what to do when the world is on fire

I’ve received a bunch of emails this week saying things like…

“Things are getting wild out there”

“The world is on fire”

“We haven't seen the worst yet”

These stories may or may not feel true for you, depending on your perspective.

The ongoing pressure cooker of our collective initiation is undoubtedly intensifying.

All that is misaligned with our true nature (of love) is coming up to be looked at, in often gruesome detail.

Some people are doubling down in fear.

Others are seeing through the illusion, shedding old programming, and creating beautiful new experiences.

If you’re reading this email, you’re probably in the second camp.

The “return to love and create Heaven on Earth” squad.

Or at least, you’d like to be.

Me too!

And, if the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that choosing the path of love and truth requires constant recommitment.

Every day, we’re challenged to see through the manufactured chaos.

To witness our wounds rather than being driven by them.

To remember our power to co-create miracles, right here and now.

So, if you’re feeling at all scared, overwhelmed, or maxed out, I’ve written the following reminders to help you navigate this time with greater ease and empowerment.

Reminder #1: The story you tell is the story you live.

What story are you telling about the world? About your life?

The Bible says, “by your words, you are justified.” This means that we have to deal with the consequences of what we create through the stories we tell.

Often, the stories that are creating your experience are running on autopilot, below the surface of your conscious mind.

These stories are about what you feel is natural and normal.

The key to knowing what your most influential beliefs are is to consider what would make you say: “duh!” or “of course!”

For example:

You get some bad news and think: “Of course!” :( You’re used to being let down. You expect it. You see it. You live it.

Or, an amazing unexpected miracle occurs, and you think: “Duh!” :) You know you’re divinely supported. You expect it. You see it. You live it.

Your perception influences your reality.

Your reticular activating system (fancy words for a data-sifting part of your brain) literally searches for evidence to confirm your beliefs, and discards anything to the contrary.

So, if you’ve been feeling bogged down in doomsday stories, consider how you might open up to new perspectives. To stories of healing, possibility, miracles, and love.

When you become willing to see things in a new way, your experience begins to shift.

You start seeing the good in life again.

You see solutions where before you saw only problems.

You begin trusting God a little more.

Which brings us to reminder number two:

Reminder #2: You are divinely supported. (Yes, you!)

A Course in Miracles says: “The presence of fear is a sure sign we are trusting in our own strength.”

When we’re in fear, we’re looking at a situation and thinking: oh no, I can’t handle this!

We’re forgetting that we don’t have to do it alone.

We have the full force of the Most High at our disposal, here to back us up, to guide us, to make a path where there is seemingly no way.

Whenever I’m praying for help in a situation, I always add: “God, give me the senses to perceive the solutions that are already here.”

Because in this now moment, everything already exists.

It’s simply a matter of perception. If we’re stuck in lack and limitation and are subconsciously attached to the problem continuing, we will miss out on the solutions.

It’s like when you think you’ve lost your keys, and you start getting all worked up about why they’re lost and what’ll happen if you don’t find them.

And you tear around your house looking for them, becoming increasingly agitated as your fruitless search drags on.

Spoiler alert: your keys are in your pocket. They’ve been there all along!

But your sight is constricted. You aren’t available for the solution. You’re focused on the problem.

If you’d take a deep breath and let the drama go, you’d notice your keys. Right where you left them, right where you need them.

Life’s struggles, however big and small, have answers waiting for you just like these “lost” keys.

You need only tune in.

If this concept feels too esoteric and out there, I invite you to give it a practical try.

Take a moment to pray for support, saying: “God, I’m willing to be supported. Let the divine design in this situation be done. Help me see the answers you’ve already laid before me on my path.”

Do your best to really feel the sincerity of your words. Feel your openness to being helped.

And see what happens! (and feel free to report back)

Reminder #3: When in doubt, come back to real life.

Your precious mind and body are not designed to process a constant bombardment of fresh horrors and hot takes from the 24/7 mainstream news cycle.

Not to mention the incessant reactive social media chatter analyzing those headlines and creating new ones.

Especially because the technology through which these stories are reaching you is intentionally designed to keep you hooked.

So, if you’ve been scrolling and staying “updated” on what’s going on in other parts of the world and in other people’s lives, at the detriment of your own life and wellbeing…

And you’re feeling like your brain is trying to process a million pieces of data and your body is revving in overdrive…

You are cordially invited to put down whatever you’re consuming and CHILL.

This may seem like the most basic and repetitive advice, but sometimes things are cliche because they’re true! (We talk about this a lot in my digital detox program REVIVAL.)

Turn off the screen. Put down your phone. And return to reality.

Get local, analogue, and tangible.

Make a gratitude list. Meditate for one breath. Move your body.

Clean your house. Doodle in your journal. Lie on the ground and do nothing.

Go sit on a park bench and smile at people.

The Celtic mystic John O’Donohue wrote: “Television and the computer world are great empty shadow-lands. To look at something that can gaze back at you, or that has a reserve and depth, can heal your eyes and deepen your sense of vision.”

Pull yourself out of the shadow-land and receive the gift of real life.

You can do this no matter where you are.

I’m now blessed to live in an elven forest wonderland, but when I lived in New York City, I’d go find a tree and lean against it and look up at the sky or down at the dirt, amidst the urban cacophony. Or I’d close my eyes on the packed subway and tune in with my own breath and heartbeat.

You can make nourishing contact with reality in all places at all times.

I actually just did this practice before posting this message. After typing in front of a screen for a while, I went outside. I put my feet on the ground, felt the wind on my skin, and soaked up the sunshine. Summer is on its way, and our land is humming with activity – birds, bees, bears, and so many flowers!

Whatever real life looks like for you right now, I hope these reminders serve you.

That’s it for now. I’m off to go knead the einkorn sourdough I’m baking later today :)

Don’t forget: you’re here during this time of great change for a reason.

Your light, your perspective, your creations matter.

Thank you for being you! And thank you for being here, in all the ways here means.