“The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back”
– Ram Dass
I am sure we can all think of an event or times in our lives where we followed our heart over our head, belief and love over fear. Sometimes when we overthink things we can talk ourselves out of doing something, even when our heart is jumping out of our chest to do it. Then, other times you don’t think twice and follow your heart. How do you feel? What’s the difference? Are there any regrets?
I am a firm believer in following my heart, trusting in my gut. When it is something I truly believe in, whether it has worked out or not, I get to say I have no regrets. Majority of times it has surpassed my vision. With many of my patients this discussion comes up in numerous ways and I feel is so relevant in terms of fertility, pregnancy, birth and post-natal care where belief versus fear time and time again.
The importance of letting go of this fear and instead, looking at what you truly feel in your heart and believing in yourself. It comes up for all of us. As it is usually ourselves, that is the biggest obstacle in achieving our goals and vision. When we truly look at the the two sides, which is more beneficial in our lives?
When you are fearful of something, you can let it take over. With this usually comes other emotions and/or physical symptoms such as anxiety/panic, irritation, frustration, anger, criticism, depression.
On the other hand, when we believe, you open yourself up to more joy, love, happiness, strength, self-worth, you open to receiving. Fertility is all about receiving. The eggs waits patiently to receive to sperm. Your womb awaits the arrival of a beautiful embryo to nurture and love. In pregnancy, it’s the preparation and journey through birth.
I am not saying it’s always beautiful when you choose belief over fear. There may still be a mix of highs and lows. There can heartache but it is belief that keeps you getting back up, keeps you going to feel love, happiness, joy. All the best feelings you can imagine, opening yourself up to receiving more, to receiving miracles.
Drawing on my own personal experience, I think back to when I started surfing about 2 years ago. It’s something I talked about doing for quite some time before. What you don’t know is that I had such a fear of the sea. My poor husband, Paddy, has experienced my panic and fear over the years. As he grew up beside the sea, did swimming lessons and water safety at the local beach, learned to respect the sea, what to watch out for. He was the perfect person to encourage and calm me when I needed it. I knew it was something I could overcome and I believed in myself.
So off we went for our first lesson with the lovely guys in Narosa, Dunfanaghy. I didn’t tell the instructor of my fear as I was staying focused and believing I could do this. I have to admit it was a mix of fun, fear, panic, sheer excitement and adrenaline.
I don’t know if the instructor realised the panic in my head, what am I doing here? Am I out of my depth? Is this safe? I am not a strong enough swimmer! Or when a wave totally cleaned me out and it felt like I was in a washing machine – how would I breath? Will I get to the top quick enough? I felt like getting out of the water and leaving it there. Anxiety which I hadn’t felt in years creeped in. But I continued, I told myself I had nothing to fear. I was safe. I used my yoga breathing to help me focus and calm. I kept believing in myself and trusting in my ability to learn this new skill. My heart was enjoying it. I felt so proud of myself for just staying in the water that day, I couldn’t believe the time when we came out.
It took several attempts of getting back into the sea, practising, breathing to let go of the fear. Slowly, I began to feel more comfortable in the water. I enjoyed surfing, getting in to the fresh sea water and I wasn’t going to do any crazy stunts.
What I’ve learned is that surfing as made me a stronger person. I love surfing, I don’t think twice about getting in the water now. It challenged me to look at why I was fearful of the sea and realise it was my parents fear as both had lost family members in drowning accidents. It took time and patience to let go of this fear and the more I educated myself about the sea, how to read it, the more confident I am in the water.
I could have just sat on the shore allowing fear to eat away at me or given up at the first hurdle, but I am glad I didn’t. I have learned so much and gained tonnes of amazing days out from surfing and being in the sea – I couldn’t imagine my life without it.
Don’t let fear take over – work through it, what is holding you back. Focus on the what you truly believe in, the positive side of whatever situation and put your energy into working towards your goal.
Believe in yourself, you never know what might happen.
Noeleenxxx
