Crossing Portal Doors
When we talk about past lives, we often refer to a different historical era or a different life form altogether, but where you find yourself right now, picture an infinite amount of dimensions and possibilities overlapping your current reality. I’m all for the idea that multiple lives can exist within the same lifetime; that there are an infinite number of parallel realities to which we have access as long as we make the choice to leave one behind to step into another.
The same theory applies to sliding doors moments, the ones where running just a minute late for work, or taking a different route on your way to your favourite café, can completely alter the course of events that follow, rippling well into the future. What I’d like to focus on for the purpose of this article, however, are the choices we consciously make in our lives in our attempt to be better people. In those moments when we realize that there are habits or behaviours that are holding us back from our highest potential, these realizations are doors that if approached wisely, can lead us to circumstances where a better version of ourselves ultimately exists.
A few examples:
- I grew up in a household where yelling and chaos was a daily part of life. When I became an adult and moved out, that yelling and chaos continued until one day, emotionally battered and desperate, I decided that I no longer wanted to yell. I no longer wanted the chaos.
- As soon as I’d see a picture of myself, I criticized how unflattering my posture was, or how ugly I appeared at a certain angle. In wanting to be less cruel myself, I decided to stop judging and simply accept that whatever side of me was captured in that moment was just another part of me.
In both examples, years later, I can confirm that these realities have since shifted in my life. The emotional outbursts of uncontrolled anger are no longer a regular occurrence. Today, when I see myself in the mirror or in pictures, the acceptance with which I observe has helped to unearth my beauty. For once, I can look at myself, and see genuine beauty.
Whenever we decide to make a change in our habitual patterns, no matter how small, I’d consider this the death of one life — a one in an infinite amount of possibilities — and the rebirth into another. Our desire for something different opens up a portal into an alternate reality, where although most things may seem to be exactly as they’ve been, the path we’ve chosen to walk leads us to a whole slew of new opportunities. Referring back to the examples shared above, those would include the chance at a more peaceful life, a reality where I also feel more confident and secure.
Crossing the portal into the life that we want isn’t usually that simple though. It’s easy to want something better for ourselves, but depending on our motives, self-awareness, and how much effort we are willing to invest, portal doors can easily mess around with us, closing up or changing location. If miscalculated in our steps, what’s waiting on the other side of a portal door may also not be what we are expecting.
Here are some of my tips for a safe and successful portal crossing:
- The change we seek must be aligned with our highest good. When I say this, I mean that what we desire should come from a sincere place of wanting to be more connected with our true purpose. Portal crossing when our motivation is driven by scarcity, fear, greed, or power can lead to some dark places.
- Once we’ve decided on what change is to be made and what pattern needs to be broken, there’s a whole process of letting go that must take place.
– Try to understand where this behaviour comes from;
– Make peace with the circumstances that you had no control over at the time, accept, and forgive.
This process can take months, maybe years. Sometimes, on the other hand, it can happen in an instant; the conviction is so sharp and clear in that moment that the energetic ties to the belief and/or behaviour are immediately cut. - It’s important to give ourselves time to rest and recuperate, just as we would if we were on a long trek. Wanting to rush things can be risky. Our impatience is just another source of motivation that can take us to a place that’s not quite where we want to be. False hopes and the illusion that we’ve reached our destination can be common here, only to find out that we’ve missed the mark (like accepting what we believe to be our dream job and realizing that it’s actually a toxic workplace that sucks us dry). At this stage, envision where we are headed and use every detail as our guide.
4. Learning to take our time in order to remain connected to our purpose, this gives us the ability to physically feel when the moment is right to take the leap into an open portal. It’s what we refer to as our intuition or gut feeling. When there is stillness and alignment, we are much better equipped to observe the signs. Unobstructed by the noise of the outside world, we instinctively know when to act.
5. After taking the leap, orienting and pacing ourselves is key. Familiarizing ourselves with our new surroundings and getting used to our new timing and routine can do a tremendous amount of good. In the new reality we’ve stepped into, we must learn our footing before we can break into a run, even though our past conditioning may be egging us on to attack and conquer straightaway.
And what happens if along the way, we suddenly find ourselves up against an obstacle or dead end?? All the signs seemed to point in the right direction but the circumstances are just not aligned with what we’d envisioned. Maybe we even find ourselves back at square one. Then what?
Well, then there’s a lesson that life is trying to teach us that needs to be learned. I’d suggest reviewing the last 5 points and digging a little deeper to see where we are stuck and what details we may have missed.
Maybe this sounds all a little too cryptic, but this is how certain events in my own life have unfolded for me lately. For years, I’ve been stuck trying to figure out what my calling is and how I could give back in a meaningful, enjoyable, and sustainable way. What I’ll share is that I have actually just crossed over once again after having tried several doors which did not result in what I’ve been looking for. My timing had been off, I wasn’t properly equipped with the right tools, I acted impulsively…
The good news is even though we may take the leap into the wrong portal, there are always valuable lessons to be learned wherever we find ourselves. Every misalignment is an arrow pointing to our true path.
So here I find myself in the re-orienting phase after deciding to grow my writing and editing practice professionally. This is my second attempt at working freelance and I can already tell that I’m better prepared than I was 2 years ago when I made my first attempt. Writing and editing are both things that I enjoy, that I’m good at, and that there’s a need for. At the same time, I get to support people by helping clarify and communicate their message. It’s taken me a long time to get here, but I finally feel like I’ve found what it is I’ve been looking for. It feels right!
My job now is to focus on my pacing. I want so badly to dive right into the work and expect a full blown career to appear in front of me overnight. From experience, I know that I must be patient and that the journey in front of me will have its roadblocks and challenges. If there are any pieces of wisdom that I pick up along the way, I’ll be sure to add them to my portal crossing tips. In the meantime, maybe our paths will coincide and you can share what your experience has been like too. Looking forward to seeing you around!
