EXPANSION VS CONTRACTION –
Are you in an expanded or contracted state? Times are challenging. There is no denying the fact. It seems that we are all feeling some acceleration, some push forward, that we don’t quite know where it is taking us. The abyss of the unknown is engulfing us. How do we react or respond to that? Do we fight it with our fists symbolically, or even literally, or do we relax into it with curiosity and courage? That is the big question.
STAYING IN ALIGNMENT
I am no exception to this phenomenon. I have recently gone through my version of being catapulted from my old way of being. It landed me in a new place, a different place that I managed to get to by standing in my truth and integrity — honoring my values and alignment with my life’s purpose and deepest being. Staying in such alignment requires testing like any other instrument that you want to play to bring out its fullest expression and beauty. What is it, then, that hinders us from always being in this authentic expansion?
FIGURING THINGS OUT
What I have observed is the stage of contraction. Contraction versus expansion. Flow — the flow of love, trust, and faith. Contraction comes from our gripping fears and limited belief that we have to be in control, that we have to figure things out with our mind and bypass the wisdom of the heart. Separation from our most authentic being that happens when we allow our frightened self, the small, egotistical self, to be in charge and to try to control a situation.
THE THEME OF LETTING GO
Does that work? Not in my experience. The theme of letting go is something I have been working on for a long while in my quest to become a Conscious Leader. I have gone out into nature on solo passages numerous times with the primary focus on softening, relaxing, and dropping into something that is always available to us underneath the contraction. John P. Milton, my long-time mentor, calls this process “decontracting.” It opens us up to allow the flow of love, joy, creativity, and trust to permeate our whole being. It is the stage we can also call “PRESENCE.” Solutions to our perceived problems and blockages seem to pop up out of nowhere. The energy and excitement that follows catapults us on to something new, something bigger and more expansive than we could ever have imagined. If you haven’t experienced this, I recommend you seek ways to get started. It is well worth it. The chances are that your whole perspective on leading yourself and others and on living your life in a fuller and more harmonious way will change. You can start by simply “chilling.” Try it!
Runa Bouius — a former CEO and trailblazing serial entrepreneur from Iceland — is a speaker, author, executive coach, and consultant to visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, and people of influence. As a global change agent and Conscious Leadership guide, she is on the vanguard of the new-business-paradigm thinking, the creation of better workplaces, and growing the next-generation leaders. Runa has co-founded several social-impact platforms in Los Angeles, including the Conscious Capitalism LA Chapter. She is a contributor on The Social Movement, Season 1, Docu-Series on Amazon Prime. Runa specializes in the emerging leadership trends and evolving leaders’ relationship to power — TRUE Power!
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