Cycles of Change
Greetings dear Friends,
Does it seem like the world is spinning too fast? When you experience intensity or disruption, do you maintain an inner quiet, as if in the calm eye of a storm? Do you maintain your sense of true north, even when moving through uncertainty?
These are intense times. We are navigating a wild world - one that is moving through an immense cycle of change. Change can challenge us. It challenges our resilience, our faith, our sense of stability and direction, and can sometimes result in us losing hope or lose sight of our true north and sense of purpose.
Really, everything is transitory. Everything changes and nothing ever stays the same. Even if you are lying on your bed still, the earth is spinning at a rate of 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) per hour! There's always movement.
"You can't step in the same river twice." ~Hericlitus
The good news is, we are designed to grow, evolve and transform! It's natural. It's normal. It’s part of being human. Sometimes transformation is obvious, other times its subtle.
Change has rhythm. It moves through cycles - just like the natural world moves through the seasons of the year. Understanding the overall larger picture of the phases within the larger cycle of transformation can help you navigate and find normalcy. Here is a summary of the Cycles of Change:
First, there is a Disordering Phase - Autumn: Change is in the air. Leaves turn color and fall. A Disruption. A Shuffle. A Storm. The sound of thunder. The startle of lightning. This is the phase of a ‘Great Reset.’ It can be a shake up that sometimes take the form of a shocking experience or a crisis. For example, think pandemic. It breaks us out of old patterns that are no longer serving us. We get inconvenienced or rattled in some way. It can feel like you’ve been tossed overboard and you’re not sure if you’re going to sink or swim! During this phase the familiar shifts or it disappears altogether, which can result in a sense of loss of identity, loss of hope, loss of stability, or just plain loss. Grief, shock or other discomforts can arise.
Next, we move through a Void Phase - Winter: Silence. A Quiescence. A Transition. An emptiness that is realigning and recalibrating. This is the bear in hibernation. It is the butterfly in the chrysalis. For us, personally, it is the unknown - and can be uncomfortable, undefined, and unclear. This is a place where a sense of a plateau can happen on the path of mastery; where inspiration flattens. In this state of quiescence or “void” the future is often veiled. We can't see what's ahead yet. There is a pea soup fog of uncertainty. Past identifications don't quite fit anymore, although we can still try to play the roles we once played. Sometimes we need to until new structures take form. This phase is characterized by uncertainty, discomfort, confusion, fear, anxiousness, grief, boredom, feeling lost, overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Yet in this chrysalis, the butterfly is transforming! There is movement and growth happening that we can’t see or feel yet. Here, you are being called to get your head on straight - to attune to your heart instead of trying to figure something out that can’t be figured out. In your heart you can strengthen your faith, and begin to ignite your excitement and inspiration while envisioning what’s next. You make space for something new, something better. You can start to envision yourself stepping into a role, or part of the play called “Your Future Life” instead of beating the drum of your past or fighting and resisting what is.
And finally, the Illumination Phase - Spring & Summer: Vibrant green leaves. Colorful, fragrant flowers. An Expansion. A Rebirth. The butterfly emerges, spreads it wings, and flies. This is the outer expression of the new, transformed, more aligned you. Something better than before emerges. This is you, stepping into your purpose, you walking your path and your shining your light out into the world. You take a great leap forward on your path of mastery. You embody the mystery of you. The rainbow shines and bestows blessings upon your world. There may even be a pot of gold!
Do you recognize these Cycles of Change? In seeing the big picture we can identify where we currently are, and know that at some level, all-is-well. The big picture perspective helps to normalize, accept and embrace the various manifestations of transformation and change. Years later you can look back and see that your slate was being wiped clean of what was no longer needed - you experienced a purging of what was out of alignment with your true self, so your true true self can walk your path and live your true purpose.
Moving through these cycles is not a linear process… It’s more of an ascending spiral. Each year the tree loses it’s leaves, settles into winter’s quiescence, and in the spring new leaves burst forth and growth continues through the summer season. It’s the same process over and over each year. With each cycle of maturity the tree grows taller and rises up - and it has the internal tree rings to prove it. So too, we move through our cycles of growth and change - but instead of tree rings we get grey hair!
“Every fallen leaf holds the promise of new life.
Every veiled question holds the mystery of the answer coming. When the time it right, it will be revealed.
Your faith is the greatest currency of your life. Trusting in the mystery unfolding is your oxygen.
Your path is blessed and guided.
Be the dreamer who asks all the important questions.
Choose to love the questions more than the answers. Choose to love beyond any fear.”
I can assist you in moving through challenging cycles. I can help you see the signs you’re missing, to ask the important questions, inquire deeper within yourself, and stretch the realms of possibility, while honoring what is true for you.
Blessings from My Heart to Yours,
Lisa
P.S. If you need a little hope, Calm in the Storm can be streamed on YouTube or you can totally unplug, turn off your phone to totally relax with the mp3 version is available at align-within.com/audios/calm-in-the-storm