When Pain Pushes and Vision Pulls

There was a saying I heard on a podcast, The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes and guest Michael Beckwith, that really inspired me:

“Your pain pushes you until your vision pulls you.”

The podcast had so many beautiful golden nuggets that I’ve listened to it a few times.

There were all kinds of aspects that shined light on separation, Oneness, gratitude, and resistance to it all. The resistance, stemming from ego, increases our limitations of the lower self, often increasing the experiential pain we feel in our human experience. Instead of the great discovery of self-actualization, we criticize, gossip, and attack others in our human existence.

There were many different aspects of how we can move into a more purposeful life through practices like daily gratitude — appreciating the gift of life and having a vision.

Where am I going in life? 

This question can lead us further into the vision and joy of life. This is the heart and soul connection that expresses itself outwardly.

This is not a delivery of what this podcast is about, but these concepts are interwoven into everything The Nature Within, LLC is about.

The great thing about gratitude, and the practices that allow us to move beyond lower vibrational energies, is that we cannot feel grateful and fearful at the same time.

If you look around your circle, you may see a common theme:

Fear and limiting belief systems are often behind the wheel of our own vehicle in life.

In the podcast, there is a rhetorical question sent out to the universe:

“How does it get better than this?!”

No matter what state we are in — a state of flow or a state of crisis — that question can be asked just as it is, perhaps with a different inflection. The thing is, the universal law will show us regardless. All we have to do is ask the question.

When we maintain an attitude of joy, love, and gratitude, no matter what is going on in our lives, the universe will present us with exactly how good it can get.

The universe is infinite and unlimited, and its supply meets a person at their vibrational worthiness.

The podcast talks about mediocrity and how we live small, separate versions of ourselves in a world that is truly expansive and infinite.  It leads us toward the vibrational matches of our self-worth and how the universe can support us in unimaginable ways.

So it got me thinking a bit further.

How do we actually do that?

We stick to the basics. We return to the practices that are foundational. We begin our day with gratitude and an appreciation mindset. The rest usually begins to fall into place over time.

When we make it a daily practice, our lives can transform before our very eyes. If we are led by a vision, we begin to move toward it with autonomy, especially when we are deeply connected to the response of universal law.

Sometimes we veer off course. This is normal.

This is where we resist what is, and we hold onto rigid aspects of ourselves. The evidence usually shows itself in the body. This is often how body holds tension, pressure, and pain. It can tell us that we need to head back to our foundational aspects of practice. The more we resist, the greater the struggle. Pain sets in, becoming more intense in our physical and mental discomforts.

We don’t make “course corrections” in life until we are connected with great insight or great turmoil. We don’t necessarily make the changes until there is a crisis — a wake-up call that asks us to ask different questions that impact our freedom in life. I’m sure most of us have had to make course corrections in life due to deep insights, or an experience that allowed for deeper questioning.

Most of us continue to plug along in life like it’s Groundhog Day, instead of allowing the universe to guide us into the infinite abundance that is calling us to step into it.

First, we must take the step forward. We must be willing to change it. We must want to move through it. We must believe in the change we are being guided to make. We must feel that we are worthy of the beneficial result of the change. We must follow the vision.

So what’s impacting most of us in today’s world?

Ignorance.

There are different kinds.

We all know people who have strict belief systems. These are the rigid forms of conceptual ignorance.

People who judge everything and have a category for everything.

This is me.

This is right.

This is wrong.

This is good.

This is bad.

We have emotional attachments.

Spiritual ones too.

These keep us small, fearful, separate, and bound to our daily habits. We become clouded in the heart with all kinds of binding energies.

Emotional ignorance is another type of ignorance.

It can arise from emotional patterns that distort our perception and are often invisible to us in real time.

We can react with defensiveness. We can harbor resentment and jealousy. We can become fueled by lust, desire, envy, attachment, uncertainty, judgment, grief, ego-identity, comparison, competition, expectation, overthinking, seeking approval, greed, excessive stimulation, soothing, and all other forms of unresolved emotion.

More than we’d like to admit, we don’t even recognize that these things are driving us. That’s the nature of ignorance. We cannot see what we cannot see.

Energetic ignorance is another.

It can lead us into chronic fatigue or restlessness. It can happen when we try desperately to fit into places and spaces that no longer serve us. People-pleasing, or any other self-abandoning plea for love and acceptance, is always draining over time. Lack of boundaries leads us astray as well.

It may show up as spontaneous emotional outbursts that derive from internal pressure and irritability. Sadness, resentment, or anxiety further leads us to burnout and destabilize our structures in life. We feel the physical discomfort from the emotional destabilization.

It can also show up as an inability to focus while the restless mind continues to stir, despite any outside appearance of stillness. The body may be sitting still. The mind may not be.

Then there is subconscious ignorance — the stuff that can remain deeply hidden.

We can self-sabotage even when the very thing we want is sitting at our doorstep. We can self-sabotage when we are nearing real transformation.

This may be the hardest layer because it is subconscious and takes time to dissolve. This layer requires the most patience and humility. We can begin moving through it with stillness, breath, and silent self-observation.

Again, all staples of The Nature Within, LLC services.

We stabilize the “structure” within and practice feeling into the foundational structures that create and support the vision.

We can also clear and cleanse ourselves through Virtue. This is also a game-changing process.

Virtue is a practice that provides a direction for our energy instead of allowing it to be pushed or scattered into ignorance.

Kindness. Patience. Compassion. Humility. Simplicity - in thought and action. Sincerity. Integrity. Forgiveness. Generosity. Presence. Courage. Gentleness. Contentment. Trust. Service. Acceptance. Discernment.

These are not simply words. They are ways of being.

They are practices that allow us to move ourselves into a more fulfilled life.

Before we know it, we can return to the “Greatness” of the human spirit instead of being led by an internal discomfort of lack, separateness, or fear.

So instead of resisting, try allowing. Lean into your worthiness to receive.

Ask each day:

How can I be of service?

Ask:

How can I share my gifts with the world?

Allow the universe to provide what comes next. This is where stillness and patience takes root.

Love freely.

Can you envision where life would take you if you did?

Life is going to get better with these practices because we are reaching the vibrational match of what we are calling in. It may sound a bit “Woo,” but this is how it works.

Another really important question is whether we are willing to stop resisting the possibility of a life filled with joy, love, and peace. Many of us are addicted to our own stories and pointing the finger at someone else. This keeps us stuck exactly where we are.

When we connect with tension, stress, or pain, may it push you. And allow your vision can pull you forward.

So take the step. Trust the path. Feel your worthiness.

And ask:

“How does it get better than this?”

Then listen. Then allow.

And, let it be so.

We are all worthy!