"We´re all just walking each other home."
— Ram Dass
I am originally from a little village 30 km away from pilgrim destination Santiago de Compostela located in the Spanish Northern region of Galicia, by the Atlantic Ocean. There is a common practice I grew up with that consisted of making what I recently termed the "if-deals of salvation": "If I pass this exam, I will light a candle"; "If I get the job, I will go to church". Perhaps this practice is universal. Despite not holding a specific spiritual mindset up to that point, I rushed to close my "if-deals" as if they were urgent tasks on my pretty empty to-do list of alternatives, when neuroplasticity was not even part of my vocabulary. "If I get well, I will walk the "Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James)". It was a fear-based way of thinking I was absolutely unaware of.
Throughout my DNRS retraining I rarely thought of "if-deals", so it never occurred to me to close a new one. It was like the concept had been pruned away from my neurological landscape, where lush vegetation was growing and conquering brain terrain newly fertilized by Love. Eventually, there was no space left for fear. Once I reached this blissful state of grace, no wonder the Universe joined forces with my subconscious mind and orchestrated a new version of the pilgrimage: a Road Trip Home.
The prospect of driving solo almost 1,300 miles through Germany, France and Spain was an endeavor that appeared in the right space-time sequence. A postcard I once got from a dear friend said: "She believed she could, so she did". This became literal to me. And I also had "true believers" as I like to call them after watching The Christmas Chronicles 2. First on the list, myself. I finished the first stage of my pilgrimage home in two days, with a delightful stop for the night. Even the hotel was perfect. I was on my own, but the deeper truth is that I was not. I was also powered by the energy of the DNRS Community, creating magic on the Way.
It is often said that you don't learn from successes. The deeper truth is that you can. In fact, I think that when coming from a place of love, successes act like a magnet for even bigger successes. While on the road, I listened to the elevating guitar chords of Lindsay Buckingham, and the husky voice of Stevie Nicks on the Fleetwood Mac album Say You Will. Through this, my brain went beyond its optimal state to reach a supernormal realm. Not only did their songs erase any signs of nighttime sleepiness, they also ignite my brain and invigorated my body at the speed of light. I learnt that an empowered central nervous system is like Mother Earth: given the chance, it evolves to thrive stronger than ever.
Once home in Galicia, I asked myself what is home? Not that the question hadn't come to my mind before, but now I could research on the ground. The place(s) we belong to, our true selves, even people: I connect with all these different definitions. My deeper truth on this emerged when visiting one of my favorite beaches at sunset. When looking at the dreamy sky, I realized what is truly my Home: True Presence. My inner flowing light mingling with the sun, and my being in oneness with All. I felt free. It was a sweet pilgrim destination.
Photo taken by me on the beach of a little town called Rianxo
Maya Angelou wrote: "You are only free when you realize you belong no place - You belong every place - No place at all. The price is high, the reward is great".
I choose to belong to Every Place. I choose True Presence.
Merry Christmas. Frohe Weihnachten. Joyeux Noël. Feliz Navidad.
The Natural Brain: Focused in the Healing Power of the Natural World and (Re-)discovering Nature with New Eyes
Next Edition: January
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