Shelter From the Storms

Imagine you hitched a ride on a weather satellite and there below you was our beautiful home with clouds dancing across the oceans and the continents. From your vantage point, you could see some of those clouds turn into major storms and the density of the storms along with lightning lighting up the clouds would be a beauty to behold.   

There are several factors that create big weather events such as the density of the air, the temperature of the water below and warm humid air meeting cold dry air. The same is true for our minds. All sorts of factors are present when a big storm comes and seemingly takes over our world, factors such as genetics, family origins, community beliefs, our health, trauma, rejection, unreasonable expectations and on and on. 

Our minds are just like the weather. We experience big storms and small storms all against the backdrop of a vast blue sky of our true nature. It is part of being human to experience storms inside of us and they come and go like the clouds in the sky. And just like we have tried to unsuccessfully control the weather for eons, we have also tried to control our inner storms. But if you watch carefully, you will see when you go into control mode, whether it’s judging yourself, going to your compulsions, blaming somebody else, swearing you will never do this again, pretending you are fine, it only makes matters worse, oftentimes throwing us into the morass of despair. 

What can you do when the inevitable happens and storms take over your mind? Be present for it! But we are not skilled in this. The muscle of our attention is weak, and it takes warmth and patience to learn how to fully give your attention to whatever you are experiencing. This is a golden thread that weaves through everything I share.  

Until your attention comes fascinated by what you are experiencing, you can remember what we are exploring here. Storms are a part of life. You don’t experience the storms of anxiety, self-judgment, anger, hopelessness, agitation, confusion, and frustration because there is something wrong or something wrong with you. It’s just part of being human. 

Also remember, right in the middle of the storm, that all storms pass. But, when we are at the mercy of a storm it says, “I am all there is and I’m going to last forever.” But if you look closely, you will see you are so much more than these storms and not one of your storms has been here forever. Your mind will try to convince you that they have, but just like the clouds in the sky, life is constantly changing. 

Another powerful thing you can do is move. Storms cause us to contract. We hold our breath and tighten our body and get caught in struggling with the struggle. But when you move, struggle can’t hold on so tightly. I have a staircase in the woods by my house, which has been my dear friend over the years. I call the time I spend on the staircase, ‘Flushing the toilet!’ because literally things begin to move through. My body can’t hold on so tightly nor can my mind. And even stress hormones get flushed right on out. 

Yes, sometimes it’s very, very hard to move. The contraction of a big storm tries to convince us to just hunker down. So, if you can’t go for a walk or dance to some favorite music, take a shower. Water is magic in helping things move through. And if you can’t physically move at all (and all of us have experienced these kinds of big storms) simply begin to rock yourself with your own breath and, if you can, say kind and compassionate words to yourself. 

And lastly, but really firstly, touch whatever is struggling inside of you with compassion and bring it home to the shelter of your heart. As it says in The Course in Miracles, “Everything is love or a request for love.” All the various components of your storm, whether it is anger, shame, fear, despair, etc., are requesting the kindness of your heart. The more you get to know the moving parts of your storms, you’ll see that every everything is asking for you to say hello – “I see you!” – and is asking for the healing magic of acceptance – “You are welcome here!”   

This can be very scary in the beginning because we feel this kind of acceptance will give our storms permission to take over. The opposite is true. Try this with smaller storms in the beginning and see that they dissipate under the gaze of your kind and accepting heart. And as the clouds move on through, you are connected again to the vast blue sky of your true nature.