well spring (wel’ spring’) n. 1. source of continual supply

Tapping Into Your Wellspring:
Lessons Learned Along the Path of Discovery

The biggest obstacle to living in abundance may quite possibly be your self and your own habit of mind (thinking). Over time, people tend to adopt a worldview that includes ideas about their place in that world. They are honed and sharpened by life experiences and their own interpretive lens/filter in such a way as to place themselves outside of the possibility of living in abundance.

The challenge is to shake up how we are thinking about things. “Outing” these habits of mind that work hard at clinging to the familiar, (perhaps a message we bought into without knowing any better) requires an awareness of how this process parlays these messages into beliefs, which in turn influence our feelings. Powerful emotional states are created that keep us feeling, stuck, frustrated, ill-equipped, sad, and empty. We may fall back to these habitual patterns of thinking, and revert to those emotional states during times of stress.  In a sad twist of fate this becomes the cornerstone upon which people often create, maintain or re-create their own self-defeating attitude and energy.  This robs individuals of their potential to fulfill dreams and aspirations.

Opening to the idea that we are our own agent of change is essential in recognizing that we are the “keepers of the gate.” The choice of either allowing or declining entry or exploration into the vastness of our own evolution, requires one to  recognize that there are practices that hinder or enhance movement away  from living in a culture of scarcity, competition, emotional disconnect and toward a lifestyle of compassion, tolerance and connection.  Rather than feeling alone, insecure, and empty one may experience the world as a place of kindred spirits, lovingly connected through both the suffering and the joy of our shared humanity. The choice is yours!
 
Cultivating a practice of patience and compassion toward self and others becomes a turning point by which one gains an opportunity to set in motion actions that embrace living more fully in the moment, liberating people to really be present.  This requires that we take “time in” to slow down and create time to sit or be quiet with ourselves, trusting our capacity to allow for feelings to arise, as the tide ebbs, so too do feelings.  It seems that our fast paced culture deters us from this important practice, promoting instead that we remain engaged in the ever distracted culture of multitasking inattentiveness. The result is that we miss out on those gently profound gems of our existence…to truly see when we are looking, to truly hear when we are listening, to truly feel when we are touching, to truly love as we are living, and to truly be one among many.

Learning to follow the breath as in meditative exercises (i.e. breathing, walking, swimming, yoga…) allows one the opportunity to build the “muscle” required to practice taking “time in”. Tuning in to our physicality and listening to our body as if an instrument allows one to settle into a grounded frame – to be connected to the earth and its natural order. We must trust our innate capacity to cultivate patience with our thoughts and emotions, recognizing them as important parts of our human experience.  Much of our distress is exacerbated by the continual tension created by attempting to avoid uncomfortable feelings, often fueled by negative thinking and fear. This becomes an avoidance paradigm where one is trapped in a repetitive loop of disparaging thoughts and feelings regarding one’s own worthiness and competence… energy ill used.  Embracing an approach strategy, whereby time is taken to allow for the natural rise and fall of thoughts and feelings, is akin to truly seeing, hearing, touching, loving and being fully human in the moment…vitally alive and living with true presence of mind, body and spirit. Living in abundance! 

As promoters of well-being we encourage readers to seek opportunities to settle into a practice through which you may experience the rhythm of taking “time in.” Give yourself the gift of renewal, revitalization and transformation.  Human beings are creative by nature; tap into your own wellspring of creative energy and live a life in abundance.

Teresa Moore and Barbara Lynn Hayes, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, are in private wellness practices in Wakefield, Massachuetts. Services include counseling, personal life coaching and art therapy. The office provides a sanctuary offering a comfortable space in which to engage in personal growth. For more information, please visit their website, www.wellspring.bz

E-mail this Article to a Friend