Earlier this year I decided it was time to cross to Connected-Land.
“Where the heck is that?” I hear you ask. Good question.
You see, I read a book a few months ago entitled Hidden Power for Human Problems by Frederick Bailes. It was a relatively old book- published in 1957 - but it came up with some very relevant ideas for modern living.
Old Fred Bailes asserted that all human difficulties can be traced to some core beliefs about the way the world is.
Beliefs such as illness and trouble are natural, and that the world is a dangerous place.
And underneath those beliefs, Fred says, is humanity’s core belief in separation – from anything and everything other than this little parcel of flesh we call a body, and which we think is ourselves
Collectively, we are living out of a world created through our combined belief that we are separated – from each other, from the Earth and the Universe as a whole, from deep essential parts of ourselves –and from God (or Source, or the Universal Mind or whatever you want to call that Consciousness which is bigger than us and which we sense is our origin)
And that made sense to me. I saw that deep inside I was expecting a degree of struggle and rejection and outright difficulty in life and that sure enough – I was manifesting that on a fairly consistent basis.
And I knew for sure that I’d had enough of living that way.
I was tired of struggle and worn out with striving. In fact I’ve been tired of these things for some time now and excitedly discovering the ways I could create change through love and forgiveness and meditation and prayer.
In fact I’ve been on this road for over thirty years now – and sharing my discoveries with you via www.HowToCreateMiracles.com for a while. So I read Fred’s book eagerly – and did quite a bit of work with the key beliefs he identified – and added a few of my own. I made a lot of progress.
Then it came time to look deeper.
On my retreat in January this year, I realised that deep inside, although my head knew I was connected to Source, and to some degree layers of my heart did too… I was still living out of an old core belief in separation.
I realised that this belief wasn’t just mine – it is the belief of most of humanity. Although at an intellectual level I had moved away from that belief, yet it was all around me and not so easy to shake off. It is in my family and in those I see on a daily basis. Definitely in the religion I grew up in, and in my culture.
It is embedded in the collective consciousness of humankind – and it wasn’t so easy to move beyond it.
At a deep cellular level, I still felt separated. Even though I believed I was part of God, I didn’t feel part of God.
It showed up every time I hit a fresh challenge – with the unexpressed thought/feeling this is
wrong and needs fixing (= the world need to be different from how it is)
An alternative version which showed up very regularly is I am wrong/this is my fault (= I am wrong and need to be different)
It showed up with the anxiety that came up every time I saw my adult children hit a fresh challenge of their own – and my instinctive impulse to rescue/guide/advise them. (=they are in the wrong place and need me to help them get to the ‘right’ place = they/we need to be different from how they/we are)
And so while I was on my retreat back in January, the time came for me to address this big issue – the core underlying belief – the sense of separation.
There have been several points in my life where I’ve worked and moved towards a particular breakthrough or inner shift, sometimes for years.
From time to time I reach a point of knowing I can’t go any further by my own efforts. I’ve hit a wall inside that won’t budge by whatever means I have at my disposal
At this point I know I need to turn round and ask for a miracle – for Grace – to shift me from where I am, to where I need to be.
And this was one of those moments. I had a very clear image of where I was – standing on the edge of a river.
I was on the frontier of what I’ve come to call Separated-Land – looking across the river to Connected-Land.
So I prayed that night before I went to sleep – and simply said firmly that overnight I would be carried across the river and in the morning I was going to wake up in Connected-Land.
That was it! No dramatics. No need to implore, or beseech, or hope.
A simple, clear and strong intention, combined with reaching that inner place of enough is enough . that was all it took
Because in the morning I woke up – and I’d crossed. And I knew it straight away. I felt different – more secure and confident. Like the whole world was subtly brighter.
And I had a chance to test out this new state straight away.
Because that day was day 2 of a 3 day retreat. And those of you who have done retreats will know that the middle can often be a sticky and challenging patch.
And that day was quite a challenge. In the course of it I experienced anger, confusion, frustration, resentment, tears and despair, and a splitting headache which lasted all day and into the night.
It was one of the most challenging days I’d had in quite a while.
And yet underneath all that, I knew that something was different in how I responded. Because I knew – I mean really knew – as in inside-felt-knowledge – that this was just a challenging day and I would get through it.
There was no sense of needing to be anywhere except where I was. No sense that being some place else (not even some ‘inner place’ else) was necessary. It was a challenging day,
And I didn’t like some parts of it much at all,
But underneath that I felt secure – and loved and safe – in a way I hadn’t experienced before.
So here I am exploring Connected-Land – and thought I’d write and let you know about my adventures. And of course invite as many people over as would like to come.
Instead of Our Man In America I thought I’d be Our Woman In Connected-Land –
Talk to you later!
