Can you imagine having a life coach who knows you intimately and cares about you more than anyone else in the universe? One that is gentle, loving, and most importantly, knows all the answers to your problems and has your best interests at heart? Surely, if such a person existed, they’d be so expensive that only the rich and famous could afford them.
No. The fact is, this dream life coach really does exist and what’s more, they’ll work for free. Nada. Gratis. Just for the love of it. Because, the world’s best ever life coach is you. Pop those champagne corks, hang out the bunting, and do a celebration dance. Yay!
Really, it’s true. The only snag is, this part of you resides in the stillness, not the thinking mind, the ego, the bit of you that’s trying to puzzle out your problems and more often than not, ends up feeling ever more frustrated.
Yesterday, my inner life coach spoke to me. I’ve signed up for a two-week stillness challenge with Gillian Lenane. She’s somebody I met through working with my spiritual mentor Marion Young and like Marion, Gillian has a voice like warm honey, so as soon as I saw she was offering a series of live morning meditations, I signed up.
I missed the 8.30am slot yesterday as I had a ballet class, so I did it at 8.30pm instead. I was tired and fell into the stillness easily. At some point towards the end, I marvelled at how I have so much energy since I’ve committed to regular daily mediations. I’ve also been hugely creative. It’s a great feeling, but during that meditation, part of me spoke and said that I need to channel this energy. I’ve been giving too much of it away, spreading it too thinly.
The other week, I woke up with a fully formed idea for my second novel. I scribbled it into a notebook, but since then, I have paid no attention to it. My ILC told me to focus on that and to stop frittering away my energy by blurting it out all over the place.
I opened my eyes and felt the urge to open a book in my bedside drawer by Eileen Caddy who was co-founder of the Findhorn Community. It has a message for each day of the year, and yesterday’s read: “There is much to be done, but you must learn to channel your energies in the right direction and not fritter them away by dabbling in many activities. It is easy to do, so here is where self-discipline is necessary. You have to find what you should be doing.”
It was exactly what I needed to hear and served to reinforce what my ILC had said during the meditation.
This is how it works. I allow myself to enter into stillness and have a realisation. Then, at some point, I will see, hear or read things that reinforce that realisation. They’re called synchronicities and when I am really in the flow and making time to connect with source energy, they happen frequently.
But when I am charging around, trying to make things happen and never stopping to be still, I don’t hear the wise words that my ILC has for me and if by some miracle I do, I don’t notice all the little signs that pop up to nudge me in the right direction. When I lapse into the world of ego, I’m on my own, and let me tell you, I’m not half as brilliant as my ILC. I make the same mistakes and end up down the same cul de sacs over and over.
Anyone who knows me will confirm that I can be difficult at times, pushing against any advice, people, or events that are in my best interests. This morning, I told my inner life coach that it’s all very well asking me to write this second novel, but what do I live on? So far, my creative writing has earned me a sum total of about £200 and I’ve been doing it for 17 years. I’m no mathematician, but that’s an hourly rate that even my cash-strapped 16-year-old would balk at.
Today, the ILC asked me to see this as a preparation stage, which means it is all happening, I just can’t see the end result. It’s a bit like opening a new hotel. You take over the building, which is not looking so great, and spend time and energy into making it good before opening day. Things are happening long before that day and it might go wrong and be stressful at times, but because you really love the idea of opening a hotel, the journey is as thrilling. And if for some reason that hotel doesn’t open, it’s okay because you have really enjoyed the process, learned lots about doing up a hotel, and may well get the opening day you crave with the next building.
Once again, it’s about trusting the ILC. It knows best and isn’t going to guide me down any path that isn’t in my best interests.
I have had a similar feeling about my Patreon page. I love creating bonus content, I’ve really enjoyed upping my game on social media, but sign-ups are slow. My ILC tells me not to worry about this. It says I have to live this way of life and people will follow. They’ll want to know what the hell I’m on. It’s already happening. A few acquaintances have said ‘What is going on with you? What’s the secret?’
The secret to a happier life dear reader is this – live it, enjoy it and the rest will follow.
Wise words, courtesy of my ILC.
Falling Together - Spiritual L Plates 