3 Steps to Reclaiming Your Power, No Matter How Scary the Circumstance
Many life events can trigger panic, but few are more paralyzing than being confronted with the potentially life-threatening illness of one’s own child.
At a time when many of us are being challenged, both personally and globally, how can we keep ourselves from going into a tailspin when an important aspect of our lives is clearly not unfolding as we desire? Is it possible to maintain mental and emotional equanimity when circumstances around us are in a state of imbalance and turmoil?
The answers to these questions is, unequivocally, yes. It is possible to maintain mental and spiritual stability even in the most challenging circumstances, for this simple reason: Because we always have the ability to choose our perspective, we are always in control of our experience.
This is a spiritual truth that I’ve verified many times throughout my life, but the day I was told that my newborn baby needed immediate surgery to correct a dangerous heart defect was one of the most dramatic.
When Things Fall Apart
During a routine checkup when my son Maxim was just two months old, doctors discovered that the arteries responsible for transporting blood to and from Maxim’s heart were reversed, and consequently, he was not getting enough oxygen.
The medical team snapped into hyper speed – and our formerly healthy, stable and happy existence was turned upside down.
Maxim was rushed by ambulance to a neighboring Children’s Hospital, and over the 60 days that followed, he underwent a long and often painful series of procedures, including open-heart surgery. The optics of his tiny body constantly being poked and prodded was excruciating, as was seeing our once pleasantly plump baby so thin that the skin hung from his body. Each day brought new and terrifying prognoses set forth by medical staff. The situation opposed every desire that the two of us held deep in our hearts regarding the health and wellbeing of our young family.
The Turnaround
Situations like these, where we find ourselves face-to-face with a condition that completely opposes something we powerfully desire, test our inherent ability to master our energy. It’s incredibly difficult to relax into the knowledge of well-being in the face of a frightening diagnosis. It’s hard to remain connected to the energy of abundance when you’re unemployed or up against a mountain of debt. And it’s not easy to reside in the energy of harmony and connection with someone you love when your relationship is in the midst of turmoil.
The “reality” of these situations simply feels too big, too compelling, and we may even feel that we’re being irresponsible if we don’t face them fully. But, deciding which aspects of the challenging we are purposefully choosing to focus on is precisely what is required.
To maintain our physical, mental and spiritual composure, we simply must conjure the vibration of what we want and give ourselves permission to leave behind the vibration of what we currently have.
Here are 3 powerful steps to take to regain your balance in the midst of any challenging situation:
Step #1: Recognize that all situations are in a constant state of becoming.
Whatever the circumstance you find yourself is being created and recreated in each new, now moment. What has already manifested is not easy to ignore: after all, it’s up close and personal in our life experience. But if we continue to give the majority of our attention to what currently is, we will continue to re-create that experience. To create a different outcome, we must find a way to get into the having mode of what we do want. Once we’ve made the shift in energy, the circumstances will begin to turn around.
Step #2: Become an avid and often appreciator.
Every situation – even those as dreadful as a hospitalized newborn child – has positive aspects. To maintain the equanimity of your own personal energy field, you must become committed to finding them.
While our son was in his second surgery, Frederic and made a list of all the blessings for which we were genuinely grateful. On our list were big things – appreciation to the doctor for discovering this potentially life-threatening condition, for example, and small things – such as appreciating the fact that we had reliable transportation to and from the hospital.
From this simple exercise in appreciation a clear and powerful intention was born: “All three of my men, back home and in the same room,” became the mantra I chanted hundreds of times each day and used as a touchstone of my desired outcome.
The energy of appreciation has the power to shift not only your focus, but the entire trajectory of how a situation will unfold.
Step #3: Make the shift from wanting to already having.
The energy of wanting is one of longing. It’s based in lack. The energy of having is rooted in abundance and worthiness. Making this shift means generating 100 percent solidarity with the fulfillment of your desire and carrying that resolve with you everywhere you go, even when no one else around you can see it. Frederic and I remained absolutely steadfast in the having of our heartfelt desire. We were walking out of that hospital with our healthy and happy baby in our arms, period.
It was a full month from the time that Maxim’s heart condition was first diagnosed to the day when the final procedure was completed, but thanks to the application of these powerful steps, the experience of Maxim’s hospitalization remains one of the most powerful testaments of the accuracy of the laws of the universe, and my own ability to cooperate with them, that I have experienced to date.
