My post this week is about a personal experience searching for answers. I take a risk sharing the following story with you.
A risk of you thinking that I have l have lost my marbles or that I have gone “out there” somewhere.
The practical, analytical and skeptical side of me with multiple formal degrees in Business understands why you may want to jump to judgment and dismiss me as incompetent or not “business-oriented” as I recount the following experience. But the part of me that transcends to a much deeper level, beyond fear of being judged or misunderstood, puts this story out there with the hope that it serves as a catalyst for your own deeper reflection about your unexplainable experiences.
I have been thinking about the theme of “searching for answers” a lot lately as I have been doing research for the most meaningful project I have ever worked on – a coaching program to help people uncover what they want in life, who they are meant to become, and maximize their personal impact wherever they are. It is called “The Soul Search Sessions”.
From my discussions with thousands of people individually in coaching sessions and through group workshops over the years, one theme that repeats itself loudly is the notion of “The Search”.
The search for the “right” way to do something or to act
The search for what to do
The search for what we want
The search for resonance
The search for acceptance
The search for who we are
The search for the perfect job
The search for happiness
And so the searching goes on…you get where this goes.
A few weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream with the entire outline of this program that had been percolating in my mind for the past two years now. The flow, the words, and the outcomes–everything just started to pour into my mind. I had to jump out of bed, retrieve the notebook I keep in the nightstand drawer, and start writing the outline. It was as if I was transcribing words that were somehow being downloaded to me unconsciously. I finished the outline and after some stirring from the excitement, finally fell back to sleep.
When I awoke the next morning, I was energized. I read my outline and just knew that this was the coaching program I had been “searching” for. But my conscious mind kicked in and started the skeptical doubting game. My thoughts raced from, “what will the academics think?” to “who cares about the search for meaning in their life anyway?” and a dozen other similar ones in between.
“I wish someone could tell me whether this was worth pursuing”, I thought with a heavy sigh. I put it aside and went on with my day.
That evening before I went to bed, I had a notice on my IPAD to update the device’s operating system. I had been putting it off for weeks, so finally decided to hit the update button and just let it update overnight. In the morning, I opened the web browser. Nothing was saved in the browser. But the website browser just automatically opened to a page on a website I had not seen before.
The site was “deepspirits.com”.
The website ‘s header read: “Deep Spirits: The Quest for Truth”—with the sub-title: “while some run in circles, deep spirits need to connect”.
The page it was on was “Socrates—Wisdom of the Ancient Sages”. (For those of you who know me, you know I was born in Greece and have a special affinity for the ancient philosophers, especially Socrates.)
No, I am not kidding.
I kept staring at the IPAD in disbelief. Was this a trick? I looked at the words on the page and my eyes fell to the last paragraph on the page.
“Socrates is unique in the world of philosophy. He did not teach his own ideas and beliefs to his followers. Through his method he acted as a catalyst for others to search and find the truth for themselves.”
I couldn’t believe what was happening and what I was reading. My new program, “The Soul Search Sessions” is all about what this statement describing Socrates was saying.
I probably spent a good 30 minutes staring at the IPAD with my mouth open.
And then I knew. This was the answer I was searching for. It was a pretty blatant answer, actually. I had been open to finding it inside myself and was listening.
I can’t explain the dream or this weird website appearing. But I know that we are so set on finding the answers from our rational mind and from so-called experts that we often ignore the deeper wisdom that already resides within us. We miss signals that come to us, brush things off as mere coincidences, and lose connection, attunement, and dialog to that deeper source that we all have access to. You can call it by any name you want, but this unconscious guidance is always there to help guide us in our search. Our souls are our pilots if we just let them fly. We just have to quiet our minds, get beneath the layers of fear and protection that we erect around ourselves, ask, and listen.
Really listen.
So this week’s post is a bold invitation to you. An invitation to quiet your mind and listen. Trust what your own soul wants to tell you. What are you searching for? Let yourself listen for the answer. Look around you. Notice what is right in front of you. Trust the unexplainable.
Excavate what is already deep inside you.
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
Carl Jung
As always, I’d love to hear about your own experiences on this topic. Send me a note or leave me a comment with your thoughts…
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