Embracing Endless Growth

A talk and meditation on stepping out of your comfort zone!

I give a brief talk based on the quote "A ship in a harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for" -- touching on how we as people need to embrace our life lessons and step out of the safe harbor to grow and free ourselves.

The track continues with a calm, slow paced meditation using visual tools and communication.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to my discussion and meditation on the human spirit and what it requires for growth.

So it's me talking about the spiritual path in essence,

And I want to start that off with a quote that I heard many years ago that really stuck with me.

A ship in a harbor is safe,

But that is not what ships are built for.

Similarly,

A human being is safe in the grasps of comfort and routine,

But that isn't what a human being is built for either.

We're meant to live fully,

To pursue truth,

To question everything,

And to discover self.

That is one of the fundamental principles of a spiritual path,

Is being able to question things,

Right?

And so practices like self-inquiry,

Mindfulness,

Or even psychic work are instrumental to a human's ability to grow.

It helps them to be able to set out to see,

To venture into the unknown,

And embrace what we are built for.

We're all born with this ability to be able to question who we are,

What we are,

What's going on around us.

We can question the very nature of our existence,

But too often people accept the conditioning and answers that are given to you without any question at all.

Just going on,

Living this life half-asleep,

Assuming that you already know everything.

And that's the job of ego,

Is building a database for what things are there in the world,

And what that means for us,

Right?

It's ego's job to create separation,

Individuality,

Saying,

Okay,

This is me,

That's a fire,

We don't want to touch that fire because we'll get burned,

Right?

And then it of course creates all these sort of judgments that separate us from everything too.

Rather than seeing a tree in all of its glory,

We assign what that tree is,

You know,

We have a judgment towards,

And okay fine,

Maybe a tree we don't have that much that we judge to it,

Maybe we see it a little bit more purely because it's nature,

And that's part of the beauty of being in nature.

But what about when you see another person?

If you see somebody walk into the room that's dressed a certain way,

Maybe has certain tattoos,

They have a certain appearance to them,

Do you already assign who you believe them to be as they walk in?

Or do you really see them for who they are?

If everyone's told to walk in one direction,

Do you just walk in that direction without questioning why?

Or do you question where you're going?

There was a video that I saw recently of a woman who drove her car down a boat ramp into a lake,

And everyone asked her why she did it,

And she said,

Well,

My GPS told me to.

Clearly the GPS was wrong,

It hadn't been updated since that lake had been put there,

And she just followed it right in.

And that's what a lot of people are doing with their lives,

They're just blindly following this GPS,

Which is information that the world is giving them,

That's being put in their face.

Whereas we all have an internal guidance system,

An intuitive guidance system,

And part of that system works by being able to ask questions,

And then get yourself out of the way,

Or what you believe to be yourself,

Really the mind,

Out of the way.

That way spirit can give you a real answer.

You can start to see or know things for what they really are.

So we have to be able to learn how to let go of those different filters that we have,

Those assumptions,

Right,

To get back to a real experience,

To really be alive.

And so to kind of continue off of that quote about the ship staying in harbor,

Well,

What happens if one stays closed off,

Complacent,

Unquestioning,

Not taking any steps forward,

But just trying to stay where they are,

Trying not to have discomfort?

Well,

What happens to a ship that stays in harbor too long?

You leave a ship in harbor too long,

And it starts to rust.

Debris will start to clog the system.

Barnacles will latch onto its underbelly.

It'll start to be eaten away by algae,

Oxidation,

Sloth,

Neglect.

And I think that similarly,

A soul that's avoiding growth also starts to experience some wear and tear.

We might not be in charge of what's on our path to learn,

Or even how we are going to learn it,

But we are able to choose when we learn it.

If we want to resist that lesson,

Push it away,

And then it might just keep repeating itself over and over again,

Or subtly or not coming back up in your life.

Versus the spiritual path,

The spiritual journey,

It's always happening.

You're always on that path.

But what people think of as the spiritual journey is bringing attention,

Bringing focus to what those lessons are,

To taking them head on,

To being able to take steps forward.

And everybody's at a different point on their path.

So what that lesson is,

What that opportunity for growth is,

Can look different for everyone.

For some people,

It's branching off into a new career.

For some people,

It's healing something from their past that they haven't yet forgiven.

For some people,

It's trying something new,

Embarking upon a self-discovery journey.

But essentially,

It's where is that growing edge for you?

Where is there something that makes you feel uncomfortable,

But you know,

Will help you to grow,

To step outside the box that you're in?

That's where that growth is.

And spirituality can give you more specific tools or ways to view the world that help you to navigate that growth and navigate that journey with more grace and ease.

That way,

You don't have to be alone on that journey,

Or confused,

But rather you can face any sort of situation that comes up and know that you can do something about it.

Right?

And so that's why I teach psychic work.

That's why I teach the type of energy work,

Meditations that I do,

Because it helps provide that for people,

Helps to show them how to turn any challenge or pain into an opportunity for growth,

Which is ultimately an opportunity for more freedom.

Yes.

And so one last story that I wanted to tell you before we jump into the meditation is kind of a story about where I first heard that quote that I opened with,

A ship and harbor is safe,

But that is not what ships are built for.

It was when I was working for Outward Bound Australia.

And they meant it more in the sense of the benefits that one gets from going into the wilderness,

Going out on an external adventure,

Really pushing the boundaries of comfort,

Skill,

Human potential.

And there's so much to be learned in opportunities like that.

Nature's really great that way.

And sometimes when I talk about this idea of growing and not staying safe,

Not staying in harbor and wilting away,

It's easy for people to relate that to the physicality of their life,

Because you're used to thinking of yourself as a physical being.

And so some people,

They hear that and they want to immediately jump to,

Okay,

I need to end this relationship or end this job or move to a new place.

And sometimes that can be the answer.

Sometimes that's what you need is that physical change.

But the one I really want to speak to and focus on now is more of the inner change,

As that's what's really important.

And it's the thing that you have the most control over.

It's something that you and only you can move forward with.

Nobody else is going to grow for you or do that inner work for you.

And so maybe before you create those big,

Drastic outer changes,

We can create some inner changes.

And that's ultimately why I decided to stick with spiritual work instead of being an outdoor guide was because I saw that there was actually more opportunity for growth and healing and freedom in this inner work than there was in any outer adventure.

And so let's go ahead and meditate.

Let's venture inward.

So you can give yourself a nice deep breath in and you might hold it for a second or two and then give yourself an easy exhalation out and just get in a rhythm of breathing that helps guide you inward,

Helps guide you a little deeper within yourself.

And you can sit in an upright position where you have your feet flat on the floor,

Where you're not too slouched,

But not too stiff as a board.

Just right.

And start to feel your gaze,

Your attention,

Just starting to drift to an inward gaze,

Pulling your awareness or attention away from the outer world,

Away from all the commotion.

And as you watch that breath coming in and out,

Let it just pull you more and more into the present moment,

Bringing you to the here and now.

And letting those deep,

Long breaths,

Just let your body know that you're safe to go inward.

And then start to bring your attention to the base of your spine.

And we're going to use our ability to visualize to move some energy to do a meditative exercise.

And if you haven't really experienced or heard of the benefits of visualization or why it works,

That's okay.

We're not going to go into that too much today.

Just try it for yourself and let yourself have an experience of it.

And so from the base of your spine,

Imagine or see a big tube of energy connected to your hips as if by a seatbelt or sort of like a suction cup.

And see that tube of energy then falling down towards the core of the planet,

Almost as if a big cruise ship anchor is carrying it downwards.

You can see that anchor,

Letting that tube just elongate from your hips all the way to the core.

And when it gets there,

See it hook into or connect into the earth's core.

And let that tube of energy start to slightly pull your hips downward,

Almost like a vacuum suction.

And just let this be a grounding cord for you.

Something that grounds you and your body to the planet,

As well as giving you a way to release energy.

Part of moving beyond your comfort zone in meditation is the classic idea of just being here.

Being in meditation,

Watching that grounding cord,

Washing your breath.

And you'll hit levels of distraction,

Sensations in the body,

Thoughts in the mind.

And can you just be with that and start to realize that that distraction,

That discomfort,

Those thoughts that they're not you,

But rather you're the witness of them.

And so a really simple way to start to stretch that comfort zone and find more of who you are,

Is to just be in silent meditation.

And we might use some visual cues to help move some of that energy.

Gives you a little bit to do with the mind.

And so the first thing that you can sort of observe or do,

Is just if anything comes to your awareness,

Thought,

Feeling,

Sensation,

Just intend that it will release down that grounding cord.

That you can drop it like a brick and just watch it go.

Say goodbye to it,

Not resisting it or fighting against it.

But just in your observation of it,

It becomes heavy like a brick.

And all you have to do is then let it go,

Not hold it up any further.

And bit by bit,

You start to go deeper into your own awareness of self as you drop these bricks down that grounding cord.

And in finding more and more of yourself,

It provides you a certain quality of clarity,

Peace,

Courage,

To be able to move through the distractions and discomforts of your outer world.

Knowing that you can always come back to this place within.

Knowing that who you are transcends any of that outer dream.

And if that sounds like fantasy talk at the moment,

That's okay.

As you continue to meditate more and more,

It'll become more and more real for you.

And so we'll take this meditation a little further by just intending to go slightly deeper within.

And while you do that,

Start to think of a time where you had the choice between staying safe,

Staying comfortable in a pattern that you'd already seen over and over again and know how it'll play out.

Or you had a choice to step outside your comfort zone.

Think of one in which this maybe worked out for you.

Could be a time when you tried a new activity.

You're afraid to do it,

But you gave it a try anyway.

Maybe you said yes to an opportunity to study abroad.

Or maybe it was just to say something to somebody that you really wanted to say,

To communicate that there was a lot of fear or resistance around saying.

Maybe it was a new business venture,

Creative project,

Or being able to let go of some system of support,

Whether that be a person,

A job,

An environment,

One that you had already sort of learned everything you could from.

And you took a step forward out of that safe environment,

Safe person,

Safe whatever it was for you,

And tried something new.

Just think of one,

Maybe the most significant one that you can think of,

And try to imagine or remember who you were before you took that leap of faith.

What were your thoughts like?

What kind of a person were you?

Were you guided by fear,

Self-doubt,

Confusion?

Think of who you were after you made that leap of faith,

After you stepped outside of that comfort zone.

How did that decision change or shape your life,

Your character?

Maybe shaped you in ways you hadn't even thought of before,

That you hadn't had the time to really sit back and reflect on.

And maybe it made it easier for you to risk stepping out of your comfort zone the next time an opportunity came up.

When you make those tough decisions,

You start to compile evidence for yourself that you can do it again.

You start to be able to step out of your comfort zone more and more with the confidence that you can figure out whatever you need to or align yourself with the right people,

Energies,

Whatever that's meant for your path.

You start to trust yourself and your intuition more and more.

And sometimes it doesn't work out in the way that we want it to.

It doesn't end in fireworks or triumph.

Sometimes it ends in a way that we consider to be a bad result in terms of the ego.

But even in those moments,

You get immense value because in it not working out,

You may realize that,

Hey,

You still survived.

You were able to learn from it,

To adjust.

Maybe something entirely different even came to fruition later on.

And it was only through that perceived failure that you were able to learn to shift to change.

You just learned what doesn't work or what's not meant for you.

Now you have a better idea for going forward.

And so if you take it in the right mindset,

It can still create courage and still be able to move forward into unknown seas.

And so how do we do this in meditation?

Sometimes it's as simple as sitting in silence for longer periods of time,

Letting the wandering of the mind and emotions just pass through.

And so I invite you to do that for now,

Just to be here,

To be still and continue to just watch each passing thought,

Sensation,

And letting those become bricks that you can drop down that grounding cord,

Not assigning any meaning to them,

Not feeding your energy into them,

Making a story out of it,

But rather just watching as they pass by,

Staying grounded,

Stable as a tree.

You may notice if you get uncomfortable,

If there's total silence,

If I stop talking and just release that energy down that grounding cord too.

We're so conditioned to have to be doing something all the time,

But can you just be?

And so from that spaciousness and potentially silence,

Let's take one more step in this meditation.

And it's okay if your mind is still running,

If you aren't perfectly still within,

From wherever you are,

Ask to open up to spirit,

Ask to receive some energy,

A message,

An experience of something beyond what you already know.

Ask spirit to gently guide you into the unknown.

Maybe this message comes to you as a thought,

An inner feeling within,

Or maybe you see something visually,

You see an image or a scene playing out.

And this can be one of the hardest things for somebody to do in their spiritual path,

To get out of the way,

To stop trying to hold on or control things,

And to let yourself just be aware of whatever your next message is,

Whatever your next answer is on your path.

It's not something to be found by searching far and wide,

But it's always right there in front of you,

Within you.

The universe,

Source,

It always provides exactly what you need for your next step forward on your path,

100% all the time.

It might not provide your ego's most grandiose desires or expectations,

What you think you need,

But without fail,

It'll always provide you with what you really need for your next step forward.

And so again,

Just make space to let go and let that come through.

Could be an image,

Could be a spirit animal,

Shape,

A symbol,

Set the intention,

And then let go.

And this is part of how you start to use your natural intuitive abilities,

By quieting down the mind,

Quieting down the body.

And then you can set an intention or ask any question,

Anything at all,

And spirit will always give you an answer.

We're doing this in our day-to-day life,

Whether we realize it or not,

In the questions that we ask in our head,

Asking,

Why did I,

Why did this happen to me?

Why did this thing go wrong?

And when you ask questions like that,

You oftentimes receive it in an experience.

It comes forth in your life.

You get more of what you ask for.

And so you want to ask these questions in the positive.

What can I do to better my experience?

What can I do to move forward in this way?

And when you meditate and make room for that answer to come in through the meditation,

Then you can avoid unnecessary life circumstances that are bringing you that answer.

Instead,

You can receive that answer intuitively and you can move forward with more ease,

With more grace.

And so that's why I really like the psychic meditation path,

Because it's been my path for the last 13 years of stepping into the unknown,

Stepping consistently out of my comfort zone on a day-to-day basis and letting these answers come in,

Challenging myself in this inner way.

And the psychic path is one of being able to use all of your life experience to grow,

To find more freedom.

It helps you to bring awareness to sort of the purpose of your life.

And so I wanted to give you a little taste of what that's like,

A little invitation to be curious,

To inquire within,

To ask good questions,

And to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone,

What's already familiar and known to you.

And so let's just close this meditation with one more quick and easy visual tool.

Staying in meditation,

Keeping those eyes closed,

Would you imagine a big golden sun above your head and imagine that that golden sun is so big that it has a gravity to it and that this gravity pulls back your energy from anywhere that it's been lost,

Drifted off to.

Let it retrieve the energy of your soul wherever it's gone and let that image of a golden sun get bigger,

Brighter,

As you collect up more and more of your energy.

And with your intention,

Let it fill in with some healing energy as well.

Meaning whatever energy would be healing to you,

Healing being you taking a step forward towards wholeness.

And then imagine that that golden sun can just settle down,

Can start to set through your body,

Coming down through the head,

Face,

Neck,

Shoulders,

Arms.

Let that golden sun just engulf your entire body,

Your being,

Really filling you in head to toe with that golden ambient light,

Letting it fill you in so deeply and fully that it pours out into the space around you,

Letting yourself be full of your own light.

And when you're ready,

You can start to come out of meditation.

Thank you for listening to this brief talk in meditation.

And if you're curious about my exact psychic practice that I use to really invoke that growing edge in day-to-day life,

Shoot me a message or let me know.

I'd be happy to share that process with you more fully.

Have a wonderful day and I hope to see you again.

Reviews

Wow, Brandon - thank you for your heartfelt, deeply moving & powerful talk with meditation. It was exactly what I needed to hear tonight. I’m always so grateful to InsightTimer for all the incredible content and teachers.