I was about to meditate when I noticed three birds circling my back yard. They were swirling in circles while also moving forward, one being in front until another did a loop and surged forward. All three of them took turns being in the lead. It was a graceful, un-choreographed midair dance.
I realized watching them that they present a beautiful metaphor for how we utilize the information that is constantly streaming to us from our mind, body and spirit. This was the focus of a class I conducted last week on how to create the life we want by aligning our internal guidance system*. What the birds showed me is how it really works – it’s when all three parts of ourselves are working together that we gracefully move forward.
We are not always so graceful. Sometimes we can be stuck and feel like we are going nowhere. Or if you are in the midst of personal change, it can be confusing to know how to make decisions that represent what is best for you.
For example, let’s say you are unhappy in your job and are considering a move. Your heart or spirit says you love the beach; why don’t you look for something there? Your mind says you can’t leave this good pay, comfortable full benefit job. While your body is anxious as hell, afraid any change may be the wrong one.
Have you been there? It’s definitely a process to work through. Sometimes it feels like there will be a winner or a loser and no in between. How do you create a graceful all-in-one midair dance?
Let’s look at the roles of our mind, body and spirit and see how this can work: Let’s play out a scenario of considering a move closer to the beach, let’s say to Charleston.
THE ROLE OF THE MIND
Your mind is the initiator, the action planner and the decision maker. In this scenario, the mind says; “We’re not moving; hang in there with this job; It doesn’t matter if you hate it, the money is good, the benefits are great, that’s all that matters now. Just because you love the beach, It’s not a good reason to move”.
You can think; “OK, that’s what it will be then. We’ll give it a couple more years. I’ll stay in this job, it’s best in the long run”. The clearer you are with your thoughts, the easier it is to move forward. It is the clarity of your intention, focused thought, and a vision of your desired goal that gives the thought power.
But let’s say that clear, focused thought gets muddied with caveats. It can go something like this:
“Well, that may be fine, but it’s not what I want. I am miserable all the time, I have all these stress symptoms. It’s not worth it. I don’t know if I can hang in there a few more years”.
In the time the conflicting thoughts are floated out with the ones that seemed definite, you have created a mess in your mind. You are no longer certain you are staying in your job or moving. You are in a state of “I don’t know”.
Your mind’s clarity of thought and intent gives you clear direction.
THE ROLE OF SPIRIT
The spirit knows your truth; it provides support and inspiration if your plans meet your greater good. If moving to the beach is good for you, it will join in the plan by giving you a lift in spirit and cueing you with corroborative information.
In fact, the idea of moving to the beach may have originated with your spirit. A number of serendipitous things can occur to plant the seed of thought. You randomly saw a magazine ad for Charleston and you remembered how much you love it there. Next you saw an internet ad for a perfect job headquartered there. Then a few days later a friend casually mentions she’s moving to Charleston. It’s like a conspiracy. In truth, your spirit has been on board since the beginning and is literally cueing it up to you.
On the other hand, because your spirit knows your truth, it can also block your desire. If the motivation for moving to the beach is about fleeing a current situation, not being accountable or simply following someone else, with no clear motivation of your own, it won’t easily fall in place. Roadblocks may occur: you can’t find a place to live, a place to work, or the school you want doesn’t take your transfer credits. It simply doesn’t fall in place. This may be a sign it’s not right.
Your spirit will support your plans or derail things that aren’t right for you
THE ROLE OF OUR BODY
Our body gives us cues about our emotional reactions to things. We say body when we are talking about the feelings that the body stores.
When the body stores negative feelings over time, symptoms occur. When you start to notice the tension headaches, the muscle aches, the upset stomach, the chronic colds and flu, it usually means the body has been accumulating unattended distress for quite a while.
Yet, the body will also be the first to tell you when something is right. You will feel a lift in mood, a surge in excitement or a sense of peace and calm when something is good for you.
What makes it confusing is when fear creeps in. Fear can be an automatic response to a real threat or safety issue, but more often it’s the mind and the ego playing tricks in the guise of keeping you safe. The thoughts that generate fear are usually security and judgement related. They can go something like this:
“You will never find a job as good as this one. What will your family and friends think when you tell them you are moving because you want to live on the beach. What, to wait tables? Get real- it’s time to grow up.”
In essence, your body can communicate three different things. Your physical symptoms tell you the stress you are holding, your good feelings indicate you ’re on the right track and your fear needs to be deciphered to determine if it’s real or manufactured by the mind. There is a bottom line:
Your body tells you whether your thoughts and actions are aligned with your spirit.
BACK TO THE DANCE OF THE THREE BIRDS.
When the mind, body and spirit are in alignment, they can fluidly take turns being in the lead because they are all on board with the direction you are taking.
You want to move to the beach? Your mind says, yes, let’s look for a job. Your spirit lifts and helps launch a sequence of serendipitous events that bring in people and random circumstances to help you find work and a place to life. Your mood is exuberant and symptoms of distress begin to disappear. You are soaring with your mind. body and spirit in alignment.
When you are on the right track, your mind, body and spirit are dancing in midair!
Isn’t this what we all want? It can happen more easily than we believe. My class Spread Your Wings – Give Your Dreams Flight is exploring this right now. Look for upcoming classes or contact me if you’d like to do this work individually. Message me here or at my email connie@conniemilligan.com. I welcome your inquiry.
*This concept comes from Alan Seale, my mentor, in “Create a World That Works”, 2011. He calls them the “3 Intelligence’s”.
