“Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.”

~David Whyte

Our moments of darkness and solitude (both actually just “secret names” for Pause!) have much to teach us, if we will but decide to call them “friends” rather than shun them as “enemies”.

To learn to welcome them is to access wisdom regarding just how limitless and powerful we truly are.

Live Large.

Live how you would be if you had no boundaries on your potential.

Because actually…?

You do not…And you never will! 🌈💥

Reflect.

Look for a belief that has been placing a limitation on your thoughts or actions.

Reset.

What gesture – whether of word or deed – will you elect to experience today that will clearly express a break in an existing boundary? (Size of gesture matters not: only that it is large enough to make a break).

Respond.

Once you have completed this gesture, Pause just afterward. Notice how your heart, mind and body have each responded to this experience…this gift you gave to yourself. Listen.

You have just moved from confinement…

To freedom.

You have just changed your world.

Set an intention to repeat ad libitum… Maybe right now?

Or perhaps in five minutes…? Or an hour?

But definitely no later than tomorrow!

Stay consistent.

Stay creative.

Keep listening…

Your Heart will gladly lead the way!

“Experience has taught me that only when I suspend my beliefs does something greater rush in.”

Winter Robinson

Amazing things happen each time I get curious about the beliefs currently running my internal “Operating System” (Dare I call that my “Personal iOS”?!?!) While this reevaluation may appear at first to be a daunting task, the benefits far outweigh the risk of choosing not to do it at all! As with our devices, consistent upgrades for our belief system are critical for spiritual improvement: reevaluation and change need to occur regularly or we will find ourselves unable to function as we were created to do. Over time, an unquestioned Personal iOS will become more inefficient, more restrictive, rendering us unable to present our full potential to each moment we are given.

Repose:

With even a brief pause to assess, I usually find numerous belief updates are WAY past due…and often, with deeper heart excavating, I discover there are beliefs in my Operating System that actually beg to be discarded, as their presence is in many ways harmful to me and thus to others. Any belief grounded in judgement, lacking in compassion, is not a catalyst I want around when it’s time for my next action!

Reflect:

I carry many beliefs collected over many years… and they all factor into driving my thoughts and actions to varying degrees. The scary thing is, many of them are on automatic and I have never stopped to question them…

I might ask:

Where did this belief originate? Is it truly mine or from elsewhere?

What control is it exerting upon my words and actions?

What specific circumstances most often bring it into the “driver’s seat”?

What happens when it IS “driving”…and is this honestly what I want happening?

We will find countless ways to ask…but gentle curiosity and non-judgement are so crucial whenever exploring in this way. We only inquire not to put ourselves down but to lift ourselves up.

When I “suspend” any belief, either by alteration or by elimination, it is a deliberate act of choosing to step back and away, to observe a particular motivating force without allowing it to color my view.

I am choosing to Pause.

I become, in essence, a video camera simply recording what is happening, practicing to attain impeccable impartiality merely by observation. This does not mean I no longer care: quite the opposite! Ironically, it enables me to care more deeply, as I can SEE and FEEL more of what is going on…without the “filter” of my limiting ego. The result? Better decisions.

From the moment I decide to “record” what is going on, internally or externally, I am in this place of suspension mentioned in the quote above. This is where the Power resides in the Pause. The instant I pause to suspend my belief – willing to consider the possibility that there may be a way to see things differently – the world immediately becomes an infinitely wider place in which to live and grow…bringing greater expansion and openness, towards myself and subsequently towards others.

This frees up additional Space to become MORE of Who I Am. (See 01-01-18 post)

Reflect Again:

What thought or feeling – triggered by an event, person, or circumstance – is asking me to choose curiosity first rather than an immediate reaction…to look again, more deeply…and then honestly re-evaluate the contents of my iOS/Perception System?

Reset:

What belief am I willing to shift – or even relinquish – realizing that the only place that I can effect change is within me?

If I am not willing to shift yet…why?

Respond:

In what way will I alter or discard this outdated belief blocking progress toward healing and wholeness?

(Try to verbalize this into a simple statement of intent. Short and clear. Easy to remember.)

Then…

Complete at least one action today that reflects this shift in perspective.

Repeat this (or create another action based on the new intent) as you are inspired – you will see more opportunities appearing as you go. Continue reassessment and embrace changes: these are catalysts for good and need not be feared.

Small is always better than none!

A FINAL THOUGHT

Intention is everything.

Reset during a Pause, then Respond….

To Respond before a Reset will jam our spiritual gears every single time!!

Power is in Pause.

BREATHING…

So graceful, efficient, autonomous.

Inhaling, I feel expansion and openness….but also vulnerability, as I allow the breath to enter. Shallow? Deep? The decision to allow room for more air brings more calm, steadiness, compassion.

With the exhale I may release all that entered, minus the minimal needs my body extracted to survive.

Didn’t let go of everything this time?

The next breath awaits!

But consider the incredible power in the two suspension points of the breathing cycle: the split second of “nothingness”, where breathing changes direction…each of these moments perfectly balanced, simply at ease, stress-free. This lovely pure breathless suspense point contains all potential possibilities.

If breathing symbolizes life, inhaling is not what is happening around me, but what I ALLOW to come in. Fear, non-serving beliefs, etc. bring me shallow restricted experiences. Yet, always available are deeper, fuller breaths, as I practice allowing the full moment to enter, then exhaling my restrictions.

The two points of stillness in the breath cycle create clarity…regarding what to bring in, what to keep, what to release. Sensing this pause physically reflects the mental reminder: I have choices.

And choice opportunities occur in EVERY pause point.

Over and over.

This space has been invaluable to me when tempted to follow old fear habits that no longer serve. Dropping into my breath creates an immediate Pause Oasis, where I can relax, assessing my choices.

Inhale…

Choose.

Exhale…

Choose.

Inhale…

Take what is needed.

Exhale…

Give the rest away.