Episode 80
What if one of the things we've been taught to do from the time we were infants is actually limiting our experience of reality?
And what if becoming conscious of this one thing could open us up to new possibilities in how we experience ourselves, the natural world around us, and perhaps even our connection with consciousness itself?
I've recently had an experience that genuinely blew me away. An experience with a tree that invited me to look at this in a whole new way.
I've been able to return to this experience, and I've been experimenting with it, exploring it, and discovering things I hadn't thought were possible in quite the way I'm experiencing them now.
I’m so excited to share this with you, as perhaps this is something you can play with yourself, too.
And there's something else this experience brought back to me, even as we awaken and expand our understanding, we can unknowingly create new limitations from what we've learned?
In this episode, we're exploring what happens when we look beyond the labels we give things, the identities we've built, and even the things we believe we've already learned on our spiritual path.
Because perhaps the invitation isn't to just discover something new.
Perhaps it's to remain open to discovering more, even when we think we've already arrived at an understanding.
If you're ready to join me, pull up a comfy chair, invite in your soul, and be open to receive exactly what you need to live, be and thrive as the embodied soul you are.
So, let's start with something very simple. A name.A label.
The word we use to describe something.
Because one of the things my guides have shared with me over time is that when we name something, when we give it a label, we can diminish it. We can reduce it. We can limit what it is, what it can be, and how it can express itself.
Now, I know that for some this might sound like a rather big statement.
So let me give you an example about what I mean.
Think about a rock. We call it a rock.
And once we've identified it as a rock, we have a general idea of what it is.
But what else could that rock be?
It could be used to crush something, to hammer something, to make a tool, to form part of a foundation, or to create a step.
It could be something that a child picks up and carries around as a treasure.
It could be an object of beauty, something with a particular shape or color that captures our attention.
It could have sacred meaning to somebody.
It could become part of a sculpture.
And there are probably many other possibilities that I haven't even thought of.
But if I look at it and simply think, "Oh, that's a rock,” by its definition, I might not consider any of those other possibilities.
I've identified it. I've categorized it. And, in a sense, I've decided that I know what I'm looking at.
Now, perhaps the possibilities haven't disappeared.
Perhaps I've simply stopped looking for them.
But what if something else is happening, too?
What if the act of naming something does more than help us recognize it? What if it also limits or diminishes its possibilities in ways we don't yet fully understand?
I don't know that we understand all the implications of naming and defining something.
But I think it's worth being curious about.
Because we do this constantly.
We look at a chair and call it a chair.
We look at a tree and call it a tree.
We look at an insect and call it a bug.
And all of those names are useful. They help us navigate the world. They help us communicate with one another.
But the name also carries an idea of what that thing is.
A chair is something we sit on.
A tree is something that grows.
A bug is something we might swat away, or perhaps something we're fascinated by, depending on who we are.
And unless we're particularly curious, or we've tried to solve a problem, or we have a reason to think beyond the familiar definition, we might never consider what else that could be or how else we might experience it.
We think we know what it is. And we move on.
But what if we didn't?
What if, instead of immediately deciding that we knew what something was, we allowed ourselves to remain curious about it?
What might we notice?
What might we discover?
And what might become possible that we hadn't previously considered?
Now, I want to bring this a little closer to home.
Because we don't just name the things around us.
We name ourselves.
We give ourselves identities. We develop ideas about who we are, what we're capable of, what we're good at, what we're not good at, and what we can or cannot do.
And we often begin doing this very early in life.
Perhaps someone tells us we're shy.
Perhaps we struggle with something, and we decide we're not good at it.
Perhaps we have an experience that frightens us, and we begin to see ourselves as someone who’s afraid.
Or perhaps we have a particular experience and decide that it tells us something permanent about who we are.
And before long, those descriptions become part of our identity.
We say things like, "I'm not creative."
"I'm not good with people."
"I'm not someone who can do that."
"I'm just not that kind of person."
And we may never stop to question whether those things are actually true.
Or whether they were ever the whole truth.
Because there's a difference between having an experience and deciding that the experience defines us.
There's a difference between feeling afraid and deciding that we’re a fearful person.
There's a difference between not knowing how to do something and believing we're incapable of learning it.
And there's a difference between who we've been up until now and who we might become.
What if the labels we've placed on ourselves have limited not only what we believe we're capable of, but also what we're willing to explore?
What if we've been living within definitions that we adopted so long ago that we don't even recognize them as definitions anymore?
They're simply who we believe we are.
And this is one of the things I find so interesting about the awakening process.
As we begin to awaken, we may start to recognize the beliefs, the patterns, the identities, and the structures we've taken on throughout our lives.
We begin to see where we've limited ourselves.
Where we've forgotten aspects of who we are.
Where we've accepted that we're only this particular person, living this particular life, with these particular capabilities.
And perhaps we begin to discover that we're so much more than we thought we were.
From my perspective, this is part of the process of becoming more of our Divine self in this body.
Of releasing the limitations we've taken on and becoming open to more of who we are.
And for some of us, that opening may include new ways of perceiving, sensing, knowing, or experiencing the world around us.
Perhaps we begin to notice things we hadn't noticed before.
Perhaps we experience a knowing that seems to arrive without an obvious explanation.
Perhaps we begin to perceive images, energies, or sensations that we hadn't previously experienced in the same way.
And perhaps we begin to discover that the world around us is not quite what we thought it was.
Now, I want to share something with you, because I thought I was already doing pretty well with this whole idea of not limiting my experience through labels.
I had been consciously working with it for a few years.
And then something happened that opened up a whole new level of exploration for me.
And it began with a tree.
For as long as I can remember, I've loved knowing what things are.
I want to know their names.
I want to know how they grow, what their life cycles are, what they're used for, what makes them different from other things.
I love learning all of that.
When I lived in Canada, and when I was in California, I was often curious about the trees, the plants, the insects, and all the different expressions of life around me.
And when I came to Costa Rica, I found myself getting frustrated sometimes.
Because there’s such an extraordinary variety of life here.
There are so many different trees, plants, insects, and other creatures. New species are still being discovered and documented all the time.
And I would find myself wanting to know what everything was called.
I was always pleased when I managed to identify a particular tree or learn the name of a plant.
But looking back now, I can see that there was a beautiful gift in not knowing.
Because when you don't know the name of something, you have an opportunity to meet it without that particular definition already sitting between you.
You can still recognize it as a tree, or a plant, or an insect. …Maybe…
But you don't necessarily have all the additional information and associations that come with knowing its specific identity.
And that can leave a little more room for curiosity.
Rather than immediately thinking, "Oh, I know what you are," you can find yourself asking, "What are you?”, “What’s your name?”
Not necessarily because you want a name.
But because you're genuinely open to discovering something about what you're looking at.
And that shift, as simple as it might sound, became quite significant for me.
Because I've been exploring connection with the natural world for years.
When I was learning to channel, I would often practice connecting with trees, the moon, the ocean, and animals.
And I would tune in, allow myself to become receptive, and see what came through.
And what I received would often come through in a way I interpreted as language.
Now, I don't necessarily believe a tree is speaking English to me.
My understanding is that perhaps one energy frequency is connecting with another, and the experience is being translated into a form I can understand.
That's how I've come to think about it, anyway.
And I remain open to learning more about what's happening.
But in those earlier experiences, I would often approach something by identifying it first.
I'd connect with an oak tree, for example, or with a particular animal, and then begin my practice.
What I hadn't fully appreciated was how much more might become available when I loosened that identification itself.
Because by identifying it as what I thought it was, I may already have been placing a frame around the experience.
I knew what I was connecting with—or at least, I thought I did.
And perhaps that understanding was influencing what I was open to experiencing.
And that brings me to the experience that changed things for me.
There's a tree outside my home that I look at every day. And that I greet every morning.
I see it when I'm sitting on the deck. I see it as I go about my day. It's a familiar part of my environment.
On this particular day, I decided to approach it differently.
Rather than beginning with what I knew about it, or what I thought it was, I wanted to see what would happen if I opened myself to connecting with it beyond any labels I may have placed upon it.
So I began by aligning my energy systems to the highest level I could maintain in that moment.
And then I set my intention.
I wanted to be in connection with the truth of the being in front of me.
Not just with my idea of a tree.
Not just with the physical form I could see.
But with the being itself, the consciousness itself, in whatever way that connection might unfold.
And I asked, in my mind: "Who are you?
"What would you share with me?
"I'm open to experiencing you beyond what I think I know about you."
And then I waited.
And then I felt the energy very strongly in my heart centre.
There was a vibration there.
A sense of energy moving through my body.
And even as I'm sharing this with you now, I can feel that vibration again.
It's a very particular feeling for me.
And then I decided to try the experiment with the tree outside my bedroom window.
With that particular tree, I noticed something different.
It had a completely different quality to it. I experienced it very differently.
When I connect with that one, I experience most often images of its fine branches, almost as though I'm seeing flowing threads of light extending and interacting with me.
And I began to wonder about this.
At first, I questioned myself.
Am I making this up?
Is this really happening?
What am I experiencing here?
And rather than immediately deciding what it meant, I decided to keep exploring.
I returned to the experience.
I tried it again and again at different times, noticing what happened when I approached these different trees with the same openness, without needing to know their names or decide in advance what I should experience.
And I began to notice that not only did the experiences feel different from one another, but that they were fairly consistent in how they showed up for me.
Each had its own quality, its own signature, if you like, in the way I perceived it.
Now, I'm still exploring this. I'm still learning. I certainly don't have all the answers. But what happened next really surprised me.
Because I decided to expand my attention beyond the one tree.
And I looked around at the jungle surrounding my home.
All the different trees, the vines, the plants, all the life that makes up this incredible ecosystem .
And I opened myself to experiencing that, too.
And I was almost overwhelmed, because it felt as though the entire environment around me began to vibrate in a new way.
There was this sense of energy, of movement, of communication.
Not necessarily through words.
Not in the way we ordinarily think of communication or conversation.
But through a felt sense, through sensations in my body, through an experience that seemed to extend beyond the individual trees I'd been connecting with.
It was as though, by opening myself to the possibility of experiencing one being beyond the label I'd given it, I had also opened a door into experiencing the surrounding environment differently also.
And that was extraordinary for me.
Because I've connected with the natural world before.
I've connected with forests. I've worked with trees. I've had experiences that I consider deeply meaningful.
But this felt like another layer. A deeper layer.
Another opening. Another way of experiencing something that had been around me all along.
And I wondered: How much of this had I simply not been open to experiencing before?
What else might be possible when I change the way I approach something?
What else might I discover when I stop assuming that I already know what I'm looking at?
I'm still working with this. I'm still experimenting.
But I wanted to share it with you because I think there’s something here worth exploring.
Not just in relation to trees. But in relation to the whole of our experience.
Think about what we do with the natural world.
We name things.
We categorize them.
We learn what they're used for.
A tree becomes timber.
A plant becomes food.
A flower becomes something decorative.
A rock becomes a building material.
And, of course, those things can be useful. There's nothing inherently wrong with knowing what something is or understanding how it can be used.
But what if that isn't the entirety of what it is?
What if there's more to experience than what we've learned to recognize?
From my perspective, everything is a part of Source.
Everything is an expression of that fundamental creative energy, existing at different levels of density, frequency, and form.
And I believe that consciousness exists throughout creation in ways we may not fully understand.
I don't see the natural world as simply a collection of inanimate objects that happen to surround us.
I see the possibility that these beings, in their own ways, are expressions of consciousness, connected to the same Source that we are.
And perhaps they’ve never forgotten something that we, as human beings, have spent a very long time forgetting.
Perhaps they haven't taken on the same layers of identity, limitation, and separation that we have.
That's how I understand it.
And when I look at the natural world from that perspective, the possibility of connecting with a tree becomes something quite different from simply looking at a tree.
It becomes an opportunity for relationship. For communion.
For experiencing another expression of creation in a way that goes beyond what I might ordinarily perceive.
And even beyond how I’ve been working with them before.
And it brought me back to how important it is to continue being curious as we awaken and open up further.
To not limit ourselves by something we’ve learned, even if recently, simply because we now believe it to be an absolute truth. A 100% fact.
And I wonder what happens when we begin to approach the world this way.
Not only through what we know about it, but through what we remain open to discovering.
What happens when we look at the people around us and remember that our understanding of them is never necessarily the whole of who they are?
What happens when we look at ourselves and recognize that the identities we've built may not encompass all that we are?
What happens when we look at a tree, a river, an animal, or a place we've known for years, and allow ourselves to be curious about what we might have overlooked?
Perhaps we begin to notice things we've never noticed before.
Perhaps our experience changes.
Perhaps we become receptive to forms of connection or perception that we hadn't previously considered possible.
And perhaps there are layers to this that we don't understand yet.
I don't think we need to have all the answers before we begin exploring.
In fact, I think one of the most beautiful things we can do is allow ourselves to remain open to what we don't know yet.
Because if we decide in advance what’s possible, how will we ever discover anything beyond it?
And if we only share the experiences that fit within what everyone already agrees is possible, how will any of us discover new possibilities through one another?
Sometimes, hearing that someone else has experienced something gives us permission to explore it ourselves.
It doesn't mean we'll all have the same experience.
It doesn't mean we have to interpret it in the same way.
But it allows us to consider that something might be possible before we've experienced it for ourselves.
And then we can explore.
We can experiment.
We can discover what resonates with us and what doesn't.
That's part of what I want to offer through these conversations.
Not a set of conclusions that you have to accept.
But experiences, ideas, and possibilities that you can explore for yourself.
And this is something you can begin working with very simply.
So, if this is resonating with you, I'd love to invite you to experiment with it.
You don't need to do anything complicated. You don't need to have a particular ability. You don't need to experience what I experienced.
The invitation is simply to become curious about what might happen when you approach something without deciding in advance that you already know what it is.
You might choose a tree. You might choose a plant, a crystal, a stone, the ocean, or an animal you feel drawn to. It could even be a pet you spend time with every day.
Choose something that interests you, something you'd like to explore.
And before you begin, I want to share a few things that I find helpful in my own practice.
First, I find it helpful to become conscious of the labels I place on things.
What do I automatically call this?
What do I assume I know about it?
And can I allow those labels and assumptions to soften for a moment, without needing to get rid of everything I know?
Second, I like to align my energy systems to the highest level that I can maintain in that moment. It lifts me beyond my normal ways of perceiving to a slightly higher perceptive or vantage point.
I set the intention that I'm only open and receptive to those energies and information which are for my highest good and in the perfect amounts needed for my healing and evolution at this time.
I find that intention and discernment are important parts of my spiritual practice.
And if you work with your own guides, your higher self, or other aspects of your spiritual understanding, you can bring those practices into your exploration, too.
The point is to approach this in a way that feels grounded, intentional, and right for you.
Then, when you're ready, allow yourself to become present with whatever you've chosen.
Look at it.
Notice its form, its shape, its movement, the way the light falls on it.
And then, rather than immediately naming it and moving on, allow yourself to spend some time with it, simply being with it.
You might ask, in your mind: "Who are you, beyond what I think I know about you?"
Or: "What have I not yet discovered about you?"
Or perhaps, as I did with my tree:
"I would love to be in connection with you. I'm open to experiencing who you are beyond the labels I've given you. What would you share with me?"
And then wait.
Don't rush to fill the silence.
Notice what happens.
What do you see?
What do you hear?
What do you feel in your body?
Are there sensations, emotions, images, or thoughts that arise?
Do you experience a sense of connection?
Does your attention shift in some way?
Does something about the being in front of you begin to stand out in a way that you hadn't noticed before?
And if you experience something you don't immediately understand, you don't need to decide what it means.
You can simply notice it.
You can allow yourself to be curious about it.
You can return to it another time and see what you discover.
And if nothing particularly unusual happens, that's okay, too.
You haven't failed. You haven't done anything wrong.
You don't need to force an experience or convince yourself that something is happening when it isn't.
Sometimes, we've become so accustomed to our usual ways of perceiving that allowing ourselves to approach something differently takes a little bit of practice.
And sometimes, we may need to become comfortable with the idea that something new is possible before we’re able to open to it.
So be gentle with yourself. Be patient. Allow yourself to play with this.
You might want to try it with the same tree over several days, or you might choose something different each time.
You might notice that your experience changes.
You might discover that you receive information in ways you hadn't expected.
Or you might simply find that you begin noticing the natural world around you in a richer, more textured or attentive way.
All of those are worth being curious about.
And if at any point you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed, you can stop. Bring your attention back to your surroundings, feel your feet on the ground, and return to whatever helps you feel present and settled.
You’re the one choosing to explore. You’re allowed to decide how far you wish to go.
And if you want to try again, you can.
There’s no deadline. And there’s no test at the end.
There’s simply an opportunity to discover what happens when you meet something familiar in a new way.
Now, there's one more thing I want to share.
For me, this exploration isn't just about having a different experience with a tree.
It's also about what becomes possible when we begin to loosen the assumptions we've been carrying about ourselves and the world around us.
Because if we can recognize that our familiar way of seeing something might not encompass all that it is, perhaps we can begin to apply that same curiosity in other areas of our lives.
Where have we decided that we already know who we are?
Where have we accepted a definition of ourselves that no longer serves us?
Where have we assumed that something isn't possible simply because we haven't experienced it before?
And what might happen if we allowed ourselves to explore those questions without immediately closing the door?
I think this is part of the beauty of the awakening process.
As we grow, as we shift, as we become more aware, we might find ourselves opening to experiences that once seemed beyond our reach.
For some of us, that might mean discovering new ways of sensing or connecting with the natural world.
For others, it might mean a deeper awareness of our own inner knowing, a new way of experiencing energy, or a different relationship with our spiritual selves.
And for some, this particular practice may simply open up a greater sense of curiosity, presence, and connection with the world around them.
We don't all have to experience the same thing.
We don't all have to arrive at the same understanding.
But we can give ourselves permission to explore.
And if you're someone who is already working with your own intuitive or spiritual capacities, perhaps this is another doorway for you.
Perhaps, by choosing to approach something beyond the labels you've given it, you discover a different way of receiving information.
Perhaps you begin to notice a new quality in the way you experience energy.
Perhaps it opens up another layer of your own connection with Source, with nature, or with the consciousness you believe exists throughout creation.
I know that, for me, after more than three years of living here in Costa Rica, and after all the ways I've already explored connection with the natural world, I'm still discovering new layers.
I'm still finding that there's more to experience than I previously realized.
And that reminds me that our growth doesn't necessarily happen in a straight line.
Sometimes we return to something we've explored before, and discover it anew.
We circle back. We approach it differently.
And something opens that we weren't able to experience in quite the same way before.
That's part of what makes this so exciting to me.
We don't have to assume that because we've explored something once, we've discovered everything it has to offer.
We don't have to assume that because we know what something is called, we know all that it is.
And we don't have to assume that because we've never experienced something before, it isn't possible.
We can remain curious.
We can keep exploring.
We can allow ourselves to discover and be open.
So, I'd love to leave you with a few questions.
Where in your life have you stopped being curious because you believe you already know what something is?
Where have you placed a label on yourself, or on another person, or on the world around you, that might be limiting what you're willing to see or experience?
And what might happen if you allowed yourself to meet that person, that place, that being, or even yourself, with fresh eyes?
You don't have to reject everything you know.
You don't have to abandon the knowledge you've gathered or the understanding you've developed.
You can simply allow yourself to remain open to the possibility that there's more.
More to discover.
More to experience.
More ways of relating to the world.
And perhaps there’s more to you than you've yet realized.
If you feel called to experiment with connecting with a tree, a plant, an animal, a crystal, or another part of the natural world, I'd really love to hear how you go.
What did you notice?
What did you feel or sense?
Did anything surprise you?
Did you encounter any challenges, or find yourself questioning what you were experiencing?
Perhaps you had an extraordinary experience.
Perhaps nothing happened in the way you expected.
Perhaps you simply found yourself looking at something familiar a little differently.
I'd love to hear about all of it.
Because even choosing to explore a possibility that you hadn't previously considered can be a meaningful step.
And if this particular exploration opens something for you, perhaps you'll discover that it leads you somewhere you hadn't anticipated.
Perhaps it becomes another doorway into your own unfolding, into new ways of sensing, connecting, and experiencing the world.
I know that's what makes this so exciting for me.
I'm still exploring.
I'm still discovering.
And I'm looking forward to seeing what else becomes possible.
Thank you for joining me today on Embodied Soul.
Until next time, keep exploring, keep discovering, and keep allowing yourself to be surprised by what you haven't yet imagined.
