The Great Adventure

Powerful experiences and the emotions they trigger can be incredible catalysts for your growth. 

When you stop insisting that things unfold a certain way and instead realize that everything brought before the eye of your consciousness is there to wake you up, you will wake up.

I realized this in a very direct way about six months ago when I had one of the most emotionally painful experiences of my life.

The amount of energy triggered by this experience was incredible. I could feel it welling up inside me like a giant tidal wave. 

There were moments I felt like it was too much and that the energy generated from this experience would destroy me. 

But I stayed with the energy, as much as I could. 

I maintained my sobriety. 

I didn’t do anything too crazy. 

I sought God through prayer and the Bible. 

I listened to spiritual teachings. 

I wrote songs. 

Overall, I used the crisis as an opportunity for intense personal growth. 

I realized that the sheer power of the energy, if I separated it from the events/thoughts/emotions that triggered it, possessed an enormous amount of strength and beauty. It was actually awe-inspiring. I realized I could ride it like a wave.

How amazing it was that I could experience powerful energy like this! 

If you can look dispassionately at energy, whether it be prompted by desire, fear, anger, sadness, or even joy, and just deeply experience it without labeling it, repelling it, or trying to box it up inside of you, the only place it can take you is higher. 

Realizing this and practicing this is true freedom. 

What happens is that the energy moves through you. Like a fire, it burns through the stuff you don’t need. The stuff you’ve stored up. The stuff that is not you. 

It transforms your life and the way you experience life. 

It takes the dross and leaves the gold. 

As for me, I got in touch with the creative space in myself in a major way. I also got the motivation, momentum, and permission to dive into it. 

I’ve been writing songs. I built this website. I am building my brand. 

I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel held back or driven by ego. I feel like my “real self.” 

I feel like there is more of “me” present than there has, perhaps, ever been. 

I feel like I am able to run more powerful energy through than I ever have before. 

I feel like life came through and carved out a bunch of space so this energy can flow more freely and fully. 

I feel like it’s just the beginning. 

Experiencing energy without attachment or expectation is, perhaps, the greatest adventure one can be on. 

Life becomes very exciting, because no matter what happens next, you know it’s there to facilitate the process. That, in and of itself, is amazing.

The more you lean into it, the more it will lean into you, and you will grow. 

The Process, in a Nutshell

I’m not a teacher, but I know the process.

You can work with this energy by isolating it from the experience/thoughts/emotions.

First, turn down the mental chatter. That’s the most superficial layer. Just stop listening. You can always tune in later. Stop for now.

Next, experience the emotion/feeling without naming it. Feel it as a physical sensation. You aren’t thinking about it. You aren’t describing or analyzing it. You are FEELING it.

Now, drop into it all the way and experience it as fully as you possibly can. 

Doing this is surrendering the ego. 

I’m not talking about making major life changes on the outside.

This process happens inside. 

Just do this over and over with every experience, especially the uncomfortable ones.

And….that’s it. That’s the practice.

Try it and watch what happens.