Transition and Crisis as an Initiation By Lawrence Ford I


f you are going through a transition or crisis consider this. As un- settled, chaotic, and perhaps even as hopeless as things are right now there may be another way to look at what is happening.


• Maybe there is something deeper to look at beyond a miserable time that you can’t wait to get through?


• Maybe what is happening to you right now is not all that bad. • Maybe what is happening is a gift beyond measure. • Maybe the dark place that you’re in is really an initiation. • Maybe this initiation is preparing you for something you have been waiting for your whole life.


The majority of our American culture no longer recognize initiations as having much value; consequently most of us have don’t have any context for these tough times beyond viewing them as something unproductive, a sign of weakness, or simply a painful nuisance.


I know it is hard, if not impossible, to see a crisis as having any


value when you are in the middle of it, but that is the way initia- tions work. You don’t understand what is happening as they rip you apart in a wrathful, relentless, loving way, with only one goal in mind…to break you down so you can be rebuilt to become the person you are meant to be in all your authentic power.


If you are in the midst of a crisis and things seem hopeless,


see if you can feel some truth in what I am saying. See if you can feel the slightest tickle in your belly letting you know there may be some truth in these words.


How do you know if you are in crisis? When I speak of a transition or crisis I am referring to a time in


your life that knocks you off your current path and forces you to re- evaluate your existence. This could be the death of someone close to you, a medical diagnosis, a birth of a child, marriage, divorce, re- lationship challenges in general, depression or anxiety, kids heading off to college, retirement, financial challenges, finding yourself in an abusive situation, a near death experience, or just a time when you say, “I just can’t live this way anymore.”


22 Essential Living Maine ~ April 2015


When we live out of balance our soul is in a state of constant stress. Our bodies and minds become dis-eased. We get sick and depressed and lose meaning and purpose. The world around us is not immune to this noise and soon the ripple effect begins to dis- turb everything. The bees can’t find their way back to the hives and the oceans rise and become dark and murky.


You are here for a reason and you know it; the problem is that


so many of us have forgotten this …but our souls do not forget. In fact, life is one big conspiracy designed to guide us into our soul’s purpose and initiations are the way spirit wakes us up to remember.


One thing that is in common with all of these life events is that


they force you to change the way you perform your daily routine for a while, giving you the opportunity to wake up and remember you’re here for a reason.


“There is a purpose to life. Find the light inside you. Feed it, fire it up, and let it shine with abandon throughout the world; it will reflect upon you in ways unimagined” L. Ford


You are here for a reason Your soul has a special song, a special vibration that is like a


snowflake; no two are alike. Your job on this earth is to align your ‘being’ with your ‘doing.’ To a shaman, your soul is as real as your mind and body, and because of that it needs to be cared for. When our soul’s vibration is aligned with our physical existence, we are in authentic power. We are most powerful when we are on the path to recognizing the unique gift we have to share with the world.


When we continue to do things that are not in alignment with


whom we are, we operate out of synch like a car that bumps down the road because a tire is out of balance, or like a person walking around with a pebble in their shoe. Eventually these things eat at us. When a person is in this state of discord, it feels as though they are singing out of tune. The more people who are living this way, the more our world sounds like an entire chorus singing out of tune.


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