This is another “Big Ticket” topic that is near and dear.

(Woowoo warning) as someone who has discovered via Jennifer Urezzio’s Soul Langauges that my primary personal language of Quest (the one that drives why I am here) is the Pioneer… as in adventurer/explorer and “learning how things tick”, i.e. me, others, and the world) at the soul level is my kind of “high-five, heck yeah” fun.

AND even though that is the case and most of the things that bring me the most joy involve some sort of exploring or paving new roads – this aspect of myself can show up both consciously and unconsciously… when it is unconscious it can look like:
” being unable to see the road that “needs” paving or creating distractions by paving too many new roads”. I find that fear is always the underlying factor present when my Pioneering self turns to these kinds of behaviors.

And on a slightly different note:
When I read:
“It seems that we’re always hoping that we can do some thing, some big thing that’s going to make us different…make our life different. Make it better or more interesting. Or make us better or more interesting. What is inside some of us that makes us search for immediate transformation? So great is that need that we will hurl ourselves out of speeding aircraft in the dead of winter in hopes that when we land – voila! we will be magically transformed!”

The word that began instantly pulsing in my body was Acceptance (of self, of others, of life just as it is in every present moment)… It seems deceptively like such a simple word/concept… but not to be fooled…in my experience this is the Big Kahula…the Mount Everest, the Holy Grail as it were…

What is it with you and tapping into all the Biggest Nuts in the Basket that are waiting to be cracked…
P.S. I love the pre-flight family pic.

http://scrt.co/02ries (it is the video at the bottom)

What you share here is key:
“I think the most important part about practicing is first knowing where you want to go. And the knowing has to be real, true and come from deep within. Unless you really know you want something and you are willing to do whatever it takes to get there, then your commitment will falter.”

And sadly, our current culture (on so many levels) neither genuinely encourages or creates an environment where this kind of pursuit is anything but a “swimming upstream” kind of experience.

Also in the acknowledgement that our outer world is merely a collective reflection of our inner worlds – it has been my experience of unfolding that the “inner repressed emotional” landscape is the first nut to be cracked and it is this dynamic that lies at the “heart” of the willingness issue to step onto the road to self-permission to even begin to explore the idea of “following my bliss”…

It has been my experience that it takes both deep self-awareness/knowledge and extraordinary courage to commit oneself to this kind of devoted practice.

It is a practice that I find myself pursuing now… yet even with the commitment to “uncovering” my true heart’s desire (it has always been there just heavily veiled), and the courage to cultivate that diamond in the rough (no matter what it takes), it is not a path that is a quick jaunt from point A to point B.

Part of my journey has been to view every step I have taken up to this moment as necessary and in right order and every experience I have had has become part of this rich mosaic composition that I Know is all in preparation for the steps I am yet to take… I know that my Thing is to be offered to the world, (like that diamond) with a variety of facets – that all compliment each other in just the right way. Right now, my greatest challenge is cultivating my capacity for trusting the process of unfolding into the unknown and the faith that the universe is a supportive one.

I know it might sound completely unrelated to what you have covered here – but right now my current focus of devotional practice has been dedicated to aligning and elevating my “state of being” – which ironically has involved a complete deconstruction of my previous patterns of “doing”… (and again totally on the edges of the mainstream… which brings me further outside my comfort zone hence the ongoing need for courage…)

And then there are the concepts of time and money… two more things that are on the list for complete deconstruction and realignment… These are two such massive topics – yet they lie at the heart of so much dramatic possible change on both individual and global levels…

More good stuff Melani! Thanks for making me look even deeper into my own heart in my search for my own truth and the opportunity to reflect on the path I find myself traveling… you keep me on my toes… And thank you for inviting the dialogue.

Recently a very wise woman shared with me that these voices (trains) are really all just little children (various wounded versions of ourselves… each with their own trigger that sets them off and need that calms them down.) And it is only when we are willing to be still enough to go and find all of these children and get to know them and their triggers and needs will we be able to set them and ourselves free… she went on to say that eventually we come to realize that we really don’t have any gripes…just children… (I know more woo woo – yet it has been this metaphor that has enabled me to remain committed (getting still) and to finding and nurturing my various little ones…)

“The first step involved getting clear on my target and making the commitment to move toward it every day. And, to name my target I had to get crystal clear on what I want.

Sounds pretty simple I know but becoming honest and clear about what we really want is harder than we think. We like to lie to ourselves because sometimes the truth doesn’t make us look very good.”