Creating My New Beginning from Within
Last year I told my financial advisor that I planned to take a career break. She was so excited that she named my file “New Beginning”. I did not share her enthusiasm at the time. I was so exhausted and all I could think of was to sleep and cocoon at home. I did not care much about my future.
Despite the intention of doing nothing, the first six months of my “New Beginning” was messy, intense, and filled with adrenaline (if there’s any left.) Navigating personal and family health challenges, working on a freelance project, and coordinating a workshop for a national pharmacy conference. Life seemed purposeful and productive on the surface, yet every day I felt this physical tension in my chest, like it was trying to pull my heart further inward into my body.
When the dust finally settled a week before Christmas, I started to ponder what to do next in my life. But my mind went blank for days, as if my hopes and dreams had completely vanished. I felt lost. Thankfully I found a holistic coach who supported me for the next three months as I learned to create my new beginning from scratch.
“If you can’t get beyond your stresses, your problems, and your pain, you can’t create a new future where those things don’t exist.” — Dr Joe Dispenza, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon
Safety is the foundation of creation
Like plants and animals, humans are designed for survival.
Our five senses are hardwired to monitor, detect and filter signals from our outer environment. Our mind to process the influx of external information and determines if any reaction or action is needed to keep us and our loved ones safe. Our body responds to fight predators, dodge fallen trees, or seek refuge from erupting volcanoes.
Fast forward to modern days, we face endless notifications and signals from people around us, our devices, social media, the 24/7 news cycle, and so on. Our body and mind are working overtime to keep us safe, even when we are asleep. We become stuck in this inescapable pool of stress hormones with nothing to fight and nowhere to run. Staying in this chronic heightened state cripples our neural, hormonal, and immune systems. It is not a coincidence that we are seeing a significant rise of physical and mental health conditions around us.
When we are in survival mode, it is not the time for healing, growing, and expanding.
The body and mind are intricately connected. Neither can differentiate between a real-life experience and an emotion risen from a thought, as both can trigger the same neurological, biochemical, and hormonal responses within us. This is why we must take equally good care of our body and mind.
For three months, I spent most days at home in solitude. I turned off sound notifications on my phone. I prioritized self-care through rest, whole food, exercise, and meditation. I chose to spend time with people and on activities that energised me. Over time, I have noticed myself being able to catch and discern my thoughts and feelings as they arose, and then choose my actions consciously.
When we love and nourish ourselves, our body and mind take it as a sign of safety and dial down the need for hypervigilance. When we feel calm and relaxed, we stop operating from autopilot and familiarity. Only then, our consciousness can expand and welcome new ideas, possibilities, and dreams.
“Your brain and body don’t know the difference between having an actual experience in your life and just thinking about the experience—neurochemically, it’s the same.” ― Dr Joe Dispenza, You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter
Create as if the dream had already become the reality
“Where you place your attention is where you place your energy.” ― Dr Joe Dispenza, You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter
In our first session, the holistic coach asked me to imagine where I wanted to be in five years and create a vision board. This exercise was so challenging that it took me two weeks to complete.
From a very young age, I had learned to behave within familial and societal expectations. I would never dare to think, say, and do what I wanted. Over time I had become disconnected with my instinct and intuition.
Now in my forties, I am finally learning how to envision and manifest my hopes and dreams:
Visualise as if we are already living our best life. Imagine what it looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, and feels like. Connect with our senses, emotions, and energies. Imprint the desired reality through meditation or prayer.
Articulate our vision using positive language. The human brain cannot process negatives. (Say, if someone told us not to think of an elephant, we would picture an elephant in our head at once!) The more we try to avoid a situation or an emotion in the future, the stronger we become attached to the exact thing we do not want. Whereas, when we focus on our intentions and the desired reality, we become more mindful and motivated in choosing actions that help achieve our goals.
Create a personal strategic plan using the Future-Backwards technique. By imagining a path backwards from the long-term future, it gives us a clear direction and safe space to generate, explore, and test out ideas for achieving our goals.
Cultivate an abundance mindset, believing that we are enough, that we have everything we need to manifest our dreams, and that we deserve love, goodness, and success.
Three months ago, I thought it would take me six months or longer to figure out my next chapter in life. The truth is the new beginning is right here, right now. Every day we have the opportunity to start anew with what we have already. What and how we choose to think, feel, and do in the present moment determine the reality of our future. There is always something we can do to move toward our dreams and goals. Start within. Start small. Start now.
