We are creatures of habit. We can quickly and easily get stuck in cyclical patterns of actions, cyclical loops of thought, and find ourselves in stagnancy, weighed down by our own perspective, locked in on a reality that is not THE ONE AND ONLY REALITY. At times of low vibration, low consciousness, meandering the dark hallways of doom and gloom and Victim-mentality, I pause to remind myself that there is much more that is unseen than seen, and it is in the unseen that we get access to expansion and healing. At the quantum level, there is a fascinating reality beneath the level of reality we experience on a daily basis. Everything material (including our own body) is composed of atoms. And what are atoms? They are particles composed of protons and neutrons, which make up the Nucleus, and electrons which orbit the nucleus. And what is in between the nucleus and electrons? Space and energy. If we blew up an atom to a size we can comprehend, the nucleus is equivalent to a speck of dirt on a baseball pitcher’s mound, and the electrons would be orbiting the parking lot outside the field. In between, is a whole lot of space and energy. Now, condense that atom back down to its microscopic size, and combine trillions of atoms to compose the human body (or anything else in the material world). What we see as tangible flesh, is actually less than 1% of what makes us who we are. We are more space and energy than we are a physical body. We are primarily subtle energy, potential, possibility, and mystical. To take this a step further. In the “double slit experiment,” quantum physicists have discovered that when we measure elementary particles they become “real” and known in the one location they have been measured. Yet, when we do not measure or know where it is in space and time, it remains in a wave-like form, everywhere simultaneously and no-where in reality. In fact, we cannot simultaneously know where a particle is and the direction or wave pattern it emulates. Subtle energy is everywhere and no-where at the same time. The “observer effect” is what creates a fixed knowing of where the energy manifests in the material world, yet without observing, the subtle energy behind the material remains in a flowing wave of possibilities. The best analogy I have heard to understand this more clearly is to imagine the wave-pattern as a coin spinning; neither heads nor tails, yet simultaneously both. And when we observe or measure where the coin is, it comes to a full stop and makes a choice as to whether it will land on heads or tails. Who or what makes that choice? Let’s call that the greatest mystery of all. Scientists then wanted to see what would happen in a vacuum, if all air and energy was removed, what would remain? What is “nothing”? Through a series of experiments, creating vacuum environments, they discovered that elementary particles and their corresponding energy continues to appear and disappear. This is where we start to expand what we know to be possible, as “nothing” takes on a new meaning. At the qunatum level, “nothing” encompasses everything. Every possible manifestation lives within the nothing. And so we can say, we are everything and nothing. The more we can open our minds to the unknown, hold space for uncertainty, move like water, and tune in to the energy of expansion and contraction without needing a fixed point or rigid view of reality, the more we get access to this mystical side of who we are, where we came from and where we are going. The mystery and beauty of the quantum brings me into a state of awe. My rigid thinking shifts from fixed “on heads or tails,” and begins to spin, release its rigidity, expand and open up to the vast possibilities that I may not have considered before. I begin to question all of my beliefs and I notice the vibration of my thoughts, knowing that I don’t have to continue thinking, believing or behaving in any way that weighs me down. I start to see myself, and everyone, as a complex matrix of tethers. When tethers become damaged, some people avoid the discomfort and simply compensate by relying on other tethers. Others’ may move right into what is damaged, get to know it, and repair it. Some tethers are links to our trauma, and they ball up into a knot, painful to the touch. Layers of tethers are folded on top to conceal the wound, yet if the core is wounded, of course that will manifest in various ways in the other layers. Some people feel so much, they have a heightened sensitivity, and spend their days anxious, worried and overstimulated. Others have learned to push their discomfort away, to avoid what feels unstable and to operate from their tough outer layer of protection. Some people land on rigid thinking and beliefs, and let those tethers cement into place. Naturally a deep fear of shaking that foundation would be enough to protect it at all costs. Some people feel supported with safe and strong tethers uniting and bonding them to their loved ones, and to themselves. Yet others feel if they fall there is absolutely nothing there to support them. A sense that a fall means a free fall into the abyss with a fatal impact of some kind at the bottom. Again, naturally, the fear of not being supported is enough to shut down emotion or push people away in order to avoid the trauma of being dissapointed or rejected. Knowing my complexity has expanded my empathy and my ability to see past the external facade of protection so many of us walk around with. Momentum is difficult to start, and difficult to stop once it has started. Imagine these tethers, coalescing, unfolding, knotting up or untying. Whatever momentum you are in now, know that you can change the direction of your life, your mind and your body. It starts with one tether, one choice. An intimate look at one piece of your complex matrix that is accessible and realistic for you to work with. That one tether leads you to another, and then another, and then a whole layer reveals itself. Opportunity after opportunity to meet your un-integrated emotions and acknowledge the power this wound has on your personality and beliefs. You will recognize how your pattern of avoidance, numbing, worry, craving, etc. are the effects of the deeper root cause; the emotional wound that needs love and attention to meld back into your wholeness. One tether at a time. Before you know it, your perception of reality will completely change. The way is THROUGH, and to move THROUGH we must go IN. And to go IN, you must meet yourself with AWE. You are unique and special, as we all are. And I want to live in a world where everyone knows their innate power, their immense contribution, and their irreplaceable creativity. Join me in that world. Do the work.