I shared in an email yesterday that I made a crazy decision to rebrand my entire event just three weeks before it takes place. The one at which Elizabeth Gilbert is speaking. Like there is a chance that this person I’ve paid a bunch of money to, who I am super excited to meet, may think I’m a crazy person.
Yet spirit spoke and I had to listen.
Today I’m sharing about how Spirit told me what to do. I don’t hear actual voices, and I’ve spent the last seven years learning how to hear Spirit speaking to me. One thing I know I am committed to is giving you permission, by way of my modeling, to honor your own intuitive knowing about what Spirit wants for you.
To get you up to speed, I was feeling a lot of heaviness around the upcoming retreat. I began intentionally tuning in to the soul of the event to see what it really wanted and needed. It had been feeling super heavy to me, and I didn’t want to give it any love. I knew I couldn’t spend three weeks in that state!
One morning last week as I tuned in, I had this thought that I immediately posted to Facebook without much thought:
It was after this post, in my morning meditation, that I saw a vision.
I was in a deep hole – like a well. The walls of the well were concrete. At first I was really uncomfortable being there… I wanted out. There wasn’t any room to move around or be free.
I leaned forward and hugged the wall. It was cool and solid. I shifted from feeling trapped to instead enjoying the support of the wall.
Then Spirit whispered (in the sense of a feeling rather than words), “don’t get comfortable there,” and revealed to me clearly the level of discomfort I was quickly willing to tolerate when stuck at the bottom of a well.
I saw that because I was never really given comfort as a kid, I learned to get comfortable wherever I was. I became way too willing to tolerate a great deal of discomfort.
Now, creating a sense of comfort where I am has helped me in so many ways. It’s helped me tone down my type A achiever tendencies so I could find peace in the moment.
But I got a message from spirit loud and clear – no more. You are done with this type of discomfort.
I could see that I had a choice. I could stay in the heavy energy of surviving this cold, hard concrete, or I could climb myself up that ladder and free myself.
Just then my attention was drawn to a rope ladder there against the opposite wall. It was exactly like a ladder I climbed last November in Mexico to get out of a cenote (an underground pool) I had rappelled into on our tour. Because of last year’s shoulder injury, getting out of the hole was not easy, and in my vision that ladder felt the same.
I knew I could do it but it wouldn’t be pretty! (Clinging to the rope with one arm and two legs, in my bathing suit with everyone watching and waiting!)
As I was faced with my choice in my meditation I could feel the metaphor, or the lesson in it.
I’d been getting honest with myself around how I was feeling about my CONNECT Retreat:
- Resentment that it was keeping me tethered to Seattle when I want to be in LA with Kimmi (we are using our entrepreneurial freedom for her to be with her father through his illness)
- Disappointment that the event hasn’t become exactly what I’d envisioned it to be two years ago (I pictured an annual client reunion. It has become more of a high-level meeting of the minds).
- Excitement about our workshop leaders and the quality and the caliber of our registrants (truly delighted by the conversation that has already started brewing).
- Gratitude for the way in which my challenging life circumstances had caused me to lead in an even more vulnerable and authentic way through this retreat.
While I could clearly see good, I saw that this mix of energies was feeling heavy and no fun. The me that had a vision for something different than what I’d experienced with ‘typical events’ in the past had in some ways created CONNECT in reaction to the past of what I didn’t want, rather than creating a fresh idea for something I loved. It served me, because it inspired me into action. But the actuality of the event had outgrown the original vision.
I knew I could relax into what was and make it through, and all would be good, just like leaning on the wall in the concrete hole.
But I also saw that I could choose to leave the hole.
It would be uncomfortable, and potentially a bit awkward, but then I’d be out. And I didn’t have to wait until next year, like I was thinking when I wrote that Facebook post.
So I ripped the band-aid and made the decision to infuse this year’s retreat with as much energy and love as possible… to liberate myself from past energy and have as much fun as I can!
I’ve rebranded our entire event to more accurately represent the TRUTH of what it is.
You can see that reflected in the new copy HERE.
Who says you can’t rebrand three weeks before an event when forty people are already coming?
F*ck it!
It’s just life and it’s not so damn serious!
There is nothing you cannot do, shift, cancel, change, or invent. Period.
And doing the things most people would tell you not to do is very well the reason you are a badass…
Badass = Courage to make decisions that align with who you are, often from faith and divine guidance, without knowing exactly how they will play out.
If the new energy of our retreat, a gathering of badass leaders in the realm of increasing consciousness – and fun, joy, play, an connection – on the planet feels right to you, apply today.
Liberate yourself further from your ego’s need to play it safe. You want to be in this room!
A few tips how I recognized what Spirit was saying.
- I recognized that I was uncomfortable. With Kimmi leaving and feeling concerned about the well-being of people I love I could have easily rationalized why life was feeling so heavy, but I knew there was more to the story than that.
- I got support to unpack what was going on. It’s impossible to see from inside of ourselves.
- I made time and space to tune in to how I was feeling, giving the opportunity for Spirit to get through to me (even though the rational mind said I didn’t have the time to make).
- I allowed myself to see and interpret the vision. I could have easily seen just a well. But I knew the visual was significant, and had something to say.
- I have been attentive to the themes life has been putting before me lately, including things my clients have been bumping up against and working through. We are part of a collective consciousness. If a conversation is happening near me, it is likely also happening for and through me. My clients have been working on learning to go for what they want, and that taking fast action toward what they want does not mean they have to lose their peace. I’ve been giving a lot of guidance about not having to know the answer, about giving up control, and about giving themselves the permission to change their mind.
- I was 100% willing to follow the guidance, however inconvenient. (My team gratefully worked to make changes to our marketing for me, and I let go of any concern for what people might think of me along the way).
- I’m enjoying the process! There is no need to suffer to be Spiritual. I have no attachment to the outcome. I am trusting that the shift in being VERY SPECIFIC about who the event is for and what it is about will help connect to the right people (I would hate for someone who would really be impacted by being in the room to miss it because the energy of the marketing was off). Either way, to me the goal is in the joy of the process of accurate and inspired expression!
How might following this guidance make a difference for you this week? Because we are a part of a collective consciousness, YOU are receiving this message right now for a reason also! Please do share.
And if you know you’re a badass leader who wants to connect with others on a similar wavelength, here’s what you’ll get at Badass Leaders Align!
- Allow the space for you to connect with your soul’s longings and the role you are meant to play as a leader in today’s society.
- Fine-tune your messaging, marketing, business model, or life design by getting yourself into this environment for truth.
- Lighten up, seeing just how to share your work in the world in a way that FEELS REALLY GOOD to you, and everyone knows it!
- Get creative with Liz Gilbert, badass author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic, in a private workshop designed to help you tune into the part of you that wants to be heard.
- Connect with promotional partners who are willing to work authentically, like you, and find creative ways to share each other’s work that innovates the tired launch process.
- Experience an unprecedented level of camaraderie with other leaders who are just as badass as you are!
- Have loads of fun playing with your divine self-expression!
And for those of you who are already registered, allow this to inspire your own sharing! Who do you know needs to be in the room for this powerful conversation for potential?
Love,
Darla