Youâre probably tired of hearing it⊠We live in a time of major changes. Familiar frames of reference are crumbling, yet there are no clear new ones in place yet. This state between the old and the new, is called liminal or threshold space in anthropology. In this essay I reflect on a few aspects of this long-dance with the unknown of being âbetwixt and betweenâ as Victor Turner famously said.
In the Steam Cooker
More than ever, we aware of catastrophes across the world. A string of recent events continue to shock the system, such as the Covid pandemic, freak weather, national separations like Brexit, and ongoing political power gamesâŠ
Perhaps like me, you experience a sense of building urgency, being under pressure in a steam cooker, as if all problems of all times are coming to a heads now. This leads to a sense of continuous emergency.
Yet our neuro-system does not distinguish between immediate danger that might be knocking on our actual doors, or alarm bells that go off when we receive news of disasters happening elsewhere. It is as if everything is happening in our own backyard, in our own house, in our own family. No wonder our system is on fire.
Living through a Paradigm Shift
Several cosmological shifts were considered around the turn of the 21st century. Astrology recognises a transition from 2000 years in the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarian. In the Mayan calendar a great cycle completed in 2012. And oh dear, weâre only at the (relative) start of the Hindu Kali Yuga or age of darkness.
Naturally, change is happening all the time, but sometimes bigger shifts are underway. These are called paradigm shifts. In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn takes the Copernican revolution as an example.
Shifting from a worldview with the earth at its centre (geocentric) to one in which our planet turns around the sun (heliocentric) created enormous resistance, and didnât happen overnight. In fact, it took a century and a half to be fully accepted. Kuhn called it a ârevolution by degreesâ (1957, page 181), or indeed, a paradigm shift.
With todayâs fast communication, rapid technological inventions, and an obsession with quick fixes, 150 years is almost impossible to imagine. For me, knowing that paradigm shifts take time helps me to surrender to being in a maelstrom.
What can you do?
In our âglobal villageâ, keeping calm in the direct environment of your home, your family and your communities is truly one of the biggest contributions you can make right now. This is not individualistic or egocentric, nor is it âremoved from realityâ. It helps to amplify the energetic resonance of hope, peace, and love.
We can inspire others by taking a different approach to news, and resist to buy into fear mongering. With a Taoist metaphor, I invite you to make conscious choices of what information enters your garden, and how you digest and compost that. This may be a much slower and more minimalist intake than you are used to.
Just like overeating can lead to indigestion, over-intake of information does too. Choosing what you take in helps you can stay present and give space to digest. That way, we can hold a light for a new paradigm, instead of being swept away on the current of fear.
Dare to delete emails unread. Dare to unsubscribe from things that feel draining or make you frantic. Subscribe to things that nurture you. Connect with people that elevate your energy. Join a Qi Gong class :-)!
Between Hope and Despair: An exercise
Putting on rose-coloured spectacles is not the answer. We have a very real experience of despair sometimes. Here is an exercise I often use with clients to integrate such apparent polarities within the body.
Begin by centring and grounding yourself, taking a few deep breaths and perhaps dedicating your exploration to a specific purpose.
Imagine on your left hand any situation that you struggle with at the moment. Dare to feel as much as you can, related to this event. Open your perception, your emotions, become aware of the stories that you tell about it. Feel the weight of it on your hand.
Then, imagine on your right hand the situation as you would like it to be, your hopes for the future, for sustainable change, for social equality, your dreams for a better world. Make this as physical and concrete too. Use your imagination and add colour, texture, scent, melody⊠anything that allows this dream to take shape in your awareness.
Feel yourself positioned in the centre between these two polarities. I find a light swaying from left to right helps. This underlines the power of movement that is so present in my life philosophy. Acceptance of the situation doesnât mean it has to stay that way, nor that we condone it. Yet the intention for change can only take form from our embodied presence here and now.
Then, gently bring your left and your right hand closer together. You are actively bridging the current situation, your despair, or overwhelm, or disillusion on your left hand, with your vision for change on your right hand.
Feel the energy between your hands. You might feel heat, or prickling, or any other bodily sensations like an opening of the heart. Perhaps there is a dialogue going on. Perhaps the current situation expresses a need, an inability or a request for help. Perhaps the future situation has an unexpected insight to share. This is the process of building a bridge.
With your right hand, listen for the steps you can take to light the torch of hope, however small they might seem. Bringing that light closer to your left hand, you illuminate the perceived darkness there. You are consciously guiding and directing energy in a co-creation with life.
Remember that the dance between acceptance and intention is always an ongoing feedback loop. With your intention, the actual moment will already start to shift â even if itâs just your perception of it.
Our dream doesnât end in our lifetime
I learned this dance between acceptance and intention from my Movement Medicine YaâAcov Darling Khan, when working with the power of manifestation. He reminded me that any personal dream we may have, doesnât belong to us alone, nor will it finish in our lifetimes. All we can do is add our energy to the river of this dream, knowing it will carry on after we die.
Building Wild Soul is one such dream. Sometimes it feels likeâŠ
a homeopathic drop in a stormy ocean,
burning in a desert while the world is thirsty for other things
singing to a landscape that has forgotten its own songs
swimming against a cold turning tide of carelessness
walking a ridge line when the mist keeps rolling inâŠ
AND - I believe in this work so much, so full-heartedly, that I keep returning, chipping away, showing up, despite the fear, the loneliness, the despair that of course I too feel at times.
I believe that Wild Soul is part of a larger revolution of reconnecting with meaning and community. A place to nurture belonging and spirituality in an authentic and embodied way. And remember, I say to myself, revolutions take time.
While we walk this long and windy road full of unexpected twists and turns, how can we stay healthy and well while weâre under way? How can you look after yourself, yes, right now, so that you can thrive in the storm? What support structures, like body-care, spiritual practice, and community, do you need? How can you remember being one drop in the immense ocean, so that together we can be a rising tide that lifts all boats?
Iâd love to hear from you in the comments below this essay! And⊠if youâre yearning for community too⊠You are welcome here!
References
All image credits Eline Kieft.
An earlier version of this essay was published on April 7, 2022 as Embody Polarities in Times of Change on my previous Podia Blog.
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I love the exercise with the left and right hand Eline. Thank you for sharing this.
âWe can inspire others by taking a different approach to news, and resist to buy into fear mongering.â đđ» This is what Iâve felt called to with my Substack sharingâI started my account earlier this year⊠it was born out of my intense anxiety as an American living though the current political and cultural situation here. Your post has helped me view it all in a longer perspective, as the beginning of a paradigm shift. Thank you!