially when you find out all the support systems you thought you had in place simply can’t be relied on and all you have to work with and rely on is yourself. However, if you are going to continue to live, you have no choice but to do whatever is necessary to transform the negative circumstances of the present into something more productive and positive moving forward.
You needn’t be blindsided by something as dramatically life-threatening as I’ve experienced to benefit from doing this. Whatever your catalyst for change, there are four steps you can take toward conscious living despite what might be going on in your life right now.
1. Make fear your friend.
Prior to the accident I was reasonably fearless. But since the accident, it seems fear has been my constant companion. Now it feels like I am afraid of everything! And in this state, it is hard to recognize my former self — the one I must rely on if I’m to make any kind of comeback from my injuries at all.
Fear speaks to you. Pay close attention. It is not telling you what to avoid; it is telling you what you truly need to work on. This awareness is highly instructional. Fear exists only to serve your best interests. You can trust fear. It never lies to you.
Notice it. Claim it. Embrace it.
And if you need a little help creating a “no-fear legacy”, subscribe to Ishita Gupta’s fear.less magazine and read stories about overcoming fear, living with confidence and in alignment with your passion. You’ll find a whole lot of help for squashing self-doubt there.
2. Make work your spiritual practice.
Yes, there are other things you can use as your spiritual practice. For example: meditation, exercise, clean eating, religion, yoga and so on. I’ve tried all those and then some over my lifetime. But work is where my mind finds its greatest comfort and my soul its greatest peace. Perhaps it will be the same for you.
Do great work. Then share it with the world. A life lived in service to others is deeply rewarding and a great painkiller.
3. Make decisions from a place of feeling.
Most of the time we over think things before coming to a final decision. This often leads to living life completely distanced from our feelings and emotions. When you make a conscious effort to feel from the heart, you are better able to make decisions that resonate with your truth. This isn’t a license to be impulsive; it’s a recommendation to condition yourself to tune into your emotions while mentally working through your options.
4. Make space to envision the life you want.
It’s easy to be so busy doing all the time that we lose site of how we really wanted to live our lives in the first place. We’re pre-conditioned to respond to all kinds of expectations and stimuli from external sources.
Envisioning the life you want requires returning to a place of imagination without limits. Concentrate on what you want, not why it’s not possible. Do not edit your thoughts in any way. Detach from the past. Don’t fret about the future. Use the sky as your canvas and observe your thoughts as they float by. Static-free daydreams bring clarity to your deepest desires. Once you are clear on the kind of life you want to create, the details will take care of themselves.
Clarity is key. These four steps are the path. Rinse and repeat as often as needed.