Bridge Beliefs

I'm back to check-in after my 24 hours of self-celebration (see the post below for the first part on this). It was an interesting journey, and one that ended with perhaps one of the most healing experiences I've had in a long time.

As the day went on, things got a lot easier, and I began to really embrace the idea of celebrating EVERYTHING. The great thing was it got me to remember that things I do that seem mundane are in fact totally awesome and worthy of a pat on the back. For example, I gave myself three silent cheers for finishing a guided meditation in a course I'm doing. When I'd first started meditating I was really excited for myself and the courage and self-discipline it took to try this new thing. I used to feel such a sense of completion and accomplishment for the smallest thing, like sitting quietly and breathing for a few minutes. Once meditation became a regular part of my life I stopped feeling like it was anything special I was doing. I'd forgotten that the 1,000th time meditating is as worthy of praise as the first. It shows a sincere commitment to something, and an ability to grow with something as I was ready to go to the next threshold. So when I took a moment after the meditation to say, "Great job, Melissa!" it felt genuine and like something I would benefit from doing more often.

It was also the same when I went running. Normally I would think things like, "I could have run farther," or, "well, I've got to go running now". But yesterday I celebrated my commitment to my health, to my motivation and to the fact that I got out and ran, even though I was tired.

This morning I discovered this really fun website called Write a Letter to Your Future Self. This sounded like a good way to celebrate where I'm at now, and look at it in a new way. So I wrote a letter to myself from my future me, giving me accolades and praise for the journey I've been on and each and every step I take.

As my day of celebration ended I was listening to music and relaxing. I have to say, I felt the most calm and relaxed I have in a long time. I then had this sudden urge to write down my blocks, and then get clear about the bridge beliefs that would get me through them. A bridge belief is something that connects what holds you back to what you want. Here's an example:

• Desire: To be a famous actress
• Block: If I'm famous my friends will only care about me for my money. I'll be expected to pay for everything, and I won't enjoy my relationships anymore. Everyone say it's lonely at the top. It's best if I hold myself back, subconsciously or consciously, doesn't matter, because I don't want to be alone, and I certainly don't want to became estranged from all the people I love.
• Bridge belief: If I have a lot of money from my fame I can use it for charities I really believe in. Some people might want to take advantage of my wealth, but there's plenty of famous people who have beautiful and fulfilling relationships, no matter how rich and famous they become. Some are with other celebrities, and some are with friends who stuck with them through thick and thin. So some people might fall away, but the ones who matter will stay, and where people left my life, amazing, new people will fill in. People who are passionate about what I am, and who are living inspired and daring lives also!

I had a lot of these kinds of blocks, and the more I wrote the more the deep ones surfaced. I felt safe doing this because after my day of celebration, I knew these were only beliefs. I knew I had a lot of good stuff going on, and no matter what I wrote or I saw about myself, I would have plenty to celebrate and feel good about after. Writing down your blocks and then looking for the bridge belief (and there is always, always a bridge) can be an incredibly healing thing to do. It usually gives a feeling of relief as you no long have to wrestle between the desire and the fear. Here's one of my own that helped me get a lot of clarity on what I'm trying to do that I personally wrestle with:

• Desire: To feel good about all parts of my writing journey, and to feel they are all welcome and equally important parts of my life.
• Block: No one will understand why I create guided meditations and screenplays. Those are two different worlds full of different types of people. One is spiritual, the other is grounded. I must seem confused and like I lack direction.
• Bridge belief: They are in fact both script writing, as I do write an actual script for my meditations. They are also both about going on a journey. A screenplay gives people a journey to watch, it's an outward experience. A meditation is an inner journey, and more personal. Both are creative projects and both are spiritual. Creative writing is a very divine experience for me, and although I am writing a story, I am still feeling something beyond me, feeling that high energy feeling that makes the experience feel so special. And they are both grounded, because my guided meditations are also my business. I experience many things that are shared by all people who have an online business.

So my blocks and bridge beliefs might have seemed really obvious to you. You might have already felt both were divinely inspired acts, both were spiritual, and both had grounded elements. That can be the funny thing about this, is that as soon as you write the whole thing you think, "Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It's so obvious I don't know how I didn't see it!" If you're feeling up to it, try getting down some blocks and bridge beliefs yourself. I would highly encourage you to write this out with pen and paper, if you can. It's been proven that writing, rather than typing, gets your brain thinking in different ways. You have to concentrate more as you're not just pushing buttons, but forming the letters. You will feel more connected to what you're doing, really tune out all else, and also engage your creative mind (through the writing process), which will bring up all kinds of fresh insights for your bridge beliefs.