This morning I have an experience of projection, thoughts that look real, awareness and insight that is dizzying in both the intensity and speed through which it moves through me.
In one moment, I am sickened by the patterns from my past that seem to be repeating.
Narcissists, liars, false promises, my own unwillingness to be aware.
Thoughts come with feelings of jealousy, suspicion, inadequacy and fear.
And then, just as suddenly, as I sit with these things and gently question them — with some loving assistance from a dear friend — they evaporate.
In one moment my world goes from looking like a threatening storm of manipulation to joyful acceptance.
In a single moment everything changes.
I go downstairs, still marveling over this perspective shift.
My roommate, Elena, playing with her 20 month-old son, says to me, “Have you ever heard of ‘leaps?’”
She explains…
When a baby is learning, it goes through a series of something called “leaps.”
The baby experiences rapid changes in development as its brain grows. Scientists have identified eight “leaps” the baby goes through in the first year.
They must learn to distinguish:
- Sensations
- Patterns
- Transitions
- Events
- Relationships
- Categories
- Sequences
- Programs
With each “leap” the baby’s entire world view changes.
Imagine going from seeing everything as one big “soup” to differentiating objects, sounds and events. The profound level of change is astounding!
The process can be quite disorienting for the baby as their world shifts and they find themselves each time in an entirely new universe.
As a result, babies get inconsolably fussy. Doctors, and tuned in parents, can actually predict periods of “fussiness” during which the baby’s brain is growing, learning and integrating this new world.
Elena explains what a relief knowing this has been as a parent.
When she thinks something is wrong with Henry because he is fussing and impossible to appease, she starts fussing, too! The entire family is disrupted.
Now, she recognizes that he is simply in a “leap.” His brain is struggling to make sense of this new learning.
There’s nothing wrong. In fact, this is a sign of his healthy development.
She can relax, knowing that this will pass as he moves into the next leap.
Woah.
I’m wondering…
What if an evolving human never stops experiencing these “leaps?”
And each time we move into a new awareness of what’s possible, there is a seismic disruption of our entire world view?
It makes sense that this would be disorienting.
It makes sense that feelings of frustration, confusion and discontent without an apparent cause would arise.
I wonder if this happened to me? This morning?
Without needing this to be true, the acceptance of whatever experience as part of the natural way of things brings such relief.
It’s okay to be experiencing whatever it is that I’m experiencing.
It’s okay to be wherever you are.
You’re taking a leap into something new, and everything is just as it’s meant to be.
Yours in creative play,
Steph
P.S. Would you like to talk to me one-on-one?
Tell me more about yourself here and we’ll set up a time for a Wild Creation session to explore the possibilities.
