I push myself. And sometimes, I need a reminder to take things one step at a time, accept that growth cannot be rushed, and embrace the slow pace of learning.
Four weeks ago, I set a goal for the year: Test my energy techniques to make them as reliable as possible. I wanted to get started right away.
But three weeks ago, I wasn’t ready. I wrote about strengthening my ethereal muscles, and how resistance had guided me to that work.
Two weeks ago, between that strengthening, my day job, and hiring at Healing Lab, I still wasn’t ready. I accepted it. No blog post.
One week ago I had a stomach bug. No post and no progress.
This week, I returned to studying energy. I felt pressure to catch up on my year of work, and to have results to write about. Thinking about the weeks that had passed, I felt a tightness in my chest. I wanted to jump into testing.
That’s what I wanted. But what I needed was to finish strengthening my ethereal muscles. I got sick in the middle of that work, and progress doesn’t happen without practice.
So this week, I returned to my exercise: Fully engage an ethereal muscle, hold it engaged for 5 or 10 minutes, let it make more connections to my brain. Repeat for each muscle. Then do it again the next day.
It’s been tiring, and slow, and repetitive. But that’s the nature of practicing a skill.
You don’t learn to play guitar by reading an article. The learning happens by doing it, over and over, until your fingers are exhausted.
Same with fitness. Getting into shape means doing the reps, day after day.
And so it is with energy. Knowing what to do is only the beginning. The bulk of the work is doing it, over and over, until it’s natural and automatic and my ethereal muscles are strong.
This week, I’m reminding myself that this is the work. It’s not a distraction or a detour. This practice is exactly what I need to be doing.
I saw a post from a friend that said, “How does a Buddhist tell someone to F off? ‘Thank you for giving me the opportunity to practice patience.'”
There’s some insight in that joke. And this week, I’ve been reminding myself that all of these delays and all of this time strengthening my ethereal muscles is an opportunity to practice patience and gentleness with my journey.
I hope this helps you be patient and gentle with your journey, too.
Join me live every Sunday
Every Sunday at 11am Pacific, I geek out about energy on my live stream, Ask an Energy Scientist.
This weekend, I’ll talk about accepting the slow pace of learning. Bring your questions, or just drop in and listen.
Just join my Facebook group, Energy Healing Lab, and you’ll get a notification when it starts.
Looking forward to talking with you!