I’ve talked about The Burn a good bit lately, but I wanted to have a separate post for other posts to link to, since it’s becoming so fundamental to our journey. So please accept my apologies if this is redundant. But it’s very important! And it can save you lots of time and pain. Plus, this is one of my shortest blogs posts ever…
The burn is basically just surrendering to the fire when you’re triggered and letting it have its way with you. But you’re not acting out or anything, like smashing windows and yelling and screaming. You’re just breathing. Something happens that you don’t like, and a part of you is shouting “NO” to the universe. “I don’t like this. This sucks. This isn’t okay. I’m not okay with this.” Sound familiar? It sure does to me. It could be something major or it could just be something minor, like you’re running late and there’s a slow driver in the left lane. And they don’t seem to understand the one rule of the road, that the left lane is for passing!!! WHAT’S WRONG WITH THESE DAMN PEOPLE, DON’T THEY KNOW?!?! Whoa, rant narrowly averted… I’m cool… I’m good… [deep breathing] Back to the story…
When things happen that you don’t like, or even if you’re experiencing major anxiety, see if it feels like a part of you is on fire. Or maybe it feels like a cringe, that’s the same thing. Now think of this as your ego unraveling (because that’s actually what it is). It’s something that you no longer need, and the universe triggered it so it’ll burn away. And when the stuff we no longer need is gone, there’s more space for the soul to inhabit the body. Yay. I know, that should have an exclamation point. Yay! I think “yay” with a period is pretty funny, though. And speaking of using different punctuation, try putting an exclamation point where a question mark should go sometime. Like in a serious text in which an exclamation point is just not appropriate at all. It’s pretty funny. Back to the story again…
The small stuff is really the place to start, so that you can master this and be less rocked when the big stuff goes down. Like wanting a traffic light to stay or turn green. Or a car to go faster. Or the urge to check your phone when you hear it beep to see who texted you. Just notice the feeling in your body, if there is one. And take a breath and open. And then check your phone. That’s all I’m talking about. That urge usually comes with a feeling, and it’s interesting to get to know it, and to get to know how quickly it can pass. I have people do this with just about anything. The smart phone, in fact, is the perfect place to practice. Most people these days habitually do things to pass the time, like playing a game or checking social media or sports or the news or whatever it might be. Just take that breath and open your body first, so that you’re doing the same thing but with an open, relaxed body. No big deal, only takes a second. You might be amazed at how these energies arise and then clear out; it’s kind of freaky! And the more you live this way, the less stuff will build up that you end up carrying around. Way less stress. Yay.
Notice that when we’re triggered or cringing or burning, we’re not trying too hard to figure out why we feel the way we do. The more you just align with the breath and don’t try, the more a reason will just pop in your head if you even need one. Else it’s just another layer of ego unraveling. Bye bye, good buddy! Bye bye good buddy? Bye bye good buddy. Just kidding… Put your hand on your heart if you feel to and take a deep breath. This sort of tells the burning one inside, “I know it hurts. It’s going to be okay, though. Just stay with it.” Then just go on about your day. You’re surrendering to the fire and letting it burn off anything that you no longer need, and the miracle is that when you do this, it often passes more quickly than you’d think. When you get in your head, though, or try to fix it and make it go away, it ends up being much worse. The burn actually is the fix! Read that again… The burn is the fix. Because stuff that no longer serves you is leaving. Think about that, because that’s the key to the whole thing. This will totally change your relationship with pain. Pain means that growth is happening. It’s so counter-intuitive, I know. But now we’re starting to view things from the soul’s eyes, finally! So there we go, happy burning to you. And as always, let me know if I can help.