What is life calling you to do?
I contemplated some pretty big questions last week while on retreat on Whidbey Island, Washington. I arrived Sunday afternoon to The Whidbey Institute expecting a refresh on the practices I’ve learned related to the neurobiology of learning and change. I departed Thursday morning affirming that I am being called by LIFE to do my work. Read on to learn more…
“What is LIFE calling you to do?”
In one activity during the retreat, I directed my attention to focus on different centers of intelligence in my body in order to learn more about my sacred longing*.
First, I walked across the room with my HEAD leading the way: it said that I wanted more love and connection, and the words came out of my mouth in a very matter-of-fact sounding tone. Yes, love. Of course that makes sense since we are human and we all need love.
Next, I dropped my awareness into my chest and walked across the room with my HEART leading the way: I immediately started to shake and sob as I felt the energy from my body expanding outward 360 degrees on a horizontal plane as I ached for deeper love and connection in all areas of my life. I knew instantly that this sacred calling inside me is what sparked me four years ago to go in search of greater teamwork and collaboration in the work domain of my life.
The third stage of the activity was to focus on the area of the hara in the GUT (the enteric nervous system), and when I spoke the word “love” aloud I noticed my voice had dropped an octave and the feeling was very solid and grounding. The energy I felt in my core was warm and moving out in all directions, like a slowly inflating ball.
Finally, when I expanded my attention to the whole of my being, head + heart + hara + all inside and outside of my physical body, what became clear to me is this:
“When my sacred longing is no longer a longing, but rather my experience, then my desires dissipate.”
And in the words of Amanda Blake, who convened the retreat:
“What is being longed for is already here for you. It’s already in you.”
And so what I leave you with today is this:
The seeds for what you long for are already planted in you. What is next is for you to tend to them, to nurture them, with the sunlight of your attention, the water of your presence, standing in the nutrient-dense soil of your truth: who you are and what you know to be true for you. Be present with what you feel and are aware of within you, and allow the life that flows through you to guide you one small step at a time.
What is life calling you to do?
*Sacred Longing versus Desire
As described by my teacher Mandy Blake, and paraphrased through my own experience, a sacred longing is different from a desire in the following ways…
DESIRE: I “think” I want or need it. Primarily relates to something in physical/tangible form (e.g., a new mattress, a new pair of boots)
SACRED LONGING: I “know” and feel it deep inside, though I may not (yet) have words to name it or describe it. It is formless. Its source is life and the interconnectedness of all. It is “of spirit” and what is beyond my physical form.
If you feel life is calling to you, and you have that sacred longing to reinvent your career, let’s talk!
Here’s to your reinvention!
Erin Owen, MBA, PCC, JCTC
Executive Career Reinvention
215-771-8968
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinowen/
To start your Executive Career ReinventionTM program, apply for an initial call with me here.
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