The transformational power of a crisis

We are moving through truly tumultuous times right not. One seemingly unsolvable crisis after the other and the constant doom and gloom in the media are shifting our nervous systems and mental health into a state of constant high alert. But this can also be a period of transformation.

I walked through the dark night of the soul and although I wouldn't want to do it again, it forced me to face any shadow or unconscious behaviour and uncover anything I had kept hidden and repressed.

Today I want to share wisdom that I found in an app called "the pattern". It gave me hope on so many occasions and I thought it would fit perfectly and might be a healthy perspective for anyone out there struggling:

"During times of crisis you may experience feelings and circumstances you’ve never felt or known before. This energy takes you to a deeper level, forcing you to shed parts of yourself that are holding you back from evolving. 

This process can manifest in various ways. The changes may be subtle and manageable, or you may find this time to be painful and trying. In all scenarios, the advantage of a crisis (over being kind of OK and comfortable) is to overwhelm ordinary reality and cause you to question how you define yourself.

It’s possible that during this process you may have to face a situation that you can’t change or solve. Your will, strength, and logic don’t seem to help, and you can’t detach from what’s happening or pretend it doesn’t matter. I believe that subconscious mind is "doing this" intentionally, because your wanna-be-so-smart rational mind has overruled what your heart and soul want for way too long.

You’re being taken out of your comfort zone for a reason. Sometimes, external events are needed to push you to make necessary changes and motivate you to take a much deeper look at your life in the world. What seems random is, I believe, a set of instructions for self-development.

At times it may seem like an immense gravitational force is making you look within. It could even seem like everything you know is being dismantled. Your deepest fears about where you’re going and who you’re meant to be may arise during this time.

You might start to feel that your life is merely being lived on the surface, like there’s something inauthentic about it or something crucial is missing. You could feel disconnected from your true instincts and as if your identity is being broken down.

It could lead you to imagine worst-case scenarios, believing that what you want seems impossible. You might have a desire to overturn your day-to-day reality or even destroy it as a way to speed up your transformation and growth.

Or you may be afraid or overwhelmed by your feelings and try to push them down. This would manifest as anxiety, depression, or irrational fears. Regardless of your reaction, know that this isn’t personal - you haven’t done anything wrong. You’re confronting energy designed to break down your ability to control the circumstances in your life.

You’re being asked to courageously experience all the emotions and situations that arise during this cycle without knowing or being able to control the final outcome. It’s a time to surrender to what you’re feeling - don’t try to fight what’s happening or make sense of it, because you can’t right now.

This period may seem overwhelming, upsetting, and intense, but it’s an important initiation. It will be hard at first, but by the end of this cycle, if you consciously choose to participate, you’ll emerge stronger and more empowered for having endured it. You’re learning what it’s like to start from scratch and build yourself anew."

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. — Wayne Dyer

Reading this text over and over again it sometimes gives me cold sweat still, but at the same time I am extremely grateful for the wisdom I have gained through that experience. I think it is important to not lose hope when things go sideways. I know how hard it is to keep going when the going gets tough. I know how hard it is to set one foot in front of the other when you feel like nothing makes sense anymore.

I started seeing these moments as an investment in a better future. Every dark emotion or negative belief pattern that I could fully experience and transmute started being like money in the bank. In the hermetic laws of the Kybalion you can find the understanding of polarity and rhythm. If we adhere to the truth that both thought and emotion are energy, we can come to the conclusion that thinking and feeling pull the pendulum to one side and open up the potential for experiencing the other side at the same time. 

It's not only OK to feel negative emotions, it is inevitable if you want to grow into a person that is part of positive change on this planet. As my good old friend Ghandi said "be the change that you want to see in the world". Start the change within and you will see that everything else around you will change as well. Change doesn't mean to be more productive, to run a marathon or to become a vegan. True change doesn't shy away from looking at the steaming piles of shit under your carpet. 

Happy Monday!

Jan