I hope everyone had a fabulous start to their New Year. This is a bit of a ‘combination’ post this one – a few ramblings, opinion, and a writing exercise at the end so please explore over a cuppa.
One consistent message that comes through in client readings is we are all standing at a cosmic crossroads. By that I mean, there is any number of timelines available to us now, so we need to take extra care of our thoughts and actions around this time since they point us in the direction we will travel in the future. If you have been holding the line on a belief or course of action, now may be a good time to revisit that belief. I’m only suggesting a little maintenance. Just check you really are on course to where you want to be – and if not – adjust your position so you are facing the direction you wish to travel.
Yes, there will be bumps in the road – some bigger than others – but if you get in the habit of bringing your focus back to what’s important to you, you will make good progress.
For example, here at Write from Source, I have tried to steer clear of the division around Covid-19. I, like you, have my own opinions and beliefs, but I try as much as possible not to jump into the endless ‘chatter’ on social media. I try to keep facing forward without the distractions from my own journey, but ‘to err is human’ …lol. It is a very interesting time to be alive though and to see the human condition displayed so fully in all its forms.
From a healing perspective, there is a lot coming to the surface to work with on both sides of the fence. Control, trust, fear, anger, grief, and worry are all words and issues that come to mind when I see these ‘discussions’. In the ‘real world’ it can be difficult to turn these words and highly charged emotions into ‘positive’ ones. However, there is an opportunity to round off some of those sharp edges – by stepping back and focusing elsewhere.
With this in mind, let’s kick off 2022 with a writing exercise that could initially get you hot under the collar. This is not intended to be divisive – just an exploration of your ‘private’ point of view and emotions around that point of view. Out of respect, however, I will warn you, if you hold strong anti-vax views, the next paragraph may be triggering as I have shared my personal ‘point of view’. The aim is to encourage you to use that emotion in your writing and identify an area that comes up for further exploration…
As a practitioner and healer here on the NSW, Central Coast, I’ve observed ‘some’ of the ‘spiritual community’ getting fired up over our ‘sovereign’ rights – “it’s our sovereign right not to be vaccinated if we don’t want to.” I’ve found myself in a strange place thinking about this. To me, this sounds like the argument ‘some’ Americans use when it comes to their ‘right’ to bear arms? It seems ‘wrong’ on so many levels to ignore the fact you potentially hold someone else’s life in your hands … and yet that just doesn’t seem to matter. It’s so ‘every man for themselves’ and that is not what being ‘spiritual’ or being a ‘healer’ is all about – not for me.
I have also been somewhat bemused by those who have expected me to be anti-vax because I’m ‘spiritual’. I just don’t get that correlation at all. It’s worrying to me that suddenly ‘spirituality’ shares Far-Right Agendas, but probably not surprising since the common denominator would seem to be a desire to push back against something – in this case perhaps Government/Authority – to reclaim their own power.
All I can say to that my attitude to vaccinations and immunisations is ‘gratitude’. I consider myself very lucky to be born at a time (and in a country) that had enough scientific knowledge, social conscience and wealth to offer immunisations and vaccinations to the community so we didn’t get Polio or TB – or experience the effects of covid-19 so badly that we (or our loved ones) ended up in hospital.
This is simply my opinion based on my experience. I was also brought up to put others first so when you put those two experiences together, they dictate I would probably be someone who is pro-vax even if I wish on some not so deep level we didn’t have to.
Is your experience different? What is are your ‘beliefs’ based on? What experiences have shaped you and brought you to this point?
I encourage you to write a paragraph just as I have, so you can examine your thought processes and beliefs around this highly contentious topic. It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you are on to do this exercise. This writing is just for you so you can be as raw in your language as you wish. Observe any memories or old conversations popping up into your subconscious as you write this paragraph. Just keep writing – whatever comes up.
Once you have completed this exercise, I invite you to write about Rights vs Responsibilities. Again, this is not intended to be divisive because this is ‘private’ to you. Do you feel a flinch in your body? A sense of ‘resistance’ to those words and actions? If so, explore in writing.
Your Human (or Sovereign) Rights versus your Human (Community) Responsibilities.
Were you taught to put others first? Perhaps at the expense of your own thoughts and feelings? How did you feel about this? Did you feel a loss of power or control? It’s important not to judge yourself or the situation, just write what flows. Explore this thoroughly.
Conversely, was there a time where you put someone else’s needs ahead of your own needs and wants? What was the situation? How did this impact you and the other person? What were the emotions that came to the surface?
Sometimes we just believe things to be true in our very being, without really knowing why.
Often, we just need to take time to think and trace back to where our beliefs come from.
When we’ve experienced trauma we have a ‘reflex’ action that kicks in (for our survival) – anti-authority for example. It’s a healthy exercise to write about things that trigger you, such as the experience we are all living right now – and feel into whether those beliefs, thoughts and actions are keeping you safe now, or whether they no longer serve you. There is a sense of safety in holding on to your beliefs. Your very identity may rely on it … but perhaps it could be time just to check in with where you stand right now, do some maintenance, take a higher view of your perspective and outlook and adjust your positioning for the future timeline you wish for.
For those that don’t understand the mentality of the anti-vax movement, it’s just as important to examine those thoughts and beliefs. Is it possible to try and understand those who have been rendered powerless in the past to a point they do not trust science and authority?
It’s a tough one isn’t it because for some of our community it is a life and death situation and that is the seat of all our fears.
The other part of the sentence from Alexander Pope’s essay “to err is human” is ‘ “to forgive is divine”.
To finish off this writing exercise, can you write about what ‘forgiveness’ may be required – what does that ‘forgiveness’ look like – (whether on a personal level or a broader level) to enable us to move on with our lives together regardless of what side of the fence we find ourselves on.
Wishing you all love, peace, good health and harmony for 2022.