What happens when you simply allow life force to flow through you?

I’ve come to notice that most of us do a lot of extra work. We aim to channel that force. Struggle to resist it. Try hard to make sure we do it right, because if it isn’t perfect, it won’t work. I notice these things about myself, at least.

I’ve also noticed that there is another way.

About a month ago I sent an email.

It wasn’t “well thought out,” and frankly, it didn’t even make a lot of sense. The email was to an author I deeply admire – both for the content of his work and for the immense humility with which he carries his message in the world. The email was a pitch for collaboration on a training project – enthusiastic in its tone, but also surprisingly unattached to the outcome. A few hours before I had been struck with the inspiration to shepherd a project that would … his message (which is also in many ways the core of my own work) more deeply into ….

The email itself went something like:

I’m so inspired by what you’re up to, and I want to help. Some colleagues and I would like to create a program based on these concepts – would you like to be a part of it?

I have sent emails like this before – I really WANT to meet you. Collaborate with you. Learn from you. Be a part of your cool inner circle so that we can eventually be friends. I’m a people collector, and a bridge builder, both by nature and by trade. And the amount of ego in my requests generally varies in proportion with how much I admire the person in question. (Yikes!)

But this one was entirely different. And something has starting to change in the way I’ve approach new connections since then.

This time the words flew through me like a lightening bolt to the page.

There was no hesitation. No word-smithing. I could hear the invitation in its entirety in my head before my fingers hit the keyboard. It poured through my hands and without thinking, I hit send.

Done.

And, to my surprise, the reply came back quickly and clearly. Thank you for reaching out. I’m interested to hear more.

What comes of this interaction still remains to be seen. On some level, the outcome is incidental. The important discovery, in my opinion, is the power of now… am.

In other words, the reminder that letting go of the “I”, and being 100% with the life force (in the form of an idea and request) that was moving through my body at that moment, was the gift itself.

Take a moment and think about your own work, and relationships. How often have you reached out from a strong “I”?

I want?

I need?

I believe we should…

Undoubtedly there are good reasons to put ourselves first (I teach a course on self-care for women, for heaven’s sake!) There’s nothing wrong with I, I’ll be the first to admit. And selfishness – in reasonable doses in the right moments – can be incredibly productive!

Yet there is something else quite potent that is a bit harder to access, and worth noting here.

Think again about your work, and relationships. Can you remember a time when instead of I, you simply acted from now… and am?

Want!

Need!

Believe!

What was different? How did people respond? In what ways, at what pace, did life force (your own and others’) move in those moments?

If your experience mirrors mine, you may have felt in those moments more like a channel than an actor or executor. A conduit for that which wants to come to form to come through you. Present. Awake. Connected to source.

In those moments, your most elegant move may have been to simply get out of the way.

This week I invite you to explore the power, passion and purpose available when you drop the I and find a version of “now… am” in your life.

In your movement practice,

Listen. No kidding. Listen to the music. Listen to the sensations in your own body. Listen to the energy of your practice partner as he or she approaches. Whether you jog, bike, dance, practice yoga or martial arts, listen to the messages that are larger than your thoughts, beliefs and fears that come through when you quiet your mind. Follow them. Practice riding their waves like a skilled surfer. See where they take you.

Notice if you find yourself in new territory, unexpectedly, this time.

In life,

Wait. Yep. This week I invite you to try doing less… until inspiration strikes. I know, there’s lot’s to do! But try it on. Lie still for a bit longer before jumping out of bed in the morning. Stay silent for a few more seconds, before speaking up in the next meeting. Ask the part of you that “already knows” to step aside for a moment and make space for something else to guide you.

Then, in the space you have created, sense the flow of life force. If nothing is moving, stay still.

And if something is… Get out of the way.

Waiting, listening, sensing,

LeeAnn