Achieving your Dreams

And Getting Past the Monster at the Gate

How much of your life do you live in your head? And is that where you go when you need to fix something, solve a problem, find a new way?  News flash: you may be exhausting your mind and spending far too much in a place that actually has another job to do. The power of our mental realm lies in its ability to use a rational approach to life. This is good. It is something we all need to ‘get the job done’. It comes up with ideas, imagines how they might play out, and make plans.  However it is not the only thing we need and this is where most people, who have strong mental capabilities, get stuck in a never-ending and exhausting loop.

Many activities can help us ‘get out of our heads’ and able to access wisdom, clarity, and ease (exercise, holidays, breaks, nature, art, music). Once we have information from this ‘place’ (which I refer to as spirit), we may use the mind to lead us to physical action. That journey from the spirit to the physical realm is where many of us get caught in the dark side of the mind. Thoughts come into our minds that are not supportive, true, encouraging or clear. They challenge us. They are like the monsters at the gate, testing our resolve. We may need to retreat in order to gain strength at this point so we may return and go right past that monster. The bigger the dream, the scarier the monster.

So if you imagine this scenario in a linear fashion (a mental realm approach), it’ll look like this:

you ————the monster—–the gate———– your dream/idea

Your job is to use your power to move through the gate without being too torn up or killed. Sounds pleasant doesn’t it?  Well, we are talking about the hero’s journey. Now if this picture doesn’t feel right, you can make it into any kind of picture that helps you relate.

I’ll make mine a waltzing monster. Ok, now that I have my image, I begin to look for understanding. The poor monster doesn’t quite know how to waltz, but desperately wants to, and requires a proper dancing lesson before it’ll let me through. Oh, ok, now I know what she needs. She’s awfully clumsy and gets angry when she doesn’t know what to do or doesn’t get the results she expects fast enough. So through study, I’ve realized that with a bit of patience, sweetness, direction, and lightness, she will soften and be willing to follow my steps. Over time, she will learn to waltz. And then one day, she’ll waltz me right through that gate to my dream vision.

That training period will take time. How much? I won’t know until I engage. Keeping my eyes on the prize will go a long way in supporting my patience. But I gotta dance at some point! This is where the physical comes in.  It’s the actions I take, the questions I ask, the homework I do to progress. Spirit is a place I will also need to return to develop my resolve. Sometimes this may even be required many times a day. As I keep giving my monster dancing lessons, she’ll stop looking so scary, and my own confidence will grow. I will have to keep her negative chatter to a minimum by focusing on the task and returning to spirit on a regular basis. I will have to keep clearing while creating space for the ease  to come through. And I will make it. And it will be through dance, joy, and laughter.

Every time, a Nia student, a coaching or corporate client shows up, I bring out their spirit and teach their monster(s) to waltz, whether they know it or not. I know it because it’s evident in their eyes, their walk, their body and in their subsequent actions. This is the joy of my work. And for this I am grateful. Have a monster that needs a waltzing lesson?  Call me.