Last month I received what to me was a profound teaching about our human condition: "the source of all conflict is being taught and then believing that we are someone different than who we really are."
These words pierced me like a lightning bolt, raising all kinds of questions around how the inner and outer conflicts I experience in life are, in essence, a way for me to see and penetrate where the gaps are between my egoic self (who I believe I am, who I've become, and my story of self as a result of the sum total of how I've integrated my life experiences until now) and my true self (who I really am when all the learned patterns of societal, cultural, familial conditioning and expectations are sheered away along with all the stories I've written and re-written over my life to navigate all the external conditioning and expectations).
Needless to say, since hearing those words they have remained close by in the same way that a good friend holds space during times of challenging transition, all the while offering a powerful lens through which to observe myself and the world around me.
In late June I participated in my third Sundance, a very powerful experience of spirit, healing and community that was, in many ways, a long overdue homecoming. It had been seven years since I last danced, and in the interim I had almost but forgotten my strong soul connection with this beautiful and ancient ceremony. Just getting myself to the Sundance land brought tears of incredible joy and relief to my eyes - along with real sense of accomplishment...the sweet victory of having cut through so much of my inner bullshit and resistance to give myself the gift of the dance.
Sundance revealed to me just how open the quantum field is right now for we humans to successfully and powerfully redirect our attention away from fear-based structures and patterns to ones that are founded on vibrations of love, respect, integrity, honesty, honour, dharmic service and responsibility for life. It really is as simple and instantaneous as making a different choice in every moment...though it takes a warrior's stance to stay out of that voracious circle of forgetting (our true self) and keep both feet in the delicious and life-affirming circle of remembering (our true self). As I said, simple...not necessarily easy. And that's the work that lies in front of many of us.
So where does autonomy come in? Well, as long as we are beholden to ideas, patterns, structures, expectations, systems, institutions or aspirations of any kind that somehow embody fear, scarcity, inequality, poverty, greed, power-over, slavery, or ignorance, we limit the magnificent potential we carry as human beings. Without sobriety and clear discernment, our unconscious or habitual adherence to many human-made laws, norms and expectations can trap, limit and entangle us in a really sticky web that will keep us from seeing who we really are.
It can be a life-transforming moment to step back and ask "Who are these fear-based laws, norms and expectations serving and why? Do I have clarity on why I have bought into them and continue to live by them? Should I just carry on as I've been taught, letting autopilot do its thing where the machine flies me instead of me flying the machine? Or is it now time to let go of fear and start navigating life from a place of genuine self love, self worth, and trust and honour of the genius of your true self? True autonomy exists by living within sacred law, not human law.
The beauty of our human experience is the extent to which we are free to continually create more vibrant, dynamic, expansive and loving realities for ourselves. The only limiting factor is really our imagination...and of course our willingness to make and follow through on new and different choices.
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