Living With A Loose Tooth Part 2: Creating A New Bridge of Beliefs

What do you do when a loose tooth has fallen? What do you do when the bridge has broken apart? That's what I asked myself when my loose tooth fell a few days ago and as I said in my last blog: the answer is simple. You create a new one. You fill in the gap...well, the gap is already filled by your decision to create a new identity, a new life, a new world, a new system. And that is what many of us are dealing with today.

But how do you do that? I will be the first to admit there is no right way, only YOUR WAY. So I can only speak from my experiences, examples, and ideas. There are loads of books, teachers, and materials to help you along your way, so what I offer are simple suggestions, with the intention of being playful, in both spirit, and practice. So have fun!!

Get out of a sheet of paper or journal if you keep one. Write the words "SHADOW TALK" at the top of the paper. Spend 5-10 minutes writing down the most negative and worst words, thoughts, feelings you have about yourself, others, and life in the language that you are familar with. When you are finished, read your list out loud. Try not the judge yourself when you do or the words that you use. You are simply noticing your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. You are allowing yourself to confront your darkest beliefs. Be gentle with yourself. And after you finish tell yourself: "I am not these thoughts. I am not my beliefs." Notice how your body feels after this exercise. Does it feel relaxed? relieved? still? energetic? Write down how you feel.

Keep the list of words, phrases, thoughts available so you record any changes in yourself and the results. Building new bridges takes time.

Take out another sheet of paper and do the opposite "LIGHT TALK". Write down the most positive, uplifting, inspirational words, thoughts, feelings about yourself. Read your list out loud. Notice how your body feels with this list. Write down how you feel.

Notice how you feel after doing these exercises. You are becoming aware of your thoughts and feelings but you are not attached to them. You are allowing yourself to express the unpleasant thoughts and feelings as much as the pleasant ones. Allow yourself to create a new bridge between the gap of your mind and body.

Creating a bridge of new beliefs involves a simple process of loosening the old beliefs that are not real, though you believe they are, and reconnecting. And when the old beliefs loosen, they will fall because that is what is they are meant to do. It is inevitable. Many years ago, I stood on top of that bridge, slept under the bridge, and left it to create a new place inside myself-one that speaks of a new strength, a new courage, and a new belief about myself in the world. Something tells me you are an explorer as well, of an unexplained, strange journey, who has fallen into that hole beneath the bridge, seen it, felt it, tasted it, and has worked valiantly to resurrect yourself at its crossing. I congratulate you.

At times I became mentally lazy, and so circumstances forced me to see the gap and make a decision. I resisted the yearnings of my inner self, denied it at times, and now I know that way can be painful. I wouldn't recommend it.

If a lot of this sounds familar to you, then good. So much of what we are learning requires repitition and practice.

So chop, chop! Let's get to diggin' again, and create a new wayyyyyyy!!!!!

Living With A Loose Tooth: Harnessing The Power of Intuitive Decision-Making

You can hardly see it but its there. You can hardly notice it but I know its there. A loose tooth. Yeah, lately, I've been walking around with a loose upper front tooth. And the tooth is not real. It's part of a bridge that I got 10 years ago and now the bridge is falling down. It's been quite a distraction that gets my attention every second now. I know I must make a decision: go to the dentist or continue living with the conscience of my dental vulnerabilities. If you are reading this, you can probably relate in some way.

It's interesting that my tooth has come loose at a 'time' where I'm shifting identities, morphing, moving into new realities. And part of that reality is attending graduate school, challenging myself, and facing more of the world 'out there'-a world I perceive as a bit spooky, scary at times, and yet beautiful, whole, and loving. If I open up to this world, will I be safe? That's been the question I've been asking myself most of my life.

But what does a loose tooth have to do with going back to school? My intuition tells me it has to do with making decisions. See, I've been struggling with making a decision to go back to school after 15 years and so it felt different yet familar to be sitting in a classroom this week with other students. Not that I haven't been in a classroom that long but experiencing the actual reality of my decision to be in a grad school program is a surprise after so many years of contemplation. Simultaneously, I'd been struggling with my teeth, going to dentists, peridontists, orthotondists, for cleanings, abcessed tooth removal, and even dental surgery over many years. Going back to school, going back to the dentist. Should I? Should I not? I've haven't been to the dentist in a while so now it is time to go. To set my school & dental record straight-once and for all.

Then I began to wonder: Is this the right next step? What is happening here? Its been a trip of dipping in and out of parallel worlds of serving food, serving youth, serving clients with intuitive readings, and serving myself doses of metaphysical, self-help wisdom and dreams that needed some real field testing. And so my life up to now has been this colorful adventure(not a safari one), enigmatic in ways that I'm still exploring, and learning about. It's a strange life of new beginnings and endings. Ins and outs. Drunken fights, sober nights. Reckless driving, constant striving.

Along the way, we make decisions in life, and these decisions can be made using our intuition. As we intuit our decisions, we grow in harnessing its power. I've always been a bit timid about making decisions, loose, and maybe weak in the eyes of others. Is it my upbringing? Lack of confidence? Feelings of powerlessness? I've learned, as an adult, my best decisions are now intuitive ones that feel right, good, and gives me the knowing that I am moving in the 'right direction.' Making intuitive decisions takes practice, like a martial artist catching a fly with chopsticks, but in the end there is accomplishment, self-realization, and a sort of inner peace. You feel something there inside of you quivering, and you are being drawn, pulled in a particular direction, that will lead you towards what you want.

A loose tooth is easy to fix once you make the decision to get it fixed. Would you rather live in constant fear and worry? Or would you rather give yourself the gift of a healthy smile? "Keep it simple," a friend once told me. In keeping it simple, there is something I remember. I know what to do: MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!

I am a Speaker. I enjoy speaking. I want to feel confident when I speak in front of people. And I want to have healthy-looking teeth while I do. So I can smile...MORE! :)