02 Apr What A High Priestess Taught Me About My Business

As a woman entrepreneur I am always searching for answers – from ways of doing business more efficiently, to marketing strategies that won’t overwhelm me, to mindset techniques that allow me to know myself more.

You may have heard the phrase, the way you do anything is the way you do everything?

Turns out, that applies to the way that we solve problems when we are faced with them too…

This applied to me recently and the learning in it was so immense that I feel compelled to share it with you in the hope that there will be a lesson for you too in the way you are running your business, and how it’s affecting your life.

Picture this if you will…

… I’m drenched.

And I don’t quite understand why… what I’m supposed to be doing.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, to take the advice of an ancient healer while I was in Bali, to go into the hills of Ubud and have a water blessing with the High Priestess at her temple.

But now I’m here, standing at the altar and I’m getting completely drenched.

I can hardly breathe. The water is flowing over me, continuous bowls of it while I hear the muted sounds of the High Priestess as she chants her blessings upon me, while I feel the full effect of the water cascading over me.

This is not feeling much like a blessing at the moment. It’s more like a silent torture as I gasp for breath and every part of me wants it to stop.

At the same time I’m being encouraged by her supporter to let go, let my feelings overcome me. Shout, stamp my feet, call out, scream, I’m being told.

But the peaceful warrior in me tries to find a different way. At least that’s what my paradigm is telling me I should be doing. If I’m silent and I don’t make a fuss, I’ll be ok. I’ll just work my way through the breathing I tell myself and through the drenching of water I’ll find my own way out.

No such luck.

That didn’t work… as I gasped for yet another breath… feeling my body tensing up in fear.

So I quickly told myself I would try another way.

I’ll practice my releasing and relaxing processes I tell myself… The ones that make me feel safe and empowered. Usually this works.  But not this time.

By now, I am literally feeling my head spinning through lack of a decent breath. And I am being presented with one of my deepest fears – of drowning.

I was being pushed to the edge, way out of my comfort zone and I had one of two choices….

I could make her stop…(but it’s supposed to be a rite of passage so I push through)

..or I could simply let go of having to do this ‘right.’

…and that’s when I felt a pair of gentle hands hold onto my waist… and the ‘guide’ spoke to me in his soft tones… “Here’s what you can do… listen to my voice… you’re ok… you’re not alone… breath now… and it’s ok for you to shout out… to stamp your feet… to release this energy within you… that’s what’s stopping you from catching your breath…let go…  listen to my words and do it…”

The answer flashed before me like a guiding beacon in my moment of distress.

I felt supported. Someone had my back. It was safe to listen to his words and to follow them step-by-step. It was as if what I needed was for someone to give me permission. And once I had permission I could simply follow the path to finding my breath.

How crazy was that… that I was waiting for permission?!

A voice beckoned from within…. “I don’t have to have ALL the answers. It’s ok to be guided by others. And even while in the space of strangers to allow myself to be vulnerable. I have nothing to prove, no-one is judging me.” And for the sake of my well-being I needed to do that NOW!

And so I did. I stamped my feet, I shouted and I roared through each dowsing of water and I found my breath.

I realised in that moment that I was here to experience this so that I could allow myself to be a beginner, to learn something from it, and to open myself to a brand new experience.

I let go.

I let someone else be in charge.

I listened to what I was being guided to do.

I followed this guidance.

And finally I could breathe.

It felt safe having someone’s gentle hands around my waist, supporting me, letting me know it was ok.

I didn’t have to solve this on my own because when I tried to do that my head got in the way and I over-thought it. I was not helping myself.

The morale of this story for me was that we CAN be supported by someone who knows the way. There will always be lessons we have to overcome, obstacles we have to conquer and challenges we have to face. But we don’t have to do it alone. In a world full of choices, decisions, strategies and uncertainty, it is a wonderful relief to know that others have been there before us and know the way out.

All we need to do is find the gentle hands of support, the ones to guide us with their knowing ways and to listen, really listen to what they have to say, letting go of control, of having to be right, of it having to be a certain way and trusting enough to take action on the advice we are given that feels intuitively right.

So… What new decision are you going to make about being open to receiving the support you need?

What new decision are you going to make about allowing yourself to release control and trust that it’s safe to get support and that the right people always come to you at the right time?

What new decision are you going to make about what you need to align your business with your purpose?

I know how it feels to feel supported and I know the difference it has made to my journey.

Find a better way of reaching your goals, of finding a way out of your situation, or changing your reality.

Take a deep breath and begin it.

Why wait?