By Sonia Choquette
Our minds are often riddled with fear, and especially fear of losing control, so we do everything in our power to avoid it. Fears such as “ I might lose my job. I might end up alone. I won’t be able to pay my bills. People will abandon me,” and more take over and seem real. That’s why so many of us remain stuck, telling ourselves that we want a spiritual change yet doing little to nothing about it. We have good intentions to go within and listen to our inner voice for guidance, but often fail to actually take a single step on the road to becoming an intuitively awakened being. We promise ourselves we will read the spiritual books that have been given to us by those who’ve heard our complaints, or that we’ve bought on our own accord, but we rarely get through more than a chapter or two before being swept back into the same old patterns of drama and struggle.
Unless and until we take specific and regular action starting with giving ourselves room to breathe, and directly tune in to our intuition and listen to our Spirit every day, day after day–until it becomes the central foundation of our lives—sadly little will change.
Being caught up on the “rat race wheel” of trying to control life is the way most of us have been taught to approach life thus far, and even I admit, it can be seductive. When you are on top of the wheel, and things are going your way it feels like you’re competing. The mental game of “keeping things under control” may even give you a temporary sense of power, especially when you are accomplishing things you want to accomplish, which is why it can be so enthralling. You may feel a temporary high, an adrenaline rush, which leaves you momentarily satisfied. It’s as if you’re winning the game . . . but are you, really?
You know the answer. While it certainly feels seductive when the wheel is turning your way, but it’s quite different when you fall under the wheels of life, or get thrown off the wheel.
That’s when you know the mental game of control has its limits. Enjoy it if it’s working, but know at the root of this approach to life is fear, and it will eventually takes its toll. Also know there is a better way to live, one that invites you to step off the rat race wheel and tune in to your inner voice for direction and guidance, affirmation and support. And that way starts by giving yourself room to breathe.
Once you give yourself the room to breathe, you also give yourself the power to tune in and listen to your inner voice for guidance. And when you do, you move past fear and life becomes your own to experience and enjoy. That is the transformation everyone is talking about these days.
Close your eyes right now and calmly breathe in and out through your nose. Start with a sigh or two to help you relax. Massage your jaw and throat a little to release even more tension and fear held in that part of your body, your expression center. Feel the energetic tension that your racing mind creates in your body. Do you notice how it drains your energy, your life force, right out of you?
Now, relax the tension in your neck and throat as much as possible with a few gentle stretches, and take in a deep, easy, belly-filling breath. Keep your shoulders comfortably relaxed and down, and allow your belly to pull the air in naturally without any tension at all. Exhale by releasing the sound, “Ah,” and follow up by bringing the corners of your lips up to your ears in a gentle smile.
Next, contemplate each of the following questions, and invite your intuition, your guiding Spirit, to respond to each one, out loud. Feel the genuine response coming from your heart, the source of your power.
• What changes or challenges, expected or unexpected, are you presently facing?
• What are your greatest fears right now?
• What are you being controlled by or trying to control
• What does your intuition suggest to you for overcoming these controlling fears right now?
After tuning in, and answering out loud, take another deep relaxing breath. As you exhale let all of your tension go by again releasing the sound, “Ah,” and simply be for a moment or two, even longer if possible. Enjoy sitting and breathing deeply, empty of all thought, free of any agenda, any rush, and in the moment. Feel this vibration of being connected to your spirit, your true and holy self, through your breath. Notice how peaceful, content, and even energized you feel when you breathe deeply, tune inward, and focus on your spirit. This is the source of your real power. It’s available to you at all times. It is the real you guiding you right now. Remember this when you are afraid.
—Sonia Choquette is the NY Times best-selling author of The Power of Your Spirit (Hay House).
