Regression or Progress?

You know those days when you wake up feeling like you’ve taken 2 steps back on your journey? Today was one of those days. I woke up feeling disempowered, and lost belief in my progress and my vision. It took me a short while (and an empowering conversation with my husband) to realize that this hurdle is a necessary and critical reminder that I am on the right path. In fact, those two steps back are in fact one step back and two steps forward.

Progress is hardly linear. Our old beliefs, pathways of the past, are longing to keep us stuck in what is familiar. After all, remaining with what is familiar is comforting to the mind (and the limbic system part of the brain!), and runs on automatic. It wants to stick to old neural connections, causing us to become reactive to our environment, and exposing us to everyday stressors. It is in those powerful moments of change, of awareness, that we acknowledge these old beliefs, and move out of a state of inertia into a state of empowerment and transformation.

When we retrain our brains and regulate our nervous system, we turn away from these old patterns and create new connections. We find ourselves gracefully pulled towards safety, with a greater power to embrace the unknown. It is in the presence of safety in the unknown, that the magic happens. We can create new paths, resolve trauma, become more resilient, and open our hearts and our bodies to healing and to the power that lies ahead.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frighten us…And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” – Marianne Williamson.