BREAKING THROUGH THE NOISE

Thank you to my friends who have inspired this new post.  :-)


Marianne Williamson writes that, "as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same."  I hope my light may ignite your own lights to shine down the path of least resistance and joy.  But before that happens, we must get through all the noise that keeps us from following that path.  The noise is caused by our fears, which are simply false beliefs that we have about our world and about ourselves.


Our intuition/inner voice speaks to us everyday.  And most of the time the message goes in one ear and out the other.  But that is to be expected.  So our clever voice must find other ways to communicate with us.  Often times it's through other people, through physical ailments, or through events that happen in our lives.  Sometimes the noise is so loud in our minds that it takes a huge event to shake us and get us to listen.


Many of us get these messages, but we're too afraid to listen.  The sacrifice and change seems unbearable, almost impossible to handle.  Take me for example.  Here I am in LA pursuing my acting career full force.  I'm inspired, passionate, and love the pursuit.  I'm even enjoying the journey to my goals of being a series regular on a primetime drama or being the top actor in films.  Believe me, I was happy for the most part.  But for most of us, we live our lives thinking we must make do with what we have.  Feeling stuck, whether it's financially or by obligation (children, marriage, sick family member, needing to accomplish what we set out to do, etc).   We have been so trained to rely only on what we can see and what others tell us we should see and find important, that most of us will never be able to follow the path laid out by our intuitions, because we believe that the sacrifice would absolutely ruin us or peg us as failures.  It seems so daunting, so difficult, but in truth, it's the easiest, most fulfilling path, because it is our calling.


I've known for quite some time now that my path might lead elsewhere.  But I didn't really understand it or want to hear it.  I was content with doing what I love to do, even if it meant not feeling totally fulfilled at times with my life.  I knew hurdles existed and was willing to wait them out or jump over them to get where I wanted to be.  But I was fighting a losing battle, because I was trying to jump over the wrong hurdles, ones that didn't move or were impossible to get through.   Sometimes in order to get through an obstacle you must take another path.  And perhaps that path will lead you right back 'here' with a new perspective and plenty of new ideas and ways to overcome that obstacle- skills and experiences that you didn't have when you first started.


Take for example the boy in The Alchemist.  What he went through on his journey!  Only to find that the treasure he'd been looking for from the beginning had been in the exact place where he began his journey.  But in order to see it and find it, he had to first experience the journey.  But he never led the way.  His mind never led the way.  What led the way was his intuition.  At one point the boy trusted his intuition to such an extent, that he was willing to do anything and make huge sacrifices to follow the path it laid out for him.


But that's the most difficult part for all of us- letting go of our fears and limitations- breaking through the noise.   What really helped me to overcome the noise was to sit in a quiet place and ask myself... am i really happy? And if you're asking yourself that question, you already know the answer is no. And the next question is simply, if this was all really just a dream and none of it really mattered, what would I be most happiest doing? Forget reality, forget money, forget what your friends and family want. Forget all your limitations, obligations, and unfulfilling personal goals.  If none of this shit mattered, what would make you most happy?  


And the most beautiful thing about it, is that you don't need to know the answer to that question.  You only need to be willing to seek it out.  And to be willing means letting go of what you think your life is... who you think you are.   Taking that leap of faith.  I have no idea where this path is taking me.  I don't have a single answer at this point.  I'm hoping it eventually leads me back to acting, but I've accepted that it might not.  That is my ultimate sacrifice and it was very difficult to let it go.  But I know that I can give so much more to this world when I'm fully immersed in my light.  And only my inner voice knows how to get me there.  


We all know what the very next step is for us.  We've gotten the message.  But what keeps us from taking that step is not knowing what the step after it will be and the step after that and so on... But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret:  you don't have to even know what the second step is.  You won't know.  Not until you take the first step.  And you can only take it if you trust that whatever is leading you down this path will be there to catch you when you take your courageous leap.  I promise you it will be there.  I promise you it will be incredible.  I promise you, you will never regret it.  


If you yearn everyday to run into the wilderness and live a richer, more spiritually fulfilling life without the vanity, ego and frustration you normally face, then do it!  If you would love to quit your 9-5 job in a cubicle, move to New Orleans with your sax and create jazz music every night at a hole in the wall bar, then do it!  If you are in a miserable relationship, trying to make ends meet with three jobs and have been contemplating making a move to the midwest to start your own farm, then do it!  


You don't need to know how you're going to do it, you just need to know what the first step is.  Maybe it's a divorce, maybe it's quitting your job, maybe it's asking that girl out you've been eyeing for the last 3 years.  Whatever has been tugging at your heart strings is that first step.  And once you take that first step, the next one will be revealed to you. 


It's time to live, my friends.  It's time to stop settling.  It's time to know our worth and stand in our light.  Because your time here is running out every second you wait.  Now is the time to make that move.  Not later, not tomorrow, not when you have the money and accomplishments.  NOW.  And there's only one thing you will ever need.  Trust.