Wandering in the Wilderness

Dear Friends,

 As we continue with our exploration of Robert Brumet’s book, Finding Yourself in Transition; Using Life’s Changes for Spiritual Awakening, I hope that you are finding some comfort and assurance in knowing that what you may be feeling is not only ‘normal’ but purposeful.

Each of the three stages of transition, Endings, The Void, and New Beginnings serve their own unique purpose in the transition process. As we prepare to make our way to the second phase, let’s consider the depth to which the Ending phase can take us, if we stay present to the process.

 According to Brumet,

    We each carry within us a set of primary questions which have been formed early in our life.     
    Normally, these questions are beneath the level of consciousness and are rarely verbalized.
   The answers that we’ve developed to these questions frame our sense of reality. 

    Nothing affects our life more that the answers to these questions. 
    All of them are impacted by endings.

    They are

• Who am I?
• What is real?
• What is my life about?
• What is my place in the world?

Many of us have been identifing feelings of confusion, sadness, exhaustion, even anger and disenchantment, all resulting from an underlying sense of loss that has been hard to name. Considering these feelings through the lens of the transition process offers a helpful container to process some of what we are experiencing.

While our social activities may have slowed significantly as a result of Covid, our lives did not actually stop.  The ups and downs continued, in large part without much of the meaningful social and communal support that we are accustomed to experiencing.

On top of the collective experience of loss that continues to emerge, some of you have experienced the actual physical loss of people that you love. Others are experiencing health challenges or changes to your work or housing environments.

It is a lot to hold. Be gentle with yourselves. Know that it is ok that you don’t feel ok sometimes.  I encourage you to reach out to me, and to each other when you need connection and support.

In all of these scenarios, it is helpful to understand that part of what we are experiencing is the loss of our former self—our sense of identity, and purpose. On a spiritual level, our purpose remains unchanged although our understanding of it may certainly change, and hopefully expand.

As we come to terms with this loss of identity, we also realize that the new sense of self- that updated identity and purpose has not yet be established. We have arrived in that liminal space that Brumet calls ‘THE VOID”.

This can feel a bit like we are wondering in the wilderness.  Uncomfortable and unfamiliar as it may be, this experience in the Void is indeed a valuable one.

More than ever we need the strength, assurance and guidance of the I Am within us. This transpersonal self remains centered on the Spiritual Truth of us and stands firm at the center of all that we experience.  

 

Join us at 10am on Sunday as we continue our journey.