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Have you felt the thrum of new energies? Truly, the pace has accelerated. Perhaps, it’s all those rebirthing energies of spring or maybe the election concerns or the reality of global warning or the current planetary alignment; whatever the confluence of factors, there are discernible shifts in moods and movements.
To me, it feels as if what was building, then stopping, restarting, stalling, waiting and incubating over the last few months has become enlivened and quickened. Action seems to be the call of the day.
Within my world, there are a number of people who are making leaps of faith. I can relate; I am one of them. I have a history as a leaper.
Leaps of faith, by definition, move us out of our comfort zones. They are those actions that stretch us and call us towards our Best Selves. Leaps of faith test our mettle, our courage, our stamina and, most notably, – and, hence, the name — our faith. We are asked to take the next step when there is no safety net, and there are no guarantees. Security is out of the question.
These days, I have been spending a fair amount of my time reassuring first-time leapers. This is, of course, understandable. Leaps of faith are terrifying, at best. They stretch the parameters of our rational mind. These leaps make our hearts race. They take our every fear out of the basement and march them across the screen of our psyches.
Leaps of faith, like individuals, are idiosyncratic. They can be played out on the large or small screen, with or without special effects. Leaps of faith require daring, tenacity and a commitment to the soul. Leaps of faith often serve a larger good. Leaps, by virtue of their definition, require faith – a faith in oneself, a faith in one’s idea or creativity and/or a faith in something larger, something I call the divine.
Do you remember the very first Rocky movie? It’s December, 1976, and the movie is made in record time, 28 days, and for approximately $1.2 million dollars. It earned well over $100 million dollars and won a number of Oscars. The tag line of the movie was “his whole life was a million to one shot.” Truer words were never spoken.
Not only did the movie have a rags-to-riches theme as fighter Rocky Balboa wins the big money against Apollo Creed, there was the real life drama. Sylvester Stallone wrote the screen play for Rocky, and Stallone insisted in taking the lead role as well. Hollywood refused Stallone; they liked the screenplay, but wanted to place a bigger name in the starring role. The story goes that Stallone borrowed all the money he could and maxed out his credit cards because he believed in his movie so much. And the rest, as they say, is history.
I would say Sylvester Stallone took a leap of faith. Admittedly, the faith part here looks like faith in his vision of his movie. Stallone trusted the creative aspect of his soul, and refused to sell solely the screenplay. Good for him. It took guts, and, it clearly worked out well for him.
I think of a woman I met from Greece. She struggled mightily to come to the US and put herself through medical school. This was her dream. And frequently she ate rice, and only rice, for weeks on end as that was all she could afford. Her leap of faith was quieter, and the results less ostentation, but powerful nonetheless.
And there are those who are leaving good jobs to pursue new, nascent dreams at the urgings of their soul. There are those who are packing up and moving out of their familiar and well-loved communities as they are being called to uproot and relocate. There are those who are staring second and third careers; others who are beginning school again. And there are those who are turning themselves inside out in order to lead with their hearts, create peace and build bridges.
Think of the wonderful former Microsoft executive building schools in Pakistan. Or the mother who had to do something after she saw one picture in The New York Timesand rescued a child from Africa, which, in turn, inspired her neighbors to do the same. Then, there was the woman who created the pajama program for tens of thousands of neglected kids who had no clue in this 21st century about pajamas.
Humankind can be gloriously generous, creative and resourceful. To get there, it often takes a leap of faith. And before the benefits of the leap can be seen, there can be days when the light is dim, the road is rocky and the next bend can send you careening off the cliff.
So, allow me, if you will, to guide you a bit through the maze. I am familiar with the bends and twists. I also have a lantern and a great cosmic back pack filled with a few handy resources.
1. Get rested.
That’s right. The Big Exhaustion can put you in a hallucinatory state. Replenish yourself; get some decent rest and some good nourishment as well. Once you have these basics covered, you will be able to discern if you are truly listening to your soul, or if you are reacting out of physical duress.
2. Get quiet; be receptive.
Part of this discernment process requires quiet and stillness. How can you know the yearnings of your soul if you do not allow yourself to sit in silence and settle deeply into the interior of your being? In that quietude, you become a chalice, receptive to the longings of your soul and the dreams of your heart.
3. Welcome clarity.
Like a flash of lightning, there will be clarity – big, bold, beautiful clarity. You will see the broad strokes; it will all make sense. More than likely, you will find yourself feeling connected and one with everything.
4. Embrace confusion.
After the flash dissipates, you find yourself in shadows. You try to reconstruct your flash of an image, and you grab at the niggling smaller strokes. They don’t seem to fit or make sense anymore. You have lost the big picture.
5. Step on the runway.
The memory of the clarity propels you forward. There is a push from within that keeps you advancing baby step by baby step. The newness of it all excites you. You keep walking.
6. Take a walk with the sneaky demons of fear and doubt.
You share your dream with family, friends and coworkers. They love you; they care for you. And you internalize their doubts, worries and fears. You begin to think you are, to quote cartoonist, Gary Larson, “just plain nuts.” Your stomach may be in an uproar, or you may cry frequently. Your physical self and your mental self are having a tough time. You begin to postpone dates, devise alternate scenarios. You have become adept at scaring yourself silly.
7. Get regrounded.
You have worn yourself out with all of those snarky worries and fears. Like a fever, your anxieties have spiked, and now, you are ready to go forward anew. You have become clear that you do not want to turn back; whatever the future holds, you are willing to accept. You can sleep again; you can smile again. And you have stopped your unconscious eating of chewy/crunchy/smooth/chocolaty whatevers. You have, unwittingly, burned off a major portion of your oh-my-God-what-am-I-doing blues.
8. Find yourself at the end of the runway ramp.
Surprise, you are almost there. You comprehend all the internal prep work you have done. You realize you have made peace with yourself. In effect, you have handed your soul the keys to drive your car. You find yourself ready – and you are happy for the next step.
9. Leap into the unknown.
Without much adieu, you take the leap of faith. You have walked through such a maze of a process that the actual leap can feel a tad anti-climactic. You do a free fall through space and watch your body go through a number of gyrations. What you don’t expect is the grace – the pure, unadulterated blessings of grace that keep you afloat until you land in just the right place.
So, my friends, if you find yourself ready to make just such a leap of faith and need some reassurance, give a holler. My backpack is readied, and the lantern is working.
— — — —
Dr. Adele Ryan McDowell, Ph.D., is a psychologist, empath, and shaman who likes looking at life with the big viewfinder. Her e-mail address is ARMCDOWELL@aol.com. © copyright 2008 by Adele Ryan McDowell
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