Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed, like I’m never able to get caught up, like I’m too distracted to get the job done, like I take on too much or try to fill my plate enough so that I don’t see the demons on my heels.

I become exhausted; I can’t sleep, my mind racing, replaying the events of the day. I feel like there’s always something I should be doing, producing, creating… I forget about the ebbs and flows of work, of passion, of creativity, and the most important component of them all: rest. Rest in a time of turbulence, of transition, of miraculous transformation. Rest…rest and digest.

“When the unconscious becomes illuminated its darker forces no longer hold us prisoner. This work of freedom is slow and unpredictable; yet it is precisely at this threshold that each individual is the custodian and subject of their own transfiguration.”

~ John O’Donohue

The idea of resting seems absurd, and that’s the problem. If we don’t take time to rest, digest and process our energies, we’re left spinning. We’re left empty, without energy, without our spark. If we’re to be true alchemists, true creators of our experience, we need to conserve our energy, set clear boundaries, be aware of our energy leaks and practice balance in every moment.

And in the throes of this new found balance, we stumble upon an astounding revelation—we’re all connected, interwoven through each other, all one. We begin to realize that isolation and superiority are the greatest, most deprecating illusions we can suffer. We’re all here to give, to receive, to contribute, to help, and we all do it in our own unique ways. We all have gifts and talents to contribute, and none is greater than the other in the grand scheme of things, because we all contribute in one way or another

The only thing that sets us apart is our vibrational frequencies—whether we choose to embrace our gifts and talents and divinity and share them with mankind, or whether we choose to succumb to the illusion of isolation and separation, squandering and ultimately strangling our divine talents until they’re no more than mere squeaks, whispers in a darkened cell. We shine through the way we rise up from the darkness, from the soil, from the foundation that we’re toiling tirelessly at building, unearthing the gems and relics—our hopes and dreams and sparks from lifetimes passed—buried and protected until we’re ready to embrace and rise up with them. The way we choose to uncover and celebrate these lost treasures define us; the choice of excavation and elevating yourself to the point of radiance, to the point of hope and love—that choice is the only thing that sets us apart.

We are the most powerful alchemists in the universe, if we allow ourselves to be.

When we open ourselves to all of the energies available to us and really let those energies cleanse and purify and flow effortlessly through us, we become one with the underlying song of unity, of everything. We create our experiences with our thoughts—we influence everything.

“The imagination is committed to the justice of wholeness. It will not choose one side in an inner conflict and repress or banish the other; it will endeavor to initiate a profound conversation between them in order that something original can be born.”

~ John O’Donohue

There are things that I’ve done that I’m not proud of, but I’m not that person anymore. And it’s all a matter of choice, of choosing to be honest and to do right by myself and others, of telling my story differently, more positively, with more confidence and hope and love in and for myself. Knowing that I am a good person, that I have a world of light and love in me, that’s there’s absolutely nothing and no one on this planet that I need to fear. That the only place fear comes from is within me, through my projections and false assumptions and perceptions. That no one is stronger than me or above me—that we’re all traveling on our paths, our own roads, and although we may have taken very different paths and trails and detours to arrive at our current destination, we’re all here, now. And that speaks volumes.

We can all choose to stop telling our story the same way we’ve always been regurgitating it. We can all choose to change the plot, the cast of characters, the destination, the outcome. We can all choose to alter our energy by the way we think about and talk about ourselves. We can begin telling different stories, or just letting the old ones fall away. We can choose to release our grip on our past, to stop letting it define us, limit us. We can shrug those old memories and limitations off like the moth-chewed sweaters that they are and slip into something brighter, fresher, sexier—something more relevant.

“Spiritual alchemy is a grand experiment you perform on yourself with critical introspection and objective investigation. You can discover your deeper nature as a multidimensional synthesis of subjective/objective, qualitative/quantitative, mind/matter, wave/particle.

It is the responsibility of each individual to bring about their own transformation and be free to reincarnate now, to embody that transformation fully. The outer is the inner, and the inner is the outer. Lived reality is only experienced reality and is always transformed before it is experienced.

Alchemy increases your capacity to relate to inward-flowing content. You can regenerate yourself. You are the world and the world is you. You can deny or affirm the sacred. By changing yourself, you change everything. You can be a light unto yourself, lit by yourself. You are the cosmos and the cosmos is you.”

~ Iona Miller

This is how we become true alchemists—true, natural magicians. This is how we transform our present and create our future. This is how we fully live and engage with the enormous, miraculous nature of the universe and our lives. Once we realize that we have the entire universe swirling in our bellies and that we can harness that glorious, gigantic power more easily than we’ve ever been led to believe, our limitations will disappear and we will step into our boundless, limitless, never-ending destinies.

As above, so below. Above, down, inside and out. Love is always greater than fear, so step off that ledge into the vast, transformative unknown with the knowledge that you’ve got the support of the entire universe behind you, cradling you through each and every unchartered step.

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Ed: Brianna Bemel