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Step 3: Participate in the Discussion About This Lesson #5
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18 Replies
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My connection with Mother Earth, nature, and Great Mystery are calling me forward in my vision. I feel the non-human beings on Earth and in our universe when I call-in my vision council, and I am reminded of the serious importance of continuing forward on my vision’s path. Also, when I see and connect with children and youth, I know that my purpose is to love them, guide them, play with them, and help them fall in love with life and Earth. They are timeless reminders to stay focused on my vision and dream.
Today, I know that my vision is to love and guide youth (the future of humanity) into deep connection with their community, natural environment, and soul. I feel that I must stay authentic, vulnerable, loving, and playful along my path. Recently, I am learning that connecting with my womb space, womanhood, and motherhood is a vital part of my vision. I don’t have kids, but I feel a very strong internal mother “part” who serves as a loving protector for earth and her inhabitants. I am also learning the importance of connecting with my inner masculine for holding space, boundaries, and keeping my inner feminine safe and grounded. I feel that decolonization is a big part of my vision. I feel passionate about connecting with indigenous peoples, learning their story, and sharing the history of what happened to them on this land (and continues to happen).
In the last three years or so, I have felt more connected to my vision than ever before, perhaps because my relationship with nature and self has deepened. My vision seems to get stronger and more clear every year, every day. Now that I am reflecting, I realize that my vision honestly came about once I started to develop an intentional connection and relationship with children and nature. I feel something much greater than my comprehension speak to me when I connect with youth and nature. I am so blessed and grateful to be on this path.
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This is really beautiful Deanna. Your vision is so strong and clear.
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Deanna,
I am excited to see your vision come to fruition. Guided our youth and offering the experience of nature connection is a beautiful thing. I am hopeful for the children you impact to continue the joy of nature into adulthood and is part of their daily lives.Gina
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From personal experience, I hold the firm belief that life is easy when we are following the path. When I say easy, I mean things fall into place — there is hardly any resistance, things flow, and changes happen quickly. When resistance comes up it is simply an opportunity for change, either internal or external.
Things have been flowing so beautifully lately. My new job is better than I could have ever dreamed. I get to travel the world, make my own schedule, work remotely, learn about new ways to incorporate natural solutions to pollution and other human-caused environmental issues, and apply what I am passionate about/what I studied in college in real-world applications both in design and implementation, meet people from different cultures and deepen my connection with nature and to all human beings, and work with some of the most passionate, motivated people I’ve ever known. My talents in leadership, writing, engineering, science, and even nature-connected coaching, meditation and spirituality are valued among my team members, and I am being encouraged to take initiatives such as leading intentional service trips for my nonprofit, which is something I did in college and absolutely loved.
This year was rough; it felt like I had to overcome lots of inertia before all started to come together, but now that I have overcome some things and taken upon rites of passage, I can feel the momentum of my future building upon itself. What is keeping me moving forward is my Vision itself, because looking back I can clearly see that anything I have ever dreamed for myself has come true, or is showing clues that it will be coming true in the future if I continue taking strides. Faith in nature and the Universe is driving me forward. SYNERGY is another driving force – the people I am meeting are really acting as networks and connecting nodes for finding those opportunities and the knowledge that otherwise it would take me an entire lifetime to find. I am allowing myself to become more open to learning from others, and in doing so, I am finding my unique path much easier.
Above all, I feel that I have CONTROL and AWARENESS over what is going on. I have constant tabs on the flow of my life, not in a “controlling” way but in a self-assured way that if something has gone wrong, that I am able to sense it and do something about it. I think if we get too carried away in the motions, especially if they seem to be “flowing beautifully”, then we are putting ourselves at risk of not taking action when life asks that of us. Change is happening constantly and honestly, that is when I feel most alive. I feel more mature than ever before and that makes me feel more confident in continually evolving into the human being and spirit that I know I can truly be. In this moment I am taking particular care to inventory the people I have in my life and what effects they may be having on me. I feel objective but still empathic in my decision-making, and level-headed. That to me is a sure indication that my Vision is aligning with Soul, at least in this very moment.
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Also beautiful Kelly Janae. It seems like you are in the flow for sure!
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Today, I know that my vision is still there. I also know that I am in the midst of a major life change and recalibration. In addition to moving through divorce, my children are getting older and no longer need me as frequently or in the same ways, I quit my job because it wasn’t serving my mission (I think? or was it?) or perhaps because my life just needed to blow up. Systems theory says this is the breakdown necessary when the system outgrows itself, a period of chaos as it finds a new order. Although very uncomfortable at the moment, I am sure that this is soul direction at work. At this moment a lot appears clouded or like dusk when objects fade into the background. I’m leaving the place where I came from and have not yet arrived at where I’m going. Some things that guided me no longer fit. It seems that my vision may be shifting in the shadows as well. My vision tends to be about the contribution I want to make while I’m on this planet and right now the vision has stepped aside to make room for grief, uncertainty, initiation. To be sure, there is no more important time to be guided by my soul, my vision, my highest aspirations. However, to be of service right now, my vision has gone a bit wide angle. The temptation is want to tackle parts of my vision to the ground so that something solid and decisive can take me to my new place, but instead, I’m giving way to the distance between where I am now and where I am going and recognizing it as the sacred process of moving in accordance with my soul, of becoming more aligned. Although I am in a job search, I try not to hold too tight to any one possibility and instead offer a prayer each day that I find work that fits the rhythms of my soul and calls forth my gifts. Perhaps my soul knows where to lead me more than my mind does at the moment, so I choose to invite broader blessings related to vision. I have a suspicion that when I am through this rite of passage my vision will be different from what it was even when I wrote it down a few months ago.
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Beautiful! I love to observe how others are stepping into uncertainty and allowing the path to unfold without knowing every detail. I honor that part of you that is so deeply allowing and appreciate the sweet example that I might apply in my own life.
Thank you!
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Thank you all these are honest and vulnerable shares about this mysterious path we walk. I am in an uncomfortable pat as well like Christine mentioned. I’m looking for work but have the vision of bringing others as well as myself into deeper relationship with the more than human world as well as the human world. Invitations of activities in nature as nature, that give us more interaction and development in listening and speaking and building compassion, feeling our pain and deep grief while finding the play and laughter that’s along side the grief as well. I’d like to focus on woman of middle age, and even older (there is mentoring to do). Recently I was in a state of inertia that was just plain painful. I hope I’m moving out of it now. It’s the looking hard and seeing where I need to take responsibility and be accountable for my life. I want an accountability buddy. I long for a community that wants to be that for one another in all the stages that come with that. Closer to what’s important, mot what we own. Deepening relationships so that we see we have so much more when we look past the bubble wall of our own special separateness. How can we be there for each other in times of struggle and grief as this collapse that’s already here, creeps into our own comfortable lives? I’ve heard of some places that teach these things and then send the person back to their own community to help develop that locally. I’d love to be involved in teaching/guiding in that way ` where I don’t have the answers but we live into the questions together.
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Christine,
You sound like are in a beautiful place in life. Like a void, where anything and everything is possible. I appreciate your sharing. It reminds me to be in flow and allow for the vision to appear. It’s a beautiful reminder for me to surrender, be patient and fluid. Thank you for your sharing.Gina
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Today, I am in a place of waiting. I’m not quite sure if that’s a river or a lake, but I suppose that if the Palm is the Now, then I’m in a lake waiting for the current to take me to the river. I don’t have a clear vision, though I ache for one. I had one, what seems like several lifetimes ago, but everything fell apart. I came to where I live now following a job opportunity and hoping to be guided, but once again it feels like everything has unraveled. Now I’m just treading water.
I have no vision for the future, or any sense of what my path looks like, but I do have a sense of what calls me forward. There is a current, so to speak, that pulls me slowly. Maybe streams of current that weave together to move me.
Rites of Passage is one of those streams. I would like to create experiences that help people define thresholds of change in their lives. I see these as Vision Quests, Discovery Treks, and Pilgrimages. Different experiences to address different needs and stages of life. I would like to create Rites of Passage experiences (or be involved in ones already operating) for youth entering adulthood, adults facing significant changes like divorce, the death of a spouse, the second-half of life, etc, and re-entry for returning citizens coming home from prison.
Nature-connected Soul Work is another stream. I’m not sure if this will be associated with Plotkin’s Animas Valley Institute, but I would like to utilize his Wild Mind material in my own work. I am inspired and intrigued by his 3-D Ego concept and his work with archetypes and life cycles. Bill Plotkin, Carol Pearson, and Robert Moore have all been key teachers for me in this area of archetypes, and I would like to find a practical, useful way to integrate their concepts into my work with others.
Mentoring, or Teaching, is the third stream. If someone asked me what my calling is today, I would say it is to be a man of understanding who knows how to draw out the heart’s purpose like deep waters. Many men in my life have opened doors of opportunity for me, but none have led me through them. It seems to be too much responsibility for anyone to take on, the weight of actually leading a young man forward. I want to be the kind of man who is bold enough and wise enough to lead another man. To be his guide and mentor, to be confident enough to speak into his life, knowing that my words will shape his future and ripple out into the world. I have never met a man who dared to be that powerful, yet I aspire to be so.
I don’t know how these streams will come together moving forward, but I am grateful for this exercise, this chance to reflect on them. It’s like dipping my paddle into the waters to feel out the currents. It reminds me of this little ditty by Barrage:
Barrage – Row
My life seems to be in a very strange place
You can never tell what’s around the bend
There was something I was thinking that hit me in the face
That my mind is spinning again(Chorus)
Row, row take it with the flow
Always let the water push the boat and let the wind blow
Can’t you row, row with the river to and fro
See the current take you where you may not want to goSometimes it feels like you’re going to tip the boat
And the water will never ever keep you all afloat
But it’s times like these that it’s never how it seems
You can really take it easy it’s always in your dreams(Chorus)
If you wanna resist it, it’ll always persist
It’ll take you to your limits if they truly exist
If you wanna lay back it’ll never attack
It’ll be a little better on your very sore back(Chorus)
If you trust in the river there is something you will find
It will be a little lighter a little more kind
There is an old secret if you trust in the flow
You don’t have to row, you can even let it go(Chorus)
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Sounds to me like you are floating somewhere in the Great Mystery, as it is sometimes called. Your sense of what is pulling you forward is strong and even though you cannot “see” the future of where you are going, you are at least present as to what is pulling you there. I think if you trust in those currents, they will take you somewhere that you did not even think possible. Maybe this is the beauty and power of the Great Mystery – the vision could be even bigger or better than you can even possibly conceptualize, so “life” is giving you a chance to just not worry about it and enjoy the ride! (:
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Yes, thank you. I appreciate your words and the hope they bring.
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My vision has changed over the years of course, with the ebb and flow of life, initially I was very goal oriented. This has changed to some degree, although I can say I continue to have many goals, but the goals are based more in self exploration and a willingness to hold space for myself to change and grow. I find that much of what I am learning about myself comes from interactions with others and how I choose to be in relationship to varied situations. Even in difficult situations that may not feel good or right I continue to explore my role and how I might grow from these varied opportunities. I focus more on not making a situation right or wrong, but rather what is going on to create the feelings I am experiencing (parts work has really enhanced this process). As for my life’s path and knowing I am on it, it’s more about forecasting where I want to go with an idea and stepping into that direction even if it’s uncomfortable. The stretching is a huge part of the growing and has greatly benefited me over the years. I have experienced life enough to know that the unfolding brings ups and downs, it’s the journey and how I decide to move through that keeps me grounded and positive. I try to focus on the present moment as often as I remember to do so and nature is often the key trigger that takes me there.
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First, let me say how honored and humbled I am to be privy to your honest reflections on such a personal topic as Vision. I am encouraged along my own path because I recognize vividly the landscapes that you traverse.
I must be honest and say that the topic of Vision brings up for me a sense of deficit. I somehow think that I should be farther along in having a clear vision of calling or vocation as some refer to it. And while some part of me demands greater clarity (probably “The Perfectionist), I think I’m at greater peace about the unfolding “how” of vision. This is embodied in the quote by Antonio Machado:
“Pathmaker, your footsteps are the path and nothing more;
Pathmaker, there is no path, you make the path by walking.”
I see vision is an evolving dance between the inner longing and the outer experience. Sometimes it’s the inner that leads, and sometimes it’s the outer circumstances of our lives that seem to dictate the steps. The theme of vision for me seems to be recognizing and honoring the transformational process in myself and others. The very heart of this transformation is the threshold experience that a couple of you have described to which Mary Oliver speaks so well in her poem The Journey:
“It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones…..”
Much of my vision came on these kind of nights and desperation. Others came in moments of bliss and glimpses of The Eternal. And while I may not have an easy to read vision statement, I’m clearer about wanting to be a conduit of kindness, love and encouragement to myself and others along the path.My own best metaphor for vision is walking a mountain trail by headlamp on a moonless night.
Those of us in this class have enough light
For the next step or two,
And the light from our comrades is helpful too
And with grace we will reach the clear mountain lake
Just as the moon rises into view. -
Today, what do you know about your Vision? How do you know this, and what is calling you forward?
I must say that the coaching through this program has created such a clear view of things in my mind that I have been manifesting and now putting into action. We met once a week with goals in my own side busines and digging deep into the soul. I have recognized the clutter in my mind that was unnecessary by the simple action of a sit spot, 5 sence awareness meditation on the elements that I work with and I look at things a little differently every time I set foot in the woods now. Everytime I try to find some part time work unrelated to my goals I get turned down and my business gets a tiny bit stronger somehow. I think the universe is saying rather loudly to stick with my heart and its goals to benefit others. -
In the past few months I have been following what my soul has been calling. I can say that starting EBI has put a clear Vision on what path is supposed to be. I used to be in the IT world, and if you asked me 10 years ago what my dream job was, I would tell you that working on computers was in my future. I am so happy that EBI and Crossed paths, I put everything I have into this and I know that being a life coach is where what I am supposed to be.
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Session 5 Discussion Questions:
Discussion Question: Today, what do you know about your Vision? How do you know this, and what is calling you forward?
Today, what I know about my vision is that I want to create a space and opportunity to support others growth, and transformation by connecting to themselves and experience showing themselves compassion. I know my vision has been waiting for me to take action and start creating. Letting go of the “stuff” I have been allowing to get in the way of my own success.
I know this because, when I sit in silence and listen to my heart, it’s the same feeling and response every time. Lead with compassion, truth, love and integrity; create the space for those to be vulnerable. What calls me forward is every time, I want to give up on assisting others and simply do what is easy, like go to work and collect a paycheck to pay the bills, (which I am thankful for everyday), it does not light up my soul. When I merely think about being in nature, and inviting others to come with me, I light up inside. When I feel myself grow and observe others in their growth (even when it’s challenging) I light up.
The past few months I have not been in a state of joy. This is when I know, I must return to selfcare and re-connect to nature, fill myself. I know I have been in a state of stagnation for too long, and it’s time to put ideas into action and begin the next step of manifestation of the bodywork and workshops I enjoy offering to others. Being in service of others ignites the fire within.
Spirit of joy and change; the desire to be part of brining peace and compassion to the world is what calls me forward. When I become more at peace, and expand my compassion, it ripples out in the world around me, and to those I assist on a daily basis. It brings peace to simply be in a state of joy and appreciation with all things in my life.
When I stray from my path, I am quickly remind, whether it be from a movie, or witness others around me, to return to a certain direction and to keep moving along the path of healing, and transformation. When I see the path, I see myself with frame drum, with it’s steady rhythm, and others join because their hearts feel the calling toward something eternal, and it does not need a name. It’s simply an experiencing an inner awaking.
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Jacklyn,
I am excited for you and your transition in life. Taking the steps to living your passion and transition from IT world to the Life Coaching. I found in my own experiencing realizing I want to live a that is purposeful. I work in law enforcement and also have a bodywork/healing practice. Was excited to take the tools I learned through my inner transformation is transferable to my current career, well all aspects of my life. While I did live my position within the department and made a lateral move, because I know longer resonated with my former position, I was able to support my well being, and take the new version of myself, and incorporate it with my current position within the department as a Community Service Office.As you have transitioned, have you found that your experience in the wold of IT along with your inner awakening has your perspective with IT changed? How would you like to see the perception and/or experience of IT change?
Gina
