The Bridge
Coming Into New Ways Of Understanding
By Daniel Aaron I did what I was told. The pattern of breathing was not rocket science. I’m a good student and I was following the teacher’s instructions. Still, nothing was happening. Yet all around me people were crying, screaming, apparently having profound experiences. Then it hit me. My own thought-form, a belief, flashed like red ticker-tape letters across the inside of my forehead: This is going to work for everyone else but me. Ridiculous, right? Yes, and in fact every limiting belief is absurd. The thing is, we tend to believe our beliefs. We think they are reality. That’s just the way it is. I was lucky. In that moment the realization was enough to rub it out. Then it happened. Instantly, I was standing atop the bridge where my sister had jumped to her death. But it wasn’t just me. I was in her body. Or I was her. I couldn’t tell. The sound of the cars whooshed behind me. The chain links bit into my hands, our hands, as we held on, leaning out over the water at a diagonal. In that moment I saw the harbor how she must have: dirty and depressing. My heart pounded, as if suddenly I was getting a chance to save her. But of course it had already been years. Before I could even come close to grokking it, even while my body was lying on the floor in a room at the Omega Institute in upstate New York, my sister and I let go of the fence, let go of life — and instantly we plunged toward the water below. Now the wind whipped, slapping our face as the cement of the water below rushed up toward us. Panic shot through me. Then, the instant before we hit, we were back on the bridge. It was some sadistic version of Groundhog Day, and by the time I realized what had happened, again we were dropping. The cycle raged on, each time my hysteria increasing. Then there was a hand upon my breathracing chest. “I’m coming into a new way of understanding.” It was the group leader with an affirmation. In an instant the cycle was done. I was fully back in my body, realizing my back had arched, my neck clamping down in the shape of terror. Awareness is transformative. I registered my body’s position, and immediately it relaxed. I’m coming into a new understanding. For years I’d been holding on to the pain of my sister’s suicide; my own guilt, blame and disbelief.
I’d believed I was a failure, incapable of love. What if I’d just… In the space of one breath it came to me that I’d held on to it all because I didn’t want to let go of her, of my love for her. I’m coming into a new way of understanding. It’s possible to separate the pain from the love. I could let go of the former and forever cherish the latter. Now, more than two decades later, having guided thousands of people to new understandings, to letting go of pain and trauma, I know without doubt that transformation is also not rocket science. While the egoic, survival-oriented part of all of us tends to hold on, even when it
hurts, freedom and love is only ever a breath away. That day changed my life. A hand, an affirmation, a breath, and a shift in perception taught me that anything can be healed. Daniel Aaron is a spiritual teacher, coach, astrologer, yogi, father, and author of the forthcoming book Spiritual Self-Leadership. He offers online membership, seminars, retreats and private coaching, and teaches at Omega and Esalen Institutes. Daniel founded the internationally recognized Radiantly Alive center in Bali, and resides on Maui. Contact: www.DanielAaron. com, 816.372.8088.
Walking Boldly Into The Fires Of Destruction To Taste Transformation On The Other Side
By Amanda Dobra Hope Many of us struggle in some way through our first few decades of adulthood, wondering why we are here and how we’re supposed to be showing up in the world. We’re not yet on fire. The tiny flame has begun to stir, but we have no idea what we will truly become in all of our glory. What many of us also don’t realize during these years is that the process will likely be somewhat destructive, just as fire can be. The old and worn out coping mechanisms and personas that we’ve adopted must be burned away, revealing the fresh possibilities of our original seedlings that have been long since buried. So when and how does this destruction happen, and how do we recognize it as the beginning of our true selves? How do we move through the trials and tribulations with the utmost knowing that we are moving toward something, rather than with fear that we are headed for total destruction? We need faith, an intimate knowledge of ourselves, and courage. On top of all that, we must become so curious and interested in what is on the other side of our fantastic phoenix transformation, that we can’t physically go back to the old once we’ve begun. On a personal note, I resonate so much with this quote I recently saw: “I love the woman I am, I fought hard to become her.” Some of the most defining and best moments of my life have involved total destruction of relationships, ideals, and understandings of who I had been up until then. In one of the first defining moments, all sense of conformity had been reduced to shards of what once was, blowing old versions of me away with the breeze. My new life had begun, and there was no turning back. A few years later, it would begin again, after more chaos and destruction. This time, I fought hard for a while to hang on to what had been. This time, there was even more to lose. Who would I be if I let go of what I had grown to know about myself? What would my family think? What would society think? How would I move forward if I went boldly into the ashes, not yet having any idea what would be on the other side? There was a 50/50 chance I could emerge as a brilliant phoenix, teeming with new life and vitality; but there was a very real possibility that I could end up in pieces on the ground, quite literally. What kept me going through the cycle of death and rebirth that I continued to experience? It was faith, trust, and belief that the fifty percent chance that I would rise from the ashes — more in tune than ever with who I was truly meant to be, living from my true center, and feeling my life was truly on purpose — was going to be the outcome. It had to be. Or something like it, anyway. Because as I mentioned before, once we begin the journey to our authentic self and catch a fleeting feeling of who we can truly be, there’s no going back. We must be brave. We must know that all of the little destructions are the controlled burn leading to the thriving, healthy and vital beings we are meant to be in order to fully contribute to the universe and live our lives truly on purpose in joy, hope and unwavering belief in ourselves and the ability for us all to rise into our glory. Amanda Dobra Hope is a holistic life coach, author and speaker. She is passionate about helping others uncover their true gifts and give them to the world. She believes that when everyone on the planet is truly in alignment with themselves, we all will thrive. Find her at www.itsasyoulikeit.com.
Spring, 2019
Maui Vision Magazine
Page 27