Human Design: The Aloof 6th Line

On Thanksgiving I discovered my cousin is a 6/2 Manifesting Generator. I’ve known her my entire life, seen her quirks, often wondered “what is she thinking?” and seen her struggles with relationships and never once considered her as similar to me. In our youth, she and my older sister were joined at the hip and would always exclude me from whatever they were doing. If they didn’t exclude me, they would take advantage of my naivety and make me the brunt of their jokes and play cruel pranks on me, letting me think I was accepted as part of their group only to make it very clear to me that I never would be. And I fell for it over and over again because, yes, I was naïve and trusting, especially because I loved my sister and my cousin.

My cousin has lived on the same family land as my mother for a long time now. It has to be at least 20+ years. She moved here from California and has lived close to my grandparent’s underground house ever since. For some reason, in the past, wherever she was involved there was drama, especially with my grandmother. However, the drama died down and things have been quiet for at least a decade now.

Recently, her common law marriage of about 15 years ended. Her partner, who was 10yrs her junior, just decided to leave, his reason being he didn’t see his life going anywhere if he stayed. Since this breakup, my cousin has been different, quiet and reclusive. Her usual talkative self not so talkative. In the past, she use to talk so much it could be painful (she has a defined throat), but not so much now.

On Thanksgiving my cousin commented that she knew she could talk too much and that it pushed people away. She also indicated that she felt no one really wanted her at the gathering. Prior to the gathering I had prepared myself for her over talkative, eager, almost vampire-like energy, so I set the intention to let her talk and just listen without resisting her energy. When she purposefully sat next to me and singled me out from the rest of the group, I didn’t resist and acknowledged and accepted her as she was. I could sense the relief from her, and it matched my own.

As I tuned into her and her energy, truly listening to what she had to say, I Knew immediately “she is like me”. She mentioned how when she looked back on her life she didn’t recognized herself. She said to me, “I think, ‘who is that person?'” She also commented on how she has to keep clear of people more and more, taking long breaks and retreating to her own space and around her animals and things she enjoys. What she use to enjoy has changed, also. She has a smaller group she interacts with and chooses animals over people more and more. She commented also that she felt her life to be “done” and didn’t understand why she was still alive.

Though I have known other 6/2 MG’s (my ex-husband for one), I have always considered them to be vastly different from me because of their type – Generator. In fact, I’ve thought about my ex, wondering about his hermit tendencies (he always had them) and whether he is more a hermit now than when I knew him. He was always more social than me, so I highly doubt that has changed. Or has it? Considering my own cousin was very active and social in her youth it may also be that my ex has undergone a similar shift.

To be honest, I generally dislike all generating types because they typically do not “see” me, and so I tend to be more critical (bitter) when it comes to them. So, to recognize myself in an MG, to discover a genuine appreciation and sympathy for her struggle, well, ha! I hear someone in Spirit say, “Takes one to know one.” Yep. lol

The Aloof 6th Line

6/2’s get more “aloof” the older they get. They start out as a naïve version of a 3rd line, living their life via trial and error, filled with disappointment and wondering, “Why is this happening to me?” until they are around 30 years of age (Saturn Return). Then their life generally levels out. They still try things but as they get closer to middle age they do this less and less, becoming observers and settling down to live their life. Over time, they pull away from others more and more, preferring the company of themselves and a select few over new experiences and people. By the time they reach age 50 they have become extremely aloof and have thoughts similar to me and my cousin, feeling they are “done” and their life has no purpose. They may look back on their life and younger self and wonder, “Who is that person? Surely that wasn’t me.”

Here is a great article on the 6/2 profile that I find expresses my experience of the 6/2 profile very well.

I had to look up the word aloof to make sure I understood what it meant and my definition wasn’t incorrect. Aloof means someone who appears disinterested and stands apart from others; unfriendly; cold; not wanting or willing to take part in things; detached.

From vocabulary.com:

Someone who’s aloof isn’t warm and friendly, instead being distant and reserved. That emotionally cold and detached fellow who keeps to himself, drinking espresso and reading French philosophy, would best be described as aloof.

In Middle English, aloof was originally a nautical term; the loof (now spelled luff) is the windward side of a ship. Smart sailors wanting to avoid a hazard on the leeward side would give the order, “A loof!” From this command we get the idea of steering clear of something (or someone). In modern usage the word has taken on a negative connotation: an aloof person is often considered cold or snobby.

The aloof that describes me the best I think is the “steering clear of something” or someone. Yep! The thing is, it isn’t always clear what I am steering clear of, it is more of a feeling. Sometime I feel repelled and just have to get away.

And it isn’t only 6/2’s that experience this shift around middle age. My friend, a 6/3, and my SIL, also a 6/3, have confirmed to me multiple times that they are becoming more and more aloof. Note: My SIL could be a 6/2 (her time of birth is not known), but she doesn’t have enough hermit tendencies to fit the 6/2 so I think of her as a 6/3.

My SIL is about three years younger than I am and already choosing to live in the country over the city despite spending most of her life living in Los Angeles. Her desire now is to be a stay-at-home mom when in her youth she was a total workaholic. Though I didn’t know her as well when she was younger, from what I’ve heard she was very social, very out-going, and group oriented. As a Manifestor, she knew what she wanted to do and went for it. So, now that she is getting into her mid-40’s, she has calmed down significantly and told me that she does feel the need to retreat more and more.

My 6/3 friend is also finding herself retreating inward more and more. I have known her for about 20 years now. When she was younger she was very social, always encouraging me to get out more and introducing me to new people. Once she hit her mid-30’s she calmed down quite a bit, got married and settled into a stable career, even buying a house. However, I’m already noticing her shifting more inward, needing more and more time to herself. Just the other day she said to me, “Sometimes I think I hate people.” I replied back, “I know I hate people.”

The “hating people” part is more likely a Projector sentiment than a 6th line one. Being a 6th line Projector probably makes us more likely to interpret that “repulsive” feeling as “hate”. I’ll have to ask my cousin if she has ever felt that way.

When I think about how aloof I am and how I will probably only get more aloof over time, I wonder if I will end up the “crazy lady” who lives alone, hiding in her house, peering through closed windows at people outside? lol Thankfully, everything I’ve read about 6th lines says that, despite becoming more aloof, they eventually find their purpose (Role Model) and begin to re-join the world. I’m hoping, for sanity’s sake, that I do this because, though I do enjoy my alone time, I can’t imagine a life without others in it.

When I was with my cousin the other day, I sensed that her purpose would somehow involve animals and suggested that she open up her farm to the public, inviting children and maybe even special needs individuals. She told me she would love to do that if she could make a living doing it. Perhaps that is the direction she is headed and the place where she will shine? We will see. 🙂

Image source.

2nd Lines, Projectors and the Holidays

How was your Thanksgiving? Hopefully, a pleasant one. 🙂 Mine was better than usual, but only because I set an intention that it would not be the dreaded, anxiety ridden, energy depleting day it normally is for me.

As a Projector with a 2nd line (6/2 Self-Projected), all holidays, even birthday celebrations, tend to invoke feelings of anxiety among other not so pleasant feelings. It’s not because I’ve had “traumatic” experiences around the holidays, either. It’s because the energy surrounding the holidays is just plain exhausting. The more people involved, the more exhausting. If all holidays just disappeared, it would be fine by me! Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I guess I would prefer it if the holidays were slower, involved only very small groups of people (like 6 or less) and focused on the true meaning rather than becoming a “keeping up with the Jones'” materialistic heyday.

Let’s face it. The holidays as we know them – well all large gatherings and celebrations – are Generator created. The Generator motto is “the more the merrier” or “come one, come all!”. Even the hermits (2nd lines) of the Generating type tend to feel this way, though they are more selective when it comes to who’s involved in the gathering. For those of us who are non-Generating types, this leaves us with only two options – choose not to participate at all or suck it up and “deal”. And who really, deep down wants to be left out? We humans need other humans. Even hermits have to go out and interact to stay sane.

In a 2nd line FB group I’m a part of, on Thanksgiving day, a fellow Projector and 2nd line was bragging about how he was happily spending Thanksgiving day alone. Lots of people in the group (all 2nd lines) chimed in about how they were doing the same. This is all and well – to each his own – but I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad for them, too, because, well, just because they are hermits doesn’t mean they aren’t wishing they had at least one other someone to share the day with.

2nd line Hermits do not always want to be alone. And to be clear, alone here means “not around other people” versus alone as in spending time with themselves to heal and get in tune with their own energy. If they say they do, they are lying or they are in temporary recluse mode and it WILL pass. Projectors don’t want to be alone either, and if we say we do, it is because we’ve been rejected so many times that we feel we aren’t wanted anyway. As a 2nd line Projector I can say for a fact that all I want – all I’ve ever wanted – is to be seen and heard and accepted. The ONLY way for this to happen is to be around others. So, if you hear a Projector or a 2nd line boasting about how wonderful their life is because they are alone all the time – be suspicious but don’t argue.

When you get into Human Design, it is easy to over emphasize certain qualities of your profile and type, especially if you recognize something you missed about yourself before. I see this all the time. Projectors thinking they need to sleep all the time. Hermits thinking they should be alone all the time or glorifying alone time. Generators thinking they should have lots of energy all the time. Eventually, as they progress through the deconditioning process, they come into communication with themselves, listening to their strategy and authority, and no longer need to prove anything.

Intention is Everything

This Thanksgiving my husband was out of town (still is) and that left me doing things I prefer not to, like driving and talking to family to coordinate among other things. Driving on the highway is nerve wracking for me these days, mostly because I can sense the other drivers on the road among other things. Talking to family (or anyone), well if it involves phones, is something I avoid, too. So, rather than focus on all the things I didn’t want, I decided to focus on what I did want. I wrote this in my journal Thanksgiving morning:

My plan today is to visualize how I want things to go, to stay in present time as much as I can, to remember to breathe, focus on enjoying family and listen to my authority when it says “enough is enough”. I will also practice active listening and speak only when invited to share my wisdom. So, I probably won’t be talking too much except for normal chit-chat (which I abhor and can’t tolerate for long). If I feel too much, I will find a place to retreat far from Generator auras (at least 12 feet). If someone approaches me while I am in retreat, I will not run but excuse myself graciously without insulting them.

I went on to write about how I’ve experienced the holidays in the past:

For many, the holidays are a time they look forward to. For me, even as a kid I didn’t look forward to the holidays. At least at Christmas there were the gifts, at Halloween, candy and dressing up and Easter, egg hunts and more candy. Now days I don’t look forward to any of them really. They exhaust me just thinking about them. Even birthdays incite a big sigh. I often wish all holidays would be banned or at least limited to immediate family only. The big “come one, come all” gatherings are kryptonite to me. 

The day turned out much, much better than I expected, though, all thanks to setting an intention and keeping my focus in the present moment.

The Day

The drive to my mom’s was stressful but the traffic was low and I kept focusing on my intention. Thankfully, my kids were in good spirits and so that made the drive go much faster.

When we arrived, my mom’s two friends were already there but they were the kind to keep to themselves. They had two small dogs, one a toy Aussie, that reminded me of Monty. The energy was calm and nice. Yay!

When everyone else arrived the energy changed very little and I felt relaxed to the point that my hands were warm and I kept yawning. This is unlike me and surprised me to the point that I mentioned it. My uncle seemed to notice, though, and smiled when he nudged me and told me, “don’t fall asleep”. 

My cousin asked me to come see her new car and then told me about her car accident. This cousin tends to be very talkative and exhausting, but I just listened and acknowledged her and didn’t feel any exhaustion from out interaction. She rolled her car one early morning earlier this year and came out unscathed. She told me she wondered why she was allowed to live, especially when a friend of hers with two children died around the time of her accident. I reminded her that she must be here for a reason.

She also mentioned how, when she looks back on her life, she doesn’t recognize herself anymore and it was at that time I thought to myself, “I bet she is a 6/2 MG”. She told me she had spent her entire savings ($3k) to buy her new car. An idea popped into my head to send her $1,000.00 as a Christmas gift with a note, “To help rebuild your savings”. I thought about telling her but then decided to keep it a surprise. I knew if I had asked her if she wanted money she would’ve told me no.

My cousin sat next to me at dinner and we talked for a bit about lots of various things. The more she told me, the more certain I was that she was a 6/2. Eventually, I brought up human design and asked her for her birth info. When I pulled up her chart I smiled and showed her the profile and type that came up: 6/2 MG! I was spot on!

Afterward, me and the kids went to my cousin’s to look at her new baby goats and chicks. The kids enjoyed it very much as they held goats and little chicks. My little 2/4 Generator boys really loved it! 

On the drive home I realized I still had enough energy to go to the second gathering, something I didn’t think would happen. So, we attended the second gathering, with all my husband’s family and friends. It wasn’t at all bad and I felt very at ease, my hands still warm and my body relaxed. I was even asked how things were going and I explained how relaxed I had been all day and still was. I told them I suspected that the absence of my husband helped with that because he is super energetic. They all agreed, saying, “He’s the most energetic of all of us.”

A coworker and family friend was sitting across from me at the table. I stayed at the table after everyone had left as did he and his new wife. Somehow we got into a conversation and he talked more than I had ever heard him talk before while I practiced active listening. He seemed genuinely pleased to be talking to me, too, not strained or self-conscious. The topic of friends came up and he told me, “I’m not looking for friends. Friend are too much work.” I laughed out loud and said, “You sound like me! I’ve said those exact words many times.” We talked more about it and everything he described sounded very much like me – his avoidance of groups, his preference to be alone, his perception of others. I remember thinking to myself, “He’s either a 2nd line or a Projector…or both.” 

My kids were begging me to leave so I had to literally pull myself away from the conversation because he wanted to keep talking. I did, too, but the kids weren’t having it, so I left. It was so nice to find someone within the group who was like me! In the past I had seen him and suspected he was “different” and now I know why. I was sensing he was like me, same as he was sensing I was like him. 

I’ve never met a male Projector (that I know of) but when I researched his birthday (he is an employee so I have access to it), it turned out he is probably a Projector. I entered various birth times and the morning time and evening times make him a Projector. He is either a 3/5 or 4/6 Splenic Projector. There was no 2nd line in any profile type that came up for him. Based upon my experiences with 3/5 and 4/6 profile types, I would think he fits the 3/5 more, but I can’t be certain since I have limited experience with 4/6. 

Interestingly, I also discovered my SIL (the hostess of the gathering) is also probably a Projector. I kept noticing her energy at the gathering and compared to the others’ energy there, hers is much more accepting and calm. So, I looked up her chart using the information I have (no birth time). She could be a 2/4 Emotional Manifestor, but that only came up once in the 6 birth times I entered. She is either a 3/5, 2/5 or 2/4 Emotional Projector. Since I haven’t asked her birth time, I can only guess which one she is but I know, based upon how calm I feel around her, that she is not a Generating type. My guess is she’s a 3/5 Projector because she doesn’t have hermit tendencies.

If I am right, that means that my husband and his brothers all ended up with non-Generating types! One married a Projector, the other a Manifestor, and then my husband married me, a Projector. My husband’s parents were a MG-Projector couple, his mom being the Projector. My guess is they subconsciously selected women with similar energy to their mom. 

When I take a look around me at the auras that surround me I am intrigued by all the Projectors and Manifestors that are there! 3 Projectors and 2 Manifestors out of ten family members total and now the one family friend, too. This isn’t including all the Hermits (2/4’s), of which there are just as many! It is clear to me that this is no coincidence. I am surrounded by people who I can relate to and who can relate to me and energies that complement my own. Pretty awesome!

Intention Setting

I’ve been having some amazing wins with intention setting lately. I already wrote about my dentist anxiety issues and my success with that. Well, it happened again when I went in to get my permanent crown. I was relaxed and falling asleep in the dentist chair! And my Thanksgiving intention was also a success, even beyond what I had imagined!

Last night I spoke to my SIL who lives in Costa Rica, the one I stayed with for a month. She pointed out how proud she was of me for setting intentions and manifesting what I wanted. She reminded me that, while I was in Costa Rica, she and I worked on exactly that – intention. Specifically I brought back with me the decision that I would focus on what I wanted to feel and experience rather than on what I did not. When I think back on how I transformed my dentist and Thanksgiving experiences, I realize that is all I did – focus on what I wanted to feel. I have a tendency to focus on what I don’t want, which only makes it seem bigger and then brings it into my present experience. But I’ve been shifting that more and more lately, setting intentions to be in the present and pulling myself out of the past and future when I find my mind wandering. It is working and it is wonderful!

On Thanksgiving, when I decided to listen more and talk less, wonderful things happened. I became receptive to receiving from others, which I don’t normally do. I typically retract and retreat, which is a very lonely (alone) place to be. Because I was open to receiving, I discovered two Projectors in my life and recognized aspects of myself in my cousin, someone I’ve always struggled to connect with. As a Projector, my gift to others is that I make them feel seen, even other Projectors. I can only do this, though, when I follow my strategy and authority. My Not-Self says, “retract and retreat” but my strategy and authority say, “Listen” and “Be open to receive”. Duh.

Heart Healing Bliss

I’ve been focusing on clearing and opening my heart after recognizing a block there is limiting my access to the Bliss.

The first time, I was laying in bed doing a breathing meditation. I decided to focus on my heart and as I did, I saw a large Band-Aid. So, I peeled if off slowly and set the intention of healing the remainder of the wound from when my heart connection disconnected (end of 2016). When I peeled it off, I could see a raw spot, indicating a wound nearly healed, which was reassuring.

Afterward, I kept meditating and focused on my heart. It was not long after pulling off the Band-Aid that my chest began to feel warm. Then, I felt a pulling sensation in my chest that intensified until it began to feel uncomfortable. As soon as I noticed the discomfort, the feeling vanished.

When I stopped meditating, I rolled over onto my side and talked with my guidance for a while. I don’t recall what we talked about now but the overall feeling was that they would help me and I would be successful at opening my heart. Then, two very distinct bolts of “lightning” hit my chest area followed by a deep aching in my chest area that caused me to get slightly concerned because it lingered for so long.

More Emotional

Not long after I had a dream that indicated I should call my mom. In the dream I was awakened by an insistent knocking on my door. When I answered, my mom was standing there with my aunt who was sitting in a wheelchair. I rarely see my aunt in my dreams and since I know she is battling breast cancer, it felt like a warning.

When I called my mom she was in good spirits but when I asked her about my aunt, she began to open up to me about some past issues that were coming up for inspection for her. She got very emotional, crying and choking up, and causing me to get a bit choked up as well. 

The things she brought up had to do with her parents and some traumatic memories she had of them from her childhood. In one instance, she described a memory of how her mom bought her a new pair of glasses without telling her dad. When he came home and found out, he threw her mom across the room. In another memory, her mom was about to slice a piece of pie and said something passive aggressive about having to slice it just right, when her dad, furious at her mom, stuck his entire hand in the pie and put some on his plate. It destroyed the pie and traumatized both my mom and my aunt.

My mom explained how she was angry at her mother for much of her life and decided she would never let a man treat her like that. She told me she believes that’s why her marriages failed and why she struggled with relationships with men. She said she saw how she became like her father even though she was trying not to and hated herself for it.

We went on to talk about my sisters and her upset regarding them. I listened and gave her my viewpoint, telling her I understood and do not blame her for anything. I told her about how I handle and heal my own past trauma, advising her to not avoid the pain but move through it. Each of us has to focus on healing ourselves and, in doing so, we assist in helping others to heal.

As I wrote the above, it is clear to me that I missed a very clear message to myself. “The only way out, is through”, and this applies very much to me right now. 

That evening, when winding down for bed, I had some strong emotion arise out of thinking of what my mom told me about my grandfather. I didn’t know he was abusing like that! Of all the father figures in my life, I was the most connected to him. I saw his mean side but it never really bothered me too much. Yes, he did some things that could have caused me trauma, but, thankfully, they did not. My love for him always won out in the end. I could see his true self underneath. I really miss him!

I also thought of the trauma my mom and her sister are still trying to heal. It makes me sad and in that moment I could feel their pain. I remember thinking, “Their pain is my pain, their love is my love.” 

Pranayama Meditation

That night I decided to do a pranayama breathing meditation. It consisted of breathing in for five counts, holding the breath for five counts, and breathing out for five counts. I did this for seven minutes and it was quite challenging!

While meditating I could feel a wonderful heaviness spreading through my body. Even though the mediation was a breathing meditation, I felt guided to my heart center. This time, rather then seeing a Band-Aid, I saw a string hanging down. I grabbed onto it and looked up and saw a bright red balloon. With the joy of a small child, I let the balloon go and watched it disappear into the sky. I knew that it was symbolic of letting go, something I very much long to do in regards to the past hurt I have been carrying around with me.

I fell asleep without issue, feeling warm and comforted.

During the night I had dreams of a spiritual gathering. The group was very large! There were at least 50 of us. We encircled a large swimming pool, hands clasped, as we began our meeting. We discussed our unique spiritual gifts. A woman said to me, “You can hear people’s thoughts, correct?” I thought for a moment and then said, “Yes, I guess I can. Sometimes I hear them very distinctly, but most of the time it is muddled. And sometimes I don’t want to hear them! I could probably better control this gift if I practiced more.” 

There isn’t much more I recall from the dream but when I awoke I was very aware of a warmth in my heart chakra and energy moving through my body. It was mostly “energy hug” energy, which is when the energy originates in the center of my spine and spreads outward, washing me in a calm, soothing bliss. There were times the energy would linger in certain places, and when it did it felt very healing and pleasant. This was most obvious in my second chakra. I swear I could feel my entire uterus!

When the energy began to fade I said to my guidance, “I want to feel that (the energy) all the time.” The energy instantly returned and I sunk into it, feeling the love and reassurance of Spirit. I recalled being told recently, “What you want is there, you need only to reach for it” and from this point on a long conversation ensued with my guidance. Unfortunately, and as is typical, the exact messages I received are lost to me now. What I remember is that I was advised to wait for “the proposition”. This caught my attention because, as a Projector, I am suppose to “wait for the invitation”. So their use of the word “proposition” brought me out of my reverie momentarily. 

The entire time I communicated with my guidance, the blissful energy lingered. I was covered in it, waves upon waves of it spreading out from my core. The bliss has a way of pulling me deep into Knowing. I go so deep that the Knowing I received does not come as words but as feeling. This is why I so rarely remember any words. At the time of Remembering, there are “words”, at least it seems so, but they don’t remain, dissolving into only feelings by the time I come out of my reverie. 

When I began my day it was with appreciation instead of hesitation. I want to feel this every day. I want to be this every day. 

Poetry: Woman

She is no shrinking Juliet to any man’s Romeo

She is the sea

No compassionate caresses of pity from her will my plaintive whimpers yield

Test me. Break me. Shatter through my weakness and leave me shivering on your rocky shores

What man can know the moods of the sea?

I gaze into her depths of blue; her eyes of sparkling depths unknown

No man can rape her

Men who try find themselves raped in turn. Broken men upon her scorn

She is not my pool of rest and respite from the treachery of the world

She is here to test me, break me, smash my falsity and ignorance upon her beach of stark realities

Like a masochistic monk I whip myself with her relentless tides

Until I lie helpless and naked upon her shore

Oh keen young inquistor!

Break through my lies and deceits!

Pry from me my hidden innermost secrets and twisted thinking

Leave me exposed and helpless to run back to her seeking solace and finding only her contempt and scorn

Get up Coward; You weakling! Silence your lazy whimpering whines!

You seek a shoulder to cry on? Ha!

The germ, the disease, the gene of scoliosis lies within me.

Waiting.

Like my mother, will it break my spine?

Will it crush my organs?

Bend, cripple, shrink me to a sniveling, whimpering whining twisted wreck of a man as my years stretch into the dusty dismal future?

God let it come! I welcome its twisting dismemberment

Thank God that I have this

Woman

She will pity me not

Rather she will unravel my weakness all the more.

She will craft it, sculpt it, mold it into sterner stuff

And when my weak twisted broken body lies crumpled on the floor a putrid pool of rotting vomit

My soul will take flight to the blue clear vision of her

Rebirth!

And I will gaze with proud confident strength upon her beauty

Her straight angular crisp un-aging undying form

The embodiment of strength and scorn of weak

Oh Woman!

I crush my weakness and Glory in the strength which is yours

Your fierce changing tides test me, challenge me, urge me

To be a better

Man!

~Written by Unknown, Featured artwork by: Imre Szombathy

A String of Realizations

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment to get a crown and repair a filling. I wasn’t looking forward to it because my past experiences have not been the best. Mainly it is because no matter how much they numb me I somehow still feel pain. It isn’t horrible but enough that I tense up in anticipation of more. 

Rather than dwell on the upcoming appointment, I decided to put it out of my mind and focus on happy thoughts. The night before I remember thinking, “By this time tomorrow I will have a new crown” and the thought felt solid and reassuring. On the commute in that morning, I listened to calming music. What is cool is one song was about how this is all life is a dream. I took that message and reminded myself that I control my dreams and what happens is up to me. 

When I arrived the receptionist asked me if I wanted to get nitrous. I told her I thought it wasn’t a good idea because in the past it seemed only to make my anxiety worse. I’m not even sure where the idea came from the skip it this time, either, it just felt right.

As I sat waiting for the dentist to arrive and numb me, I thought about how I should be focusing on the fact that I would be getting a new tooth rather than on the pain that might accompany the procedure. I compared it to other times when I’ve considered a certain amount of pain “worth it”. I also kept thinking to myself, “It will be fine. There won’t be any issues.” 

When I got numbed I noticed something I had never noticed before. The tooth that was to be worked on was numb all the way up through the root. I could feel it distinctly. I commented to the dentist that I didn’t recall ever feeling it like that in the past. 

The moment the drill hit my tooth I tensed up and began to feel my heart pounding in my chest. I focused on breathing and relaxing. Moments later, when it was clear there would be no pain, I relaxed.

At one point I was acutely aware of the drill on my tooth and knew it was not a good idea to focus on it like I was. So I focused on my breath and wiggled my toes a bit. I didn’t focus on the drilling again after that.

In the two hours that I was there I didn’t feel even a niggle of pain. Nada. In fact, at the end I was so relaxed I was near sleep! That’s never happened to me at the dentist!

When I got home I marveled at how seamlessly the dentist visit had gone. I knew I had created the experience and it was a wonderful feeling. 

Dreams Match Reality

Recently I had a realization that I believe contributed to my dentist experience. I woke up a couple of days ago thinking about how I prefer my dreams to my waking reality. I thought, “It shouldn’t be that way. The two realities should support one another. My goal should be to merge my dream reality with physical reality, not on how to avoid the physical reality altogether.” It was clear that my two realities were out of sync. In general, I feel free and unencumbered during dreamtime while I feel trapped and stifled in my waking reality.  

With this in mind I wondered, “How do I make my waking reality experience match my dream experience?”

I didn’t dwell on the how for very long. Some memories came to me of certain dream experiences that I would like to have manifest in this reality, but ultimately it felt like the experiences themselves were not the answer. 

It’s All About Intention

After my dental experience, it became very clear to me that the way to bring the two realities into balance is to set an intention and keep focusing on that intention. With my dental experience, I intended to have a pain-free experience and kept focusing on what I wanted, not what I did not want. 

Knowing this is the route I need to take, I am now left wondering what intention to set each day. Most days I do not have much of anything going on. Should I just set the intention to have a “good day”? Or should it be more like setting the intention to go with the flow of life?

Ultimately, I think my intention should be about how I want to feel more than trying to visualize specific movements or moments.

What is a challenge for me at times is not getting caught up in thoughts that can take me down not-so-nice rabbit holes. For example, last night as I was settling down to sleep, thoughts about my sister came to mind. They were worries mostly and thoughts about my failure to help. I felt an inner tug to focus on sending love rather than to focus on my thoughts. When I did this, the thoughts vanished and I recognized how simple and effective a solution it was.

Still, later in the evening, bored and a bit restless, I began to feel my thoughts pulling me in directions I didn’t want to go. So, I got up out of bed and did some yoga, focusing on breathing and gratitude, feeling into my body and solidifying my connection to it. I remember thinking, “What do I want to create?” My answer was: Bliss.

Over the past few years I’ve grown very out of practice with intention setting both in my dreams and waking reality. I use to be very good at controlling my thoughts and emotions during dreamtime. Now I just find myself pulled along in my dreams, doing seemingly random things. If I do become lucid it isn’t for long and there remains a kind of dullness to my perceptions. Funny enough, my waking reality isn’t much different. Numbed perceptions for the most part and feeling pulled along by life.

Pay Attention to Your Dreams

Recently there has been a promising shift in my dreamtime experiences. For example, while OOB I said to myself, “I am awareness.” I then directed the experience a bit more while also listening to my guidance and following their suggestions. 

The key now is to make similar progress in my waking reality. 

What’s important to remember is that past experiences are not necessarily indicative of how present and future ones will unfold. I am learning new material now. It is about putting what I’ve learned to practice and I’ve not been doing a very good job. All my dreams of being in school, repeating classes, missing assignments and skipping school are pointing to that fact. I had one last night, in fact, where I had skipped too many classes (30 days) and was being reprimanded. lol

It is clear to me that my preference has been to wallow in past upsets or failures over pushing forward into new, uncharted territory. It can be difficult to let go of the past, especially those parts involving strong emotionally charged experiences. I have a tendency to pluck from that long dead “tree” the remaining remnants of its delicious fruit but it just doesn’t taste the same anymore. It is dying just like the tree did.

It is time to cultivate something new; thus the dreams of gardening and planting seeds in rich, black soil.

Right now I’m not really able to see anything ahead except blackness. Rather than despair over this fact as I have in the past, I prefer to think of the blackness as a clean slate ready for painting. All I know is how I wish to feel and how I want that feeling to grow and remain a constant in my life. So, that feeling will be my paint and I will prep the canvas with it. The picture will eventually emerge, just like my 52 Light Code Oracle paintings did. 

And while a part of me wants to linger on my failure to recognize all of the above while wandering about seemingly aimlessly in my waking life, another part recognizes that it was all purposeful and part of my own, individual process of healing and acceptance. Because, in the end, life really isn’t about the destination but the journey.