Last week I began a Behind the Scenes look at Shifting.  Since most people go through a similar process, I’ve illustrated it in five stages.  Part 1 explained the first three stages – Transition States, Perceptual Markers Disappearing, and the Void Point.  This post will explore the final two stages: the Choice Point and Action.

Stage 4: The Choice Point:  The good news is, you can’t and won’t stay in the Void Point forever.  The universe abhors a vacuum, remember? When you accept and witness the void point as the no-man’s land it is, you quickly arrive at the Choice Point: the point at which you either choose to stay in lower states of consciousness, stuck in overwhelm, or evolve.

This is a critical juncture. Here is where free will comes into play; here is where you consciously begin to access your power as creator or choose to deny it and remain victim. Yes, we have a choice.  Whether you choose to step back or step forward will determine whether you remain in lower states of consciousness or shift.

To those who despite coming this far still do not step forward, welcome to your hell. There’s no hiding out anymore in comfortable cocoons – squirreling ourselves away with procrastination or creature comforts won’t provide lasting satisfaction anymore, let alone happiness.  For most the unhappiness will soon be intolerable, which is why I think, like it or not, most people will eventually choose the (perceived) discomfort of change over the certain agony of stagnation.  For some, that shift will coincide with the natural end of their life on Earth.  They will choose at a soul level to leave and it will be through their death that they pass to higher consciousness.

But for the rest of us who aren’t going anywhere soon: If you’re feeling truly paralyzed by fear or indecision, please seek help immediately to move beyond it. Due to the fact that time is accelerating—and by this I mean more events taking place in less time—remaining in a state of shock or overwhelm is a psychological indulgence you cannot afford.

More happening in less time includes not only the desired but the undesired; not only the wanted, but the chaos.  Just turn on your national news for the environmental or weather disaster of the week (not the month or year anymore, we’re down to the week).  So the huge downside for those who choose to step back and stay stuck is that the next wave of chaotic change is just around the corner.

The compounding effect of more frequent chaos with persistent despair might just pull you under to the point where your confidence, self-esteem or physical energy is too low for you to muster the activity needed to move from Choice Point to Action.

In other words, if you’re not choosing to ride the wave of evolution, you run the risk of being swamped by it.

Be intentional and decisive about how you fill the void and of the new markers you put into place, for these ideas and beliefs will be the stars in the new sky of your mind, and you shall navigate your way by them.

Stage 5: Action: You step into your true identity as creator of your own life, and go create!

There is great potency in decision and action.  When decisions are made intentionally and honor what you love, what inspires you, movement in the direction of your dreams gains traction.  Here’s where it’s important to move fast and stay in motion – when you get momentum going from the Choice Point, there is incredible power in where it can take you.

Getting into even the smallest actions in the direction of what I loved rather than staying in sustained action focused on what I didn’t was key.  Other success ingredients were to act fast even if (especially if) imperfectly.  Move before you have time to worry about screwing up, then when you do it won’t really bother you.  Keep moving, keep getting practice, keep stretching and growing as quickly as possible and in no time you’ll screw up much less (my Zumba students can tell you how true that is!)

The minute I taught my first fitness class, opportunities for more came abounding.  With each I had the choice to say yes or no.  I could sub for someone else’s class, or decline and assume somebody else would handle it.  I could step in for another instructor, taking the risk I’d disappoint, or stay comfortable teaching my regularly scheduled class.

Whenever new opportunities to teach yoga or Zumba materialized, even though I was scared and for the most part, largely unprepared, I said yes.  More to the point, I genuinely wanted to say yes.  Sometimes even despite common sense rationale I said yes because it wasn’t my mind that was answering, it was my heart.  The more I said yes, the more opportunities came out of the woodwork.  And so goes the story you’ve heard a million times.  The universe needs to know what you want and get clear signals to deliver it.

Your train is leaving the station; in fact, you’re the engine so you need to power it.  Luckily because you’ll love what you’re doing, you’ll learn to run at the appropriate speed and to rest and re-nourish at meaningful intervals so you can keep going.

Here’s the high note I want to leave you with:  Swim with the tide, not against it.  It doesn’t matter if you’re thrust into, cycled into, or voluntarily entering a transition state.  Once you’re there, fighting the current only hurts and exhausts you.  Also, don’t go it alone, seek support from a like–minded group, life coach, counselor, specialist or close friend.  After I sought help, gained acceptance and became clear on what I wanted, I found the courage to move into action.  From there the process of shifting changed tone dramatically.

How was it behind the scenes then, you ask? It was mercifully fast, fun, smooth, exciting yet graceful, fulfilling and joyful.  It was everything I wanted but NOT overwhelming; it was propelling yet yielding, it was clear and decisive, and best of all it felt perfectly light and right, like I was doing what came naturally (because after all, I was!)

How do you know you’re shifting? It’s not when you go from one step forward/two steps back to two steps forward/one step back, although that can masquerade as shifting or precede a shift.  Instead, you’ll know you’re shifting when you stop plodding along altogether and go straight to skipping with childlike abandon.

Tell me in comments how YOU know when you’re shifting. What have you experienced?  What do you continue to experience that tells you the direction you’re moving in is the right one for you?

Do you suspect or know you’re at a Choice Point, wanting to move forward but afraid? If so my “Break On Through” Day can help.  Request a free one-hour Accidental Seeker Navigation phone session with me to discuss your situation, see if it’s a fit and learn more.