5 Things To Do In The Midst of a Divine Storm

Benjamin Foley
Aug 22, 2017 · 9 min read

“From the moment we are born until the moment we die, we breathe.” — Jon Kabat Zinn

It would be ridiculous to expect a caterpillar to transform itself. To watch this small being try to transcend its former shell and move into an entirely new life would be preposterous.

How funny it would be to see an anxious caterpillar, worrying about what it would become, never realizing that there is nothing it can do or not do to be something beautiful.

Why are we humans any different?

We stress. We plead. We worry. We doubt. We complicate. We try to manifest out future, believing that if we don’t manifest it ourselves, we will stay caterpillars, never reaching our full potential.

By doing this, we lose the wisdom of nature, which tells us that all good things come to those who wait. By forcing yourself into a career, life path, or direction that you think you want, you may just lose sight of who you already are.

Waiting without haste works out well for the caterpillar. Embracing the present, enjoying who it is now, but with an understanding that transformation will come, but there is nothing it can do to hurry the process.

Photo by Volker Schnäbele on Unsplash

Haste Not…Or You Will Surely Never Arrive

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,

and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

— Slow Dance (a poem)

I don’t know about you, but I have been in a constant rush my entire adult life. In this haste to get somewhere new and be something important, I’ve completely overlooked the wisdom of simplicity.

Peace and Providence come to those who move consistently forward, without haste or anxiety about the future, but with a deep confidence in something deeper.

Confidence in what comes before consciousness. A divine confidence, if you will.

The Struggle is Real

This decision came in part from necessity, but mostly it was to provide more security for my family and to build a more substantial emotional/spiritual foundation for myself.

Quickly I realized something I had long forgotten: The process of finding a job is difficult. I mean really difficult.

No matter who you are and what your accomplishments have been it will be harder than you think and I was unprepared for it.

However, this process has revealed more about my ego, and my attachment to it, than anything I have ever been through.

Photo by Timothy Ah Koy on Unsplash

For the first time, I have no ground under me to stabilize my fears and worries. This has caused significant stress and anxiety to arise about who I am and what I should do with my life.

But instead of running away from these worries and fears, I have decided to be like the caterpillar and wait patiently to be transformed by a divine force.

I have chosen to sit with these anxieties. But man has it been hard.

Falling Inward

“The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute. The good news is there’s no ground.”- Chögyam Trungpa

This habit, of reaching for something to take the fear/pain away is something I, with help of Richard Rohr, have come to understand as the Lie of the Scapegoat. Replacing the reality of the situation with something that will ease the pain. But this only works for awhile. It is not a permanent solution.

And for me, this time around, I am going to wait and accept all fears and worries that come my way, so at last I can find a truth deeper. Something that will become my core and allow me to transcend the storms of the future.

Photo by Manolo Chrétien on Unsplash

This waiting has made me realize the truth that letting go of my attachment to my ego or small self, means that I will go through enormous pain and struggle before I am transformed.

But I have confidence in the resurrection. I have faith in the transformation. I have peace in the knowledge that all things happen for a purpose.

Maybe you don’t. If so, perhaps you should sincerely ask yourself why that is and if that belief is helping you be a better human.

The Transformation

It is painful. But, like the caterpillar, I’m no longer going to try to force my transformation. I’m no longer going to force myself to be who my small self wants me to be.

Why?

Because I know with clarity that there is something within me that is deeper than me that transcends all knowledge.

This something is what some call God, the Universe, Source, etc. is directing my steps. All I must do is be quiet and listen.

You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait. You need not even wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked.It has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. — Franz Kafka

I have been afraid to share this realization with the world because of what people may say or think, but I’m slowly moving past that pagan understanding of happiness. The need for others approval.

I’m becoming spiritual. I’m on the journey. I believe in a higher power. May I even say, I believe in God.

Photo by Ashley Rich on Unsplash

This Too Shall Pass

Don’t!

Darkness comes at the beginning of any meaningful journey. If you want to find lasting happiness and fulfillment, I encourage you to run headfirst into the storm and feel it completely.

I believe that God will not give you something that you cannot handle. But you must be willing to sacrifice everything. You must be willing to let go completely of your ego and the small self that is keeping you from experiencing your true self.

You must leave Order (give up your ego) to enter Disorder (the storm) if you are ever to find Reorder (transformation).

It is in the third stage of transformation, you will find what you have always been looking for. And to your surprise it will not come from anything external. You already possess it within.

But you must follow the journey inward to find this truth. Like the boy in the book The Alchemist, you must cross the desert to find out that the treasure was where you first started.

And if you are willing to traverse the desert, you will be resurrected as a beautiful, complex, gorgeous, vulnerable, and strong new person.

5 Things To Do In The Midst of A Divine Storm

Photo by Timo Vijn on Unsplash

I have listed a couple of few daily practices and routines that are helping me in my own journey. I hope they give you some more clarity.

1. Lean on friends

Relationships are a primary human need. If you want to live a happy, content life it is tough to do so without excellent people around you.

Take an inventory of who you spend your time with. Are they filling you up? Are they giving you support and insight in your journey? Would you task them with being your sole companion on your voyage to a deeper self?

If not, reassess and eliminate.

This may seem harsh, but as it is said in the Jewish wisdom tradition, “The land I am taking you to (Promised Land) will be nothing like the one (Egypt) you are coming from.”

Meaning, that to transform your life you will inevitably have to lose the life you have. You will HAVE to shed the skin of your old self to transform into your true self.

Over the past month, I have had to eat my ego and ask for help from those closest to me. Luckily, I have an amazing fiancé and family of friends that have been there for me.

Human capital is the most valuable asset you have. Obtain it and grow it as such.

2. Daily Mantra/Meditation

Love Yourself As Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant is one of my favorite books. Kamal tells the story of his life falling apart and how he got it back by following one simple rule, loving himself completely.

Every second of every day he would chant, “I love myself. I love myself. I love myself.”

At the time he started this practice he was on his last leg. Depressed and despondent. Unable to leave his room. However, after a few short weeks of following this one rule, he was transformed.

And the life he stepped into was better than the one he lost.

This applies to any transformation. That which will so desperately cling to out of fear that we will be nothing without it pales in comparison to that which awaits us.

Photo by Andrea Reiman on Unsplash

So, in an experiment to see if I could find similar growth, I have adopted a mantra of my own that I say to myself over and over again.

It has been effective. It has worked to cleanse my mind, body, and soul.

Give it a try. Figure out a phrase that if you believed it everything in your whole life would change.

For example,

“I am supremely confident in myself.”

“I will completely heal my [blank].”

“God is with me. God is for me.”

3. Mind, Body, and Soul

In my opinion, these are the three buckets of life that need a daily filling for a person to be vibrant. If I only fill up two, I’m still left feeling empty and incomplete.

However, the most powerful one is the Soul bucket. So if you can only fill up one bucket every day, start with your Soul.

Here are some of the daily practices I do to fill up my buckets. I find that when I do these three things my life starts to feel normal again within days.

Mind: Meditation, Prayer, and Journaling

Body: Exercise, Healthy Eating, and Ample Sleep

Soul: Prayer, Writing, Being in nature, laughing, playing, and being with friends.

4. This Too Shall Pass

Another practice I have incorporated into my life over past couple of weeks to help me get through the rigors of job searching has been to remind myself that “This too shall pass.”

I’m not sure if you are spiritual/religious or not, but knowing that there is something bigger than me that is directing my steps helps me have faith in the process.

Instead of worrying about the company name/salary/title, I have been focusing on the things that I can control in the process and leaving the rest up to God/Source/Universe.

5. Serve Someone Else

“Suffering is an excessive focus on yourself.” — Tony Robbins

The best thing anyone can do when they are going through something difficult is to step back and realize how deeply they are focusing on themselves.

This should not be a reason to beat yourself up, but an inspiration to do something every day to help another.

The myth of redemptive violence states that one cannot be healed or rectified by destroying another. One must love another to be fully transformed.

It is incredible how much this truth will help your life move in the direction that you want it to.

Go Deeper

If so, sign up for my free 5 Day Mindfulness Email Course. I’ll be sending you an email every day that will help you reduce stress, increase awareness, and find more happiness!

Sign Up Here!

One last thing…

If you liked this article, please applaud it by clicking the “hands” below so other people will see it here on Medium.

Personal Growth

Sharing our ideas and experiences.

)

Benjamin Foley

Written by

In process...

Personal Growth

Sharing our ideas and experiences.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade