A few bumps on the climb-out

Transition, Solar Plate monoprint, Asandra

In 2009 I was on a commuter flight from North Carolina to Florida. As we were preparing for take-off, the pilot speaking in a charming southern drawl, informed the passengers of our flying conditions. There would be, he stated, “. . . a few bumps on the climb-out.”  Nobody seemed to notice this declaration but me. I do not like turbulence and this was certainly a benign way of preparing us for the stormy flight conditions we were about to experience.

We are born into this human experience unwittingly acquiescing to whatever the karmic weather conditions might be. The journey of cause and effect is neither good nor bad. It is a sometimes baffling combination of positive movement in our lives as well as frustrating challenges. Accepting this undisclosed karmic agenda can be hard. We resent our circumstances; blame our parents or other authority figure, feel sad and hopeless, or any other form of subconscious resistance. I know these resistances first hand and yet, still often find myself either resenting or feeling sad about the most challenging hardships that I have faced my whole life. That is how I know it is karmic. Same issue, different circumstances. It follows me everywhere I go, forcing me to deal with it over and over again. I surmount it, become free, only to have life hand me another episode in a new form. 

We all suffer these karmic ‘bumps’ that knock us about on ‘the climb-out’ to awakening. It is easy to see the patterns in others, but mine, although unchanging in their essence, still disrupt my serenity like mischievous elves determined to trip me up. Invariably, when I finally rise up above my personal turbulence, there is a sense of regret that I once again fell for the trickery of the mind. How could I not see this so clearly?

What, then, is the answer to this unconscious habit of falling prey to our core patterns time and again? I can almost hear a telepathic cacophony of light workers chiming in with a myriad array of solutions. Clearly there isn’t one singular answer to this inquiry, but there is a one-size-fits-all remedy: surrender. We can all relate to the need to let go of control and hand our challenge, desire, fear, etc. over to a higher power.

Most people think, however, that this letting go process is a sign of failure, defeat, or powerlessness. It is not. To walk the high road of consciousness, we need to walk in harmony with Source. Along the way life’s turbulence can throw us off balance. One of my first experiences of a California earthquake left me feeling dizzy and ungrounded. The seemingly solid earth shook my heavy platform bed with a roar that sounded like a freight train charging through my bedroom. There wasn’t an advance warning. I had no choice but to ride that uncomfortable earth-wave for its’ short, but terrifying duration. 

Living for two decades in a hurricane-prone climate helped me to psychologically prepare for an unpredictable weather season. I figured out that if I called on the spiritual energy that symbolizes storms, acquiescing to its’ power, that I was then ostensibly under its’ care. I could ride out even the most dangerous tempest knowing I was being protected. This is a form of surrender. When I did this, I felt empowered and safe. Did that make a hurricane less intense? No, but I was on the other side of fear, and could then witness the journey from a place of respect and awe. Like the charming pilot declared, there will be “some bumps on the climb-out,” but it doesn’t mean that we won’t arrive safely at our destination. Bumpy ride or not.

© Asandra 2013

 

WHAT DO MY GUIDES HAVE TO SAY?

Free Fall, monoprint, Asandra

Since I moved to California in February 2011, I lived in four different cities. Two located in Northern California and two in Southern. The impact of this can only be understood with the knowledge that all of this transpired during a 15-month period. In addition, every possession, including a car and a furry co-pilot named Sasha, came with me.

I grew up in New York, eventually relocated down the East Coast to Miami, then moved 3,000 miles across country to the East Bay area of California (close to San Francisco), and a month ago drove 377 miles to Southern California. One would certainly consider this a zigzag across the United States.

The response that I have often heard about my numerous relocations is that I am “wild.”  Hardly, I reply. Another common misconception: “You must not have a lot of possessions.” Wrong again. However, the singular most common reaction is, “What do your Guides have to say about this?”

The expectation is, as an adept Channel, I should have known the exact, perfect location to land in not only immediately, but also effortlessly. Here is what many do not realize: I am no different from you! Yes, I am an experienced Medium, but do I have some extra-special privy to the Spirit world because I channel for a living? The answer is no. I am just like you: doing my best to hear, feel, sense, and respond, to the higher guidance.

Does that mean that I have been misguided, or not able to receive clear information? No. What it means is something that Spirit often says, “Life is a circuitous route.”  There is a tendency for us in our linear thinking, rational reality, to want to know why something is happening.  Our expectation is that if we are receiving the guidance, the path will be void of road- blocks, traffic jams, or potholes. If we knew the cosmic reasoning for everything, however, there would not be any surprises, mysteries to explore, or lessons to learn. In other words, we would not grow.

For those of you still insisting on a more linear explanation for my zigzag journey, I can tell you that I used the resources I had available to me. This mostly required a lot of trusting the unfamiliar, and leaping into the unknown. Furthermore, whenever I second guessed myself and wondered if I had made incorrect choices, I realized that whatever I needed to face within me, as a result of leaping into the unknown, would still have surfaced. The great illusion is that we live life on the outside, but the truth is that we experience though our senses, react with our emotions, but live through our consciousness.

Have I settled yet? The answer again, is no; my new life is still a work in progress. I have learned something great though: that if I trust my inner guidance, the guidance of spirit is a given. They are right behind us, supporting us every step of the way. When a child is learning to walk, you cannot do it for them. At a certain point, you have to allow them to find their confidence and courage to walk forward. Sometimes we just have to learn to let go of getting it right and simply go in the direction of where we are inspired to go.

Asandra, copyright 2012

For more info: Asandra.com, TheGuidedPath.net, ContactYourSpiritGuides.com