I so strongly relate to this, Camilla. I’ve only recently — at (already) 60 — come to embrace my purpose of being a conduit for people and experiences. A sacred bridge, if you will. Signed, Bridge
And I applaud your capacity as a sacred bridge🙌 I was delighted to read that you and Megan Okkerse have connected through writing and she’s in Costa Rica now thanks to you - I took Megan's yoga class while we were studying for an MFA, and I’ve always loved her writing❤️🙏🏼🕊
Thank you for an interesting post. I like reading well-written accounts of people's journeys in their search for meaning and purpose in life, for growth in consciousness. I also quit my job (engineer turned academic) at the age of 44, though that was back in 2000. I wanted to do somethig more interesting with my life - and also wanted to discover if their was anything truly original in me. I was driven by Logon:70 in the Gospel of Thomas "If you bring forth that which is within you, it will give you life. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, it will kill you". A stark choice.
I'm a bit equivocal about finding an "it" in life, a "thing-in-life", because 'vocation' is easily squashed into 'career'; these are two very different animals. Those who manage to bring the two together are greatly blessed. Some 'vocations' are perhaps to become truly satisfied with the daily journey, and let go of goal-achievement. Hmmm, not easy.
Anyway I wish you all the best with you book-writing project. I'm sure it needs to be 'brought forth' to the world like I feel deep need to bring forth creative/artistic projects - and then one has to "let the right thing do itself".
Hi Joshua, thank you for reading, for your complement, and for your thoughtful response.
Yes, I've also read what you quote above, "If you bring forth that which is within you, it will give you life. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, it will kill you." And yes, it feels a bit stark to me too. If you may be interested in reading another sacred text about this subject - if you're a long-time reader of this Substack, you may have read a post where I reference the ancient Hindu sacred text, The Bhagavad Gita. I took a deep dive with the Gita during the 2-year program of studying world religions, and I found the Gita to be deeply enlightening. I wrote a bit about it here: https://camillasanderson.substack.com/p/chapter-15-the-bhagavad-gita-new
And yes, I agree - I don't feel that there is so much of an "it" but a continual fine-tuning of what your soul may want to express through you. And what I've come to with writing is that the most important aspect for me, is to enjoy the process - even to enjoy whatever challenging aspects may arise, as the challenges represent opportunities for the evolution of my consciousness. This way, I remain detached from outcomes, and for me this is "living my dharma" which I write about in Chapter 15, (link above.) I share this not to be a know-it-all, or to take an egoic position of feeling superior, but because all of this inner work I have done has significantly lessened my own suffering, and I feel passionate about sharing anything to do with the evolution of human consciousness♥️🙏🕊️
Thank you for the reply. I'm not a long-term reader on Substack; I joined in December last year and post one poem per fortnight, with the odd extra poem on a significant date. I've never read The Bhagavad Gita, or any commentary on it, so I am interested to check out your link; thank you.
(My own journey includes being a boarding-school and evangelical christianity survivor, and being brought up in the deep shadow of two world wars - bit heavy that, sorry). I feel even at my age, I am only just getting to the starting-grid of life, which means, I guess, that even after working at it for 30+ years I feel I am only just getting to heal both intergenerational and childhood trauma. I'm still optimistic about having a blesséd future free of stuckness and fear :)
Wow! "a boarding-school and evangelical christianity survivor, and being brought up in the deep shadow of two world wars" Kudos to you for embracing your creativity after surviving all of that!!! No need to apologize.
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out, and I also googled your name and Geodesic domes and came across some beautiful YouTubes.
As a child I was continually told I was too sensitive. For my parents, any kid would be too sensitive. Kids should be seen but not heard. That is the time I grew up in. But the point here is I too am HSP. I have a high degree of feeling the energies within the moment, empathically knowing what is going on. And I learned early to hide it away, cover it up with various means. Once I became aware of this in my early 20's, it has been a journey of uncovering. A lot of the unraveling is not so much around my parents as it is the patriarchal and toxic religious messages that we live with. The waters we don't even know we are swimming in. In my view, there is this beauty within HSP that is highly associated with the divine feminine. Sensitivity is a super power. My sense is that fear of Feminine Sensitivity is partially what created this mess we see today.
YES! I couldn't agree more: "My sense is that fear of Feminine Sensitivity is partially what created this mess we see today." Thanks for reading and responding Julie❤️🙏🕊️
I so strongly relate to this, Camilla. I’ve only recently — at (already) 60 — come to embrace my purpose of being a conduit for people and experiences. A sacred bridge, if you will. Signed, Bridge
And I applaud your capacity as a sacred bridge🙌 I was delighted to read that you and Megan Okkerse have connected through writing and she’s in Costa Rica now thanks to you - I took Megan's yoga class while we were studying for an MFA, and I’ve always loved her writing❤️🙏🏼🕊
Thank you for an interesting post. I like reading well-written accounts of people's journeys in their search for meaning and purpose in life, for growth in consciousness. I also quit my job (engineer turned academic) at the age of 44, though that was back in 2000. I wanted to do somethig more interesting with my life - and also wanted to discover if their was anything truly original in me. I was driven by Logon:70 in the Gospel of Thomas "If you bring forth that which is within you, it will give you life. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, it will kill you". A stark choice.
I'm a bit equivocal about finding an "it" in life, a "thing-in-life", because 'vocation' is easily squashed into 'career'; these are two very different animals. Those who manage to bring the two together are greatly blessed. Some 'vocations' are perhaps to become truly satisfied with the daily journey, and let go of goal-achievement. Hmmm, not easy.
Anyway I wish you all the best with you book-writing project. I'm sure it needs to be 'brought forth' to the world like I feel deep need to bring forth creative/artistic projects - and then one has to "let the right thing do itself".
Hi Joshua, thank you for reading, for your complement, and for your thoughtful response.
Yes, I've also read what you quote above, "If you bring forth that which is within you, it will give you life. If you do not bring forth that which is within you, it will kill you." And yes, it feels a bit stark to me too. If you may be interested in reading another sacred text about this subject - if you're a long-time reader of this Substack, you may have read a post where I reference the ancient Hindu sacred text, The Bhagavad Gita. I took a deep dive with the Gita during the 2-year program of studying world religions, and I found the Gita to be deeply enlightening. I wrote a bit about it here: https://camillasanderson.substack.com/p/chapter-15-the-bhagavad-gita-new
And yes, I agree - I don't feel that there is so much of an "it" but a continual fine-tuning of what your soul may want to express through you. And what I've come to with writing is that the most important aspect for me, is to enjoy the process - even to enjoy whatever challenging aspects may arise, as the challenges represent opportunities for the evolution of my consciousness. This way, I remain detached from outcomes, and for me this is "living my dharma" which I write about in Chapter 15, (link above.) I share this not to be a know-it-all, or to take an egoic position of feeling superior, but because all of this inner work I have done has significantly lessened my own suffering, and I feel passionate about sharing anything to do with the evolution of human consciousness♥️🙏🕊️
Thank you for the reply. I'm not a long-term reader on Substack; I joined in December last year and post one poem per fortnight, with the odd extra poem on a significant date. I've never read The Bhagavad Gita, or any commentary on it, so I am interested to check out your link; thank you.
(My own journey includes being a boarding-school and evangelical christianity survivor, and being brought up in the deep shadow of two world wars - bit heavy that, sorry). I feel even at my age, I am only just getting to the starting-grid of life, which means, I guess, that even after working at it for 30+ years I feel I am only just getting to heal both intergenerational and childhood trauma. I'm still optimistic about having a blesséd future free of stuckness and fear :)
My otherwise take on 'The Journey' you can find on a Substack Interview with Unbekoming here: https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/the-journey (please no pressure to read).
... and now to your link ... 🙏
Wow! "a boarding-school and evangelical christianity survivor, and being brought up in the deep shadow of two world wars" Kudos to you for embracing your creativity after surviving all of that!!! No need to apologize.
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out, and I also googled your name and Geodesic domes and came across some beautiful YouTubes.
The HSP book changed my life too, Camilla. I’ve been thinking about ‘not clinging’ this week and your post felt synchronistic. Thank you!
I'm always happy to hear of synchronicity Priya🥰 Thanks for reading and responding❤️🙏🕊️
Three cheers to NOT normal!! Xo
😁❤️🙏🕊️
As a child I was continually told I was too sensitive. For my parents, any kid would be too sensitive. Kids should be seen but not heard. That is the time I grew up in. But the point here is I too am HSP. I have a high degree of feeling the energies within the moment, empathically knowing what is going on. And I learned early to hide it away, cover it up with various means. Once I became aware of this in my early 20's, it has been a journey of uncovering. A lot of the unraveling is not so much around my parents as it is the patriarchal and toxic religious messages that we live with. The waters we don't even know we are swimming in. In my view, there is this beauty within HSP that is highly associated with the divine feminine. Sensitivity is a super power. My sense is that fear of Feminine Sensitivity is partially what created this mess we see today.
YES! I couldn't agree more: "My sense is that fear of Feminine Sensitivity is partially what created this mess we see today." Thanks for reading and responding Julie❤️🙏🕊️
I remember when I first started to realise I wasn’t ‘normal’ (whatever that means).
At first I didn’t like it and I really resisted it, desperately trying to fight against it to fit in.
By nowadays, after a lot of fucking up and heartache trying to be different than what I am, I’m finally starting to embrace (and enjoy) my weirdness.
Thank you Camilla. I really related to and enjoyed this piece :)
once again I have an ear-to-ear grin Michael😁
it's so ironic isn't it, that we try so hard to 'fit in,' when there's so much freedom in being who we are.
The older I get the more i feel like the purpose of life is to become expert at being more fully who you are♥️🙏🕊️
YES! I love that —
“i feel like the purpose of life is to become expert at being more fully who you are.”
I was saying something similar to my friend the other day.
And how lucky, I mean, what a wonderful purpose.
Thanks Camilla :)