Transcript

Ep 44 – Lost Your Direction? Let LIFE Find You

Welcome to The Golden Age Timeline, I’m your host CM Rieger. Today we’re exploring a topic that I think many of us can relate to – feeling lost and unsure of our direction in life. But we’re going to look at this from a different angle. Instead of frantically trying to find the direction, what if we allowed LIFE to find us?

We live in challenging times. The world seems to be in constant turmoil, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or disconnected from our deeper purpose. But I believe these times of uncertainty also offer incredible opportunities for growth and transformation if we approach them with the right mindset. Times of challenge are the opportunity to become stronger, wiser, more resilient, innovative and creative. If we’re never tested, we never get to grow.

So let’s explore how to navigate periods of confusion or transition in a way that aligns us with our authentic path. We’ll look at some interesting perspectives on the ego, identity, and our connection to higher consciousness. And we’ll discuss practical ways to open ourselves to guidance from life itself.

Let’s start by considering what it really means to be “lost” or to lose our sense of direction. There’s a beautiful poem by David Whyte that speaks to this. He writes:

Stand still.

The trees ahead and the bushes beside you are not lost.

Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

I love this perspective because it reframes the idea of being lost. It suggests that perhaps we’re not truly lost at all – we’ve simply arrived at an unfamiliar place that we need to get to know. And it invites us to approach our current circumstances, even if they feel uncomfortable, with curiosity and openness.

Whyte goes on to say:

“Listen. The forest breathes.

It whispers, ‘I have made this place around you.

If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.’

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a branch does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still.

The forest knows where you are.

You must let it find you.”

This last line really captures the essence of what we’re exploring today – the idea that when we feel lost, the path forward isn’t always about figuring everything out with our logical minds. Sometimes, it’s about becoming still enough to let life, or the universe, or whatever higher wisdom you believe in, find us and show us the way.

Now, this might sound a bit passive or mystical. But I’d argue it’s actually a very active and grounded approach. It requires us to cultivate deep awareness, to tune into the subtle signals and synchronicities around us, and to have the courage to follow where they lead – even if it doesn’t make logical sense at first.

To understand why this approach can be so powerful, it’s helpful to look at the nature of the ego and how it shapes our perception of reality. This ego construct, while necessary for functioning in the world, isn’t our true, complete self. There are two aspects of ego:

1. The lower ego – shaped by conditioning, traumas, and limited beliefs. This is the part of us that often gets caught up in fear, doubt, and limiting patterns.
2. The higher ego – an expression of our authentic spiritual consciousness operating through our human form. This is the part of us that’s aligned with our deeper purpose and connected to higher wisdom.

When we’re feeling lost or stuck, it’s often because we’re overly identified with the lower ego. We’re caught up in its fears, doubts, and limited perspectives. And from this vantage point, it’s very hard to see the bigger picture or to trust in a process we can’t fully control or understand.

But if we can shift our identification to the higher ego – or even better, to the awareness that sources the higher self – we open ourselves to a much broader field of possibilities and guidance.

It’s the idea that’s one of the themes in the novel Helio Tropez, that we’re playing a character in the “video game” of life. Just as a video game player has a perspective beyond the avatar they’re controlling, our true self has a perspective beyond the limited ego-self we typically identify with.

So when we feel lost, one approach is to try to zoom out and access that broader perspective. We can ask ourselves:

– What if this situation, as uncomfortable as it might be, is actually part of a larger, benevolent process?

– What if the very things that seem to be obstacles are actually guideposts pointing me in a new direction?

– What wisdom or growth might be available to me if I approach this situation with openness and curiosity?

Let’s take an example that is common to many of the people I’ve coached over the last four years… losing their main source of income and finding the cost of living going up… so faced with more intense scarcity than ever before.

So, here were 3 different responses to those three questions. You might relate to some of them, or you might answer them differently if you were in a similar situation.

– What if this situation, as uncomfortable as it might be, is actually part of a larger, benevolent process?  With one client, this question helped her see that losing 80% of her business could give her much needed time off after years of working 7 days a week. She relaxed into the process, trusting that LIFE would provide. By shifting her perspective she aligned herself with the here and now and out of that came a deeper purpose wanting to express itself… a new business… one that had lurked in the background for years but that seemed impractical. It was the beginning of a much more fulfilling life and lifestyle doing what she loved, moving into a simpler lifestyle in a new location with new friends and colleagues. While the transition was chaotic and uncomfortable at times, it led to her to a new life that she loves.

– What if the very things that seem to be obstacles are actually guideposts pointing me in a new direction?  Another client kept trying to break into a certain line of work as a freelancer and every door seemed to close on him. In his spare time, just to relax, he started writing a memoir of some of his crazy life experiences, stories that seemed to fascinate friends and family when he told them. A year later he published them and got invited to speak, be on interview shows, and has an income from something he thought would be just a hobby. Although it wasn’t as much as he made before, a small investment he’d made years ago, grew in unexpected ways providing him the extra income he needed to live.

– A third person found that her business partner in a real estate project started acting in strange ways, blocking her suggestions, turning clients against her, and trying to wrestle control of the business away from her. It was a business she had started, and had invited him in due to his expertise in land use. Now he wanted to take the whole thing over from her and drive her out. But most of the existing clients were people she’d brought in. That third question – What wisdom or growth might be available to me if I approach this situation with openness and curiosity? – helped her calm down enough to see that it was time for them to part ways, so he could run the business how he wanted and she could run the business how he wanted. But that required buying him out and she didn’t have the money. So she asked again – What wisdom or growth might be available to me if I approach this situation with openness and curiosity? She knew the quickest way would be to sell another parcel of the project. That gave her the inspiration and courage to ask a wealthy person, who she was sure would reject the offer. So she thought it through from his perspective and pitched a deal based on knowing his needs and interests. After several negotiations, he agreed and she could buy out her business partner.

Now, this isn’t always easy. You sometimes have to ask these questions of yourself, of this higher “source connected” self several times over at different times, to get the deeper, wiser answers. And, when we’re in the midst of challenging circumstances, it can be really hard to access this broader perspective. We’re often operating from our survival, fight or flight brain, where we’re just worried about surviving. That’s why it’s so important to have practices that help us regularly connect with our deeper self and with the larger flow of life.

Some practices that can be helpful:

1. Anything that relaxes you – Now I would steer away from substances like drugs, foods or drinks as there is often a price to pay. Look for something that allows you to create space between your thoughts and our awareness, allowing you to observe mental patterns rather than being caught up in them. Walking in nature, sitting quietly and watching your breath, yoga, tai chi or other gentle kinds of movements that get you out of your head and into your body.
2. Journaling – Writing can help us process our experiences and often reveals insights we hadn’t consciously recognized. Like answering those questions I suggested as they open up curiousity in the mind.
3. Creative expression – Whether it’s art, music, dance, or any other form, creativity often bypasses our logical mind and allows deeper wisdom to emerge.
4. Seeking out inspiring teachings or perspectives – Sometimes a new idea or way of looking at things can shift our entire paradigm.
5. Breathing exercises can change your brain wave patterns and release you from the trap of survival brain thinking into whole brain thinking.

The key with all of these is consistency. It’s about creating a regular practice of connecting with something beyond our lower ego-self, so that when challenges arise, we have a foundation to draw upon.

Now, let’s look at another case study that illustrates how this approach can play out in real life. I’ll call our subject Sarah to protect her privacy.

Sarah was a successful marketing executive in her late 30s. From the outside, she seemed to have it all – a high-paying job, a nice house, a long-term relationship. But internally, she felt increasingly disconnected and unfulfilled. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was on the wrong path, but she had no idea what the right path might be.

The more she tried to figure it out logically, the more frustrated and stuck she felt. She made pros and cons lists, took personality tests, read self-help books – but nothing seemed to provide the clarity she was seeking.

Things came to a head when she was passed over for a promotion she’d been counting on. This triggered a period of deep questioning and what she later described as a “dark night of the soul.” She felt lost in every sense – unsure of her career, her relationship, her purpose, even her identity.

It was during this period that Sarah stumbled upon some teachings about surrendering to the wisdom of life. At first, her logical mind rebelled against the idea. How could she just sit back and wait for life to show her the way? But she was desperate enough to give it a try.

She started with a simple meditation practice, just a 20 minute quiet walk in nature while doing some breathing exercises and watching her thoughts. She left her phone behind and allowed herself to simply be present with her surroundings.

Gradually, she noticed subtle shifts. She became more aware of her habitual thought patterns and how they were keeping her stuck. She started to have moments of unexpected peace and clarity. And she began to notice little synchronicities and “nudges” from life that she would have previously overlooked.

One day on her walk, she bumped into an old friend who told her about a volunteer opportunity a  focused on empowering people in developing countries through entrepreneurship. Something about this chance encounter felt significant to Sarah. She found herself volunteering with the organization, and for the first time in years, she felt a spark of genuine excitement and purpose. This led her to teaching and coaching about entrepreneurship in various countries around the world.

The interesting thing is that Sarah didn’t figure all this out through logical planning. Instead, she created space in her life to listen and to follow the subtle guidance she received. She described it as a process of “allowing life to find her” rather than trying to force a particular outcome.

This doesn’t mean the transition was always smooth or easy. Sarah faced plenty of challenges and moments of doubt along the way. But she had developed a trust in the process and a connection to something larger than her individual ego, which helped her navigate the uncertainty.

Now, I want to clarify that this approach of “letting life find you” doesn’t mean being passive or abdicating responsibility for your life. It’s not about sitting on the couch waiting for inspiration to strike. Rather, it’s about taking inspired action based on the guidance you receive when you open yourself to it.

It’s also not about ignoring practical realities or abandoning critical thinking. We still need to use our logical minds and deal with the concrete aspects of life. The key is to do so from a place of broader awareness rather than being solely identified with the limited ego-self lost in worries and focused on scarcity

This brings us to an important point about balancing different aspects of ourselves. Remember how we talked about the lower and higher ego? The goal isn’t to completely eliminate the lower ego – it serves important functions in helping us navigate the physical world. Rather, the aim is to integrate and balance these different aspects of ourselves.

This integration process isn’t always comfortable because modern society programs us to live in a scarcity mindset and supports us to operate exclusively from the lower ego. If you do teach yourself to operate from the higher ego, you’re often at odds with the majority of people around you.  There’s a great quote by the Indian philosopher Krishnamurti – It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

So, if often means taking the road less traveled, forging a path on your own. It can feel lonely and can feel like a constant test of your faith in the right path in life.  In fact, it often involves facing aspects of ourselves that we’ve previously avoided or rejected. This is similar to the process of “cult deprogramming”, because the culture we grew up in is quite literally a cult. If you’ve ever lived in another very different culture than the one you grew up in, you know how people view their cultural biases as the unbiased truth. It’s only through removing yourself from the water you swim in that you see your own programming more clearly.

Although you may never have been part of a guru’s cult, there are cults you’ve been brainwashed by. Like I spent 7 years in university and had to deprogram myself of some of the more harmful higher education programs and perspectives on life that kept me stuck. It was a matter of keeping what was useful and discarding what wasn’t. We’ve all absorbed limiting beliefs and conditioning that can function in a similar way, cutting us off from our authentic selves.

There are several stages in the deprogramming process as we go on our own journey of reconnecting with our authentic path:

1. Building trust with our inner wisdom – so I used to think only certain academics with PhDs held the right wisdom and perspectives. But some of those perspectives led me down a very wrong path. Like thinking that lots of education would bring you a life of fulfillment. In my most fulfilling work, I’ve applied very little of what I learned in university. But it did teach me to research and self motivate.
2. Educating ourselves about different perspectives and testing our assumptions = when I became an entrepreneur and let go of being an academic, I had to drop a lot of my ivory tower, elitist views of people with lots of education to realize that street smarts could get you a lot farther in life
3. Processing the emotions that arise as we challenge our old beliefs and patterns – I had to drop a whole world view of myself, get humble, go back to beginner’s mind, and start all over again learning things others around me learned years before me… basic things about surviving and thriving in the world… being part of the world… experiencing other cultures. Things I missed because I stayed 7 years in campus classrooms and libraries learning things from books instead of from life.
4. Gradually rebuilding our sense of self and autonomy based on our authentic values and purpose – I needed to go it alone for a while until I got clear on what was my truth.
5. Developing practices and support systems to help us stay connected to our truth, even when challenges arise – I now spend several hours a day on practices to keep me connected to my truth, to higher wisdom, to universal truths… so that I can better navigate the challenges of this world.

This is deep work, and it’s not always easy. But I believe it’s some of the most important work we can do, especially in these times of global transition and transformation.

There’s a theory that we’re currently entering a thousand-year period – a Golden Age. That’s why I call this this channel and podcast Golden Age Timeline. It marks the end of thousands of years of inversion as we move back into a cycle in human evolution. This transition period involves intensified “polarity dramas” – conflicts and challenges on both personal and global levels.

But here’s the inspiring part – it’s during these intense periods that the opportunity for spiritual growth and evolution is greatest. It’s a time when “spiritual ascension teachings” become available in a way they never were during the thousands of years of inversion, so our access to tools and perspectives to help us navigate these challenges is greater than ever to help us potentially shift into higher states of consciousness, to move beyond this trap of inversion.

Now, regardless of whether you resonate with this specific cosmology, I think the general principle is sound. Times of great challenge also offer great opportunities for growth and transformation – if we’re willing to do the inner work and stay open to new possibilities.

So as we wrap up, I want to leave you with some practical suggestions for applying these ideas in your own life:

1. Create regular space for stillness and reflection. This could be through meditation, time in nature, or any practice that helps you quiet the chatter of the mind and connect with your deeper self.
2. Pay attention to synchronicities, intuitive nudges, and moments of unexpected alignment in your life. These can often be subtle, so it requires cultivating a certain quality of attention.
3. When facing decisions or challenges, try zooming out to consider a broader perspective. Ask yourself broad questions about what this situation might be teaching you or how it might be guiding you towards growth.
4. Practice surrendering your need for complete control or certainty. This doesn’t mean being irresponsible, but rather cultivating trust in the larger creative process of life.
5. Engage in regular self-reflection to become aware of your conditioned patterns and beliefs. Journal, work with a coach, or use whatever methods resonate with you.
6. Cultivate supportive relationships and communities that encourage your growth and authenticity.
7. Stay curious and open to new perspectives and possibilities. Sometimes our next step comes from an unexpected direction.

Remember, the goal isn’t to have everything figured out. It’s to develop a trusting relationship with life itself, so that even when you feel lost, you know that you’re exactly where you need to be for your next step of growth and evolution.

As David Whyte so beautifully put it: “Stand still. The forest knows where you are. You must let it find you.”

Thank you for joining me on The Golden Age Timeline. Until next time, may you trust the journey and allow life to guide you home to your authentic self.