Stepping into Fullness

In these last few weeks, I have been called forth to express more precisely what it is that I do, and what transformation my work brings to people. I’ve been asking myself how does my guidance and support affect people’s lives and contribute to their growth…? Since I view the ultimate uniqueness of each person as so precious, in the past I have been reluctant to make any generalizations. However, as I reflect upon the beautiful emergence and transformation that I witness every week with my clients, I've come to recognize that the essence of my work could be summarized as helping people step into their fullness.

What does that mean? How does it really feel to be more fully yourself, to be at ease and in alignment with your nature…? As I sat with this question, I remembered an email I received a few days ago from a client which illustrates this so beautifully, I thought I’d share it with you verbatim:

“For as long as I can remember, I have been imprisoned in what I thought was a ‘protective’ armor. Maintaining and carrying this cumbersome structure through constant resistance and struggle has been enormously painful and exhausting, but I mistakenly believed it was necessary for my survival.

Yesterday, I got my first real epiphany of what it would be like to "dis-mantle" this armature. I have had tastes before, but nothing like this. As magical as yesterday was, what it really impressive is that as I am living my life today, I continue to be mindful (an elusive concept for me!) of the understanding of moment to moment choices about whether or not to haul around that heavy, rigid structure. Each time I do not contort my body and spirit into that old shell, I consciously release the tension in my body and breathe in trust. This brings fresh waves of joyful relief. There is some uneasiness with the feeling of being exposed and vulnerable, but I am allowing that to be and so far am surviving quite nicely!

So stepping into fullness isn’t actually an effort; rather, it’s a process of stepping OUT of the narrow, confined, habitual ways of being that have become second nature to us. It’s a return to the natural flow that’s always been there, unacknowledged. We all have patterns of thinking, feeling and carrying our bodies in chronically tense ways, certain ‘states’ we automatically go into again and again… and again. I call these states Mind-Shapes, and they keep us small and confined. It’s hard to breath in there and often there’s a feeling that “this is just how it is”. But as soon as we become aware of the whole setup, and as soon as we have an inner experience of what it’s like to live outside that box and breathe the fresh air of our own vibrant aliveness, that’s when we find our liberation. When we become aware, we become free to choose. When we know the difference between armor and flow in our body, then we have the magic key that takes us back home.

There are different ways to discover this key, and each person will have an easier time with certain doorways, tools, practices and discoveries. But although the paths are many, the outcome is the same. As the old defenses fall away everyone finds themselves feeling more whole, more alive, more present in their life. Relationships get more intimate, playful, and juicy. Work becomes more meaningful and life in general becomes an adventure. Because everything is a reflection of how we are inside, being at ease with yourself makes everything you do flow more naturally, and with grace...

Stepping in to fullness is reclaiming what is already yours. It is being the whole human being that you are - the emotional, physical, intellectual, sexual, spiritual, quirky and magnificent being that is uniquely you.

If you have your own story to share about discovering your fullness, please share in a comment or send an email... oh, and Happy Spring!!!