Living Authentically or Spiritual Window Shopping on the Road of Life
What is it to live authentically? Big question, and subjective answer, so I’m going to sidestep a bit and come in the back door by talking about spirituality in the west.
My first trip out of the country was to Botswana. I went into the Kalahari Desert for a month to spend time with some San Bushmen trackers and a Shaman. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place and people. The children were so connected, playing with warmth and heart, looking out for each other. They didn’t have money, but they were happy, vibrant, and alive. We have so many things compared to the rest of the world but what have we sacrificed in our quest for material success?
One thing I’ve come to see is that we spend a great deal of time thinking with less energy given to what the heart is saying. Even our spirituality is mostly about cultivating the mind. It's not that there's no value in it, we need a strong, clear mind. But we have weak emotional foundation. It takes great courage to be emotionally authentic and confront issues in life. We tiptoe in fear, ruffling feathers and causing others to feel, even when it means stuffing down our deepest desires. It sits inside us and comes out in unintended ways, creating conflict in deeper, more confusing ways. Is ‘peace at any cost’ worth it? But, as uncomfortable as it is, when we allow ourselves to freely feel and express emotion and confront our fears, we ignite a fire of personal transformation. When we do this, it also gives others permission to do the same.
I know an elder Sangoma (shaman) from South Africa who pokes fun at us in the U.S. saying we are ‘spiritual window shoppers’. We dabble, looking into many spiritual practices but we don’t want to buy into anything. We pick up a practice and look, playing with it, and when it starts to confront our core challenges, we drop it and pick up something else that looks more appealing and fun. In this way, we avoid facing our fears. There’s an old saying that says ‘freedom comes with a price’, but the only cost for true freedom is letting go of fear. Sometimes the price even feels like death but really, it’s the gateway to Life, free of self-imposed limitations.
I was the consummate window shopper until my life hit rock bottom. My path was shown to me in a vision during a near death experience. True to my window-shopping nature, I still wanted to shop, but my heart had to follow the vision. It was incredibly difficult. When I eventually met the shamans in my vision, my life changed immediately. I cannot think of a more beautiful path than the dynamic earthy beauty of this way. But it’s a very difficult path and not for everyone. We must each find our own beautiful path, there are many, and buy in. Throw everything in and don’t look back. Do it with all your heart and then your spirit, ancestors, guides, angels, God, whatever you call it will open the way for you. Get rid of, now, the illusion that you will do something and be done because you will never be done. You will become more empowered and what was once crippling eventually fades away into distant memory. After healing a few layers, you will look back and see why we call it ‘The Gift of Trauma'.
Here's a simple shamanic practice that will help you heal your connection with the earth, deep emotions, and passion. Stand barefoot, feet on the earth. Thank Pachamama (Mother Earth) for sustaining you and ask her to help you. Close your eyes and look down into the center of the earth. Give away any negative energy to her molten magma core and allow her warmth to rise, coming up through your legs, sex organs, and lower belly. Allow her red glowing energy to meet and nourish your passionate, creative, life force energy. Do this a few times. It's good to do at sunrise.
I have dedicated my life to helping people realize and walk their most inspired path. In your hands, literally, lies every single bit of information that you need to know. I can reveal to you the story that was encoded there before your birth and assist you in any healing necessary to live with renewed purpose, passion, and power.
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Written by Michael Cutter
Michael Cutter's Life Purpose work is focuses into two aspects – life purpose and trauma healing. Our gifts and trauma/challenge are two sides of coin of life purpose. They cannot exist without the other and stepping into our gifts also requires healing trauma, whether it be ancestral, personal or conditioned. Find out more about Michael and his services here.
