Slay the 3 Dragons at the Doors of Wisdom!

Have you ever been on a Vision Quest? Recently I traveled to Arizona for my Spirit Walk and Vision Quest, in Aravaipa Canyon, south east of Phoenix. When you're on a vision quest you're all alone. It's a school like no other; there are no classrooms, no books, and no teachers at the front of the room leading the lessons. It's just you and nature. But there is still plenty of teaching going on. How can that be? Where is the teaching coming from and how are the lessons learned?

A vision quest takes you out of your normal environment, removing you from all normal responsibilities and habitual cues (aka "distractions"). Very often you're fasting, so even the distractions of eating and digesting are removed. In nature, in silence, with no distractions for an extended period of time, your senses become heightened. This helps facilitate an altered state of awareness that isn't normally accessed. In this state of awareness a space is made where you experience thoughts you don't normally have; these types of thoughts we typically call insights, wisdom, and guidance.

Wisdom is rare and cherished because it comes from a place not normally accessed by most people in day-to-day living. We all typically know it when we hear it, but we're not always able to produce it for ourselves. Why is that? What stops the average person from being a truly wise and insightful person? What is it about wisdom that makes it so hard to come by?

The answer: Three Dragons. To access true wisdom, insight, and guidance you must navigate past three dragons on your journey. Each of these dragons is unique and formidable and each has won more battles than it's lost. These block your entrance into the realms of wisdom inherent in your mind, heart, and soul.

In his book Theory U - Leading from the Future as it Emerges, author Otto Scharmer distinguishes these dragons as the Voice of Judgment (VOJ), Voice of Cynicism (VOC), and the Voice of Fear (VOF). To access true wisdom you must do battle with each of these three dragons, or voices, and emerge victorious.

To access the creativity and wisdom available in your mind you must overcome the Voice of Judgment. This is that voice most of us are very familiar with. You know the one, the one that says "That's a stupid idea." Or, "Who do you think you are?" Or, "Play it safe and keep your head down beneath the mow line." These voices of judgment are most often automatic and largely subconscious, habitual, response patterns to anything outside the norm. Therefore, to access anything OUTSIDE the norm (like wisdom) we must be aware of this dragon and be prepared to do battle.

To access the rich depth of wisdom and joy-filled love and connectivity available in your heart, you must overcome the Voice of Cynicism. This is the voice that keeps you "safely" separate from others and the world, putting everything and everyone at arm's length. This voice is afraid to be vulnerable and sees vulnerability as a direct threat to survival. This voice says "Oh no, we already tried that before and we got hurt, remember? We ain't going there again." Or worse, "You can't trust anyone," "It's better to hurt others before they hurt you," and the infamous "It's a dog-eat-dog world out there." This voice, this dragon, will keep you separate, alone, and bitter.

And finally, to access your deepest wisdom and guidance, the wisdom and guidance of your soul, you must overcome the Voice of Fear. While the voices of judgment and cynicism are formidable, they can't hold a candle to the voice of fear. This is the ultimate dragon at the gate that goes right to your core animalistic instincts for survival. This voice strives to maintain the status quo and holds onto what you already have and know. Doing battle with this voice, this dragon, can feel like death itself. All of your deepest fears can become activated: "I'll be broke and homeless," "I'll be rejected and ridiculed," "I'll be all alone." Because some of your most powerful wisdom and insights reside in your soul, it of course has the biggest dragon to slay.

I bet you can recognize each of these voices and dragons in you. I'm sure you've done battle with each of them at some point in your life. Did you win? Or did they win? The truth is, we win some and we lose some. But the most wise, authentic, inspired and fulfilling life is marked by simply being aware and being willing to engage these battles. Whether you win or lose is not so much the point. But did you engage whole-heartedly and honorably?

These "battles" are only with ourselves. As one of my favorite trainers, T. Harv Eker has said "A warrior is one who conquers oneself." Your best "weapons" for these types of "battles" are awareness, courage, and compassion. First, be aware that these dragons, these voices will be on your path. Just being aware is half the battle itself! Second, have the courage to face them and engage them. Don't back down; know that HOW you engage is more important than winning. And third, have compassion for not only yourself, but have compassion for these aspects of yourself; have compassion for these dragons and voices. Ultimately they are far more afraid than you are - you need to step up and show them the way out of their suffering and smallness.

All this is not to say that sometimes these voices SHOULD be listened to. They really are there to protect us. From their limited perspective they think they are helping and protecting us. However, more often than not, they are way overprotective. Knowing when to listen and when to ignore is part of a discernment you can develop over time. As you get to know your voices and dragons they become more and more familiar, making them a lot easier to sort out and move on through and beyond.

Try this:

You can raise your awareness, as the first important step to winning the battle with the dragons at your gate. Take out a piece of paper, divide it into three sections and label the first section Voice of Judgment, the second section Voice of Cynicism, and the third section Voice of Fear.

Take a deep breath and ask yourself "What are some automatic judgments I often make that keep me safe and small?" And write down whatever comes up. Keep asking yourself that question until the answers stop coming. Then do the same process asking, "In what ways am I cynical and keeping everyone and everything at arms distance, staying separate and alone?" And finally ask yourself, "What are my biggest fears stopping me from truly being who I am and doing what I came here to do?"

Just asking yourself these questions and listening to yourself is an act of wisdom that will move you closer to your mojo!

Roger Kenneth Marsh is a Spiritual Life Coach & creator of the Major Good Mojo System. He has an engineering degree, MBA, is a Certified Life Coach, HeartMath? Provider, and Passion Test? Facilitator. Get his book "NexGen Human" on Amazon.com, and FREE CD "3 Keys to Major Good Mojo" at http://www.majorgoodmojo.com/free-cd

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/slay-the-3-dragons-at-the-doors-of-wisdom--284550

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