*How much protection are you needing in your life?*

Once upon a time, there lived a man who looked up in the sky and saw ferocious, scary dragons everywhere. Because he was so frightened of them he built a castle and fortress to protect himself. He also hired knights at the ready in the event of a full on attack. His days and nights were spent constantly worrying about these dragons. The more he thought about them the more he believed in the inevitible destruction of their fire-breathing ways. Every day was driven by the desire to escape their wrath. It completely consumed his every thought.

One day he came upon the local wise-man. The wise-man listened intently to the worries and fears of this man. The man, at the end of his rope on what else he could do to protect himself, asked for guidance from the wise-man. The wise-man, with much patience and kindness, begins to explain that the dragons are simply clouds in the sky. The man disagrees and points to several of the fierce dragons. Can't you see them? Be careful--they are right above us! We need to find cover!

Again, the wise-man points to the exact same area of the sky and says, No... that is not a dragon. It is a cloud. You must open your eyes and truly see. Your mind tells you they are dragons, but in fact they are not. You have nothing to fear. What you see as danger others only see as harmless whisps in the sky. Your fears have no base to them. It is the story you have built around the perceived dragons that rule your life. Now is the time to view life differently. To move forward into a deeper level of emotional and spiritual maturity. Move toward an awakening.

The wise-man continued his counseling. You really have nothing to fear. Your mind has run away with you. Now, you must learn to befriend it. By befriending your mind, you befriend your fears. When you befriend your fears you befriend the part of yourself that needs to be heard. This is not the time to continue ignoring the long neglected voice within. To continue ignoring this will keep you believing the dragons are real.

Fears are nothing more than our mind telling us over and over again a story where we are the victim. Where we have no control. Where we have so much pressure that we need to protect ourselves from others who are doing these "things" to us. It's these perceived pressures that keep us believing in the boogeyman or dragons or other scary beasts that are lurking about. The only way to change your mind is by changing your thoughts. Listen. Listen. Listen. Listen... to your inner wisdom. This is how we tame the dragons. This is how we befriend our mind. With an open and courageous heart.

The man was in absolute awe of the words spoken by the wise-man. He began to view his world differently. He would spend many a day looking up. Sure enough they were imaginary dragons! He smiled more often watching this transformation from dragon to imaginary dragon to simple, harmless cloud. Eventually, he sold his castle fortress and small army of knights to someone else who felt they needed protection around them at all times. Previously, he had no time for friends, play, adventure or any type of celebration. Now, he is the life of the party and can typically be found (if he's even around) anticipating his next adventure. And, most daring of all--he received his pilots license and can frequently be seen flying amongst the clouds. Yelling Woo-Hoo!

You may or may not have heard this story or a version of it. I love its way of explaining through imagery and sage advice how our thoughts really do become things. What we think about expands. And, if we are careless with our minds' thought patterns, life can become a self-fulfilling prophecy of one stroke of bad luck or misfortune after another. The metaphorical building of walls become a reality and a way of life. In order to cope with these perceived "dragons" we become more strict with ourselves and obsessed with the way to alleviate the pressure from our life.

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of

your own being." Hafiz

"Walls of protection" come in many forms. Perhaps its dependency on adrenaline. Alcohol. Cigarettes. Drugs. Addiction to prescription drugs. Workaholism. Avoidance. Denial. Depression. Gambling. Shopping to avoid feelings. Infidelity. Co-dependency. Attachment to being right. Perfectionism. People pleasing. Criticism of self and others. Fault finding. Eating disorders. Paranoia. Addiction to watching mind-numbing TV, video games or social media. Hooked on drama and/or creating drama. This list is certainly not exhaustive. It does, however, list common examples most of us are familiar with.

As we learned from the village wise-man, the key to taming the dragons is to relieve the pressure underneath. It's the pressure, the perceived stress, that has caused us to look out our window in fear. And, just like the story of Chicken Little we believe the sky is falling.

Is there a solution? What can we do to experience an outcome where we are living and loving life on our terms? Dragon-free.

*To move away from our adult wired fears we must invoke the child-like wonderment and inquisitiveness we were born with.*

To discover your biggest fear, or any of your deeply embedded fears, that run the show of your life ask yourself directly: What is my biggest fear? To find the answer I use this as a journaling exercise. An added element of interest and profound insight is to write the question down with my dominate hand. Then, with my non-dominate hand write the answer. If you decide to try this, you might be surprised by how well this works. Put simply, this exercise taps into the different hemispheres of the brain. One is logical. One is creative. One is linear. One is beyond time restrictions. One is governed by the mind's mind. One is governed by the heart's mind. One is driven by perfection. One is carefree and inquisitive.

I write my questions down first with my dominant hand. (Here are a few examples that have been helpful to me.) What is my biggest fear? Why is this my biggest fear? When did this fear start? How did it help me? What do I have to learn from it? Am I ready to let it go? What can I do to help myself move forward? I also leave plenty of space for answering (at least half a page to a full page per question.) Before I begin writing the answers I take a few moments, close my eyes and take 5 - 6 deep, full breaths to connect with my body. More specifically, when I feel my awareness drop down into the heart's mind. Then, I write the answers with my non-dominant hand. (side note: turn off all outside distractions to really benefit)

Don't worry about the awkwardness of the non-dominant hands' writing. I find it helpful to embrace this with an intention of curiosity. Watching my hand write the answers is often times eye-opening and exciting. I love this exercise for its ability to give my inner wisdom a chance to speak to me with my full, undivided attention. After all, that is what it has been wanting. For me to listen. Not to listen to others all the time. Not to base my worth on others reactions to me. They have their own dragons they believe are real so why would I continue to look to them for answers?

Take the time to tune in. What messages within you are wanting to be heard? Listen closely with admiration and reverence. Allow your inner light to shine more brightly because the world needs your beauty and light to radiate inwards and outwards.

Are you ready to see the artistry of the clouds?

Here's to taming our imaginary dragons...

Joanna

click here to sign up for regular newsletters and articles delivered directly to you.

Interested in booking a Private Reading? click here to learn more