Say goodbye to the yellow brick road

I recently watched a truly mind-bending conversation between Deepak Chopra and cognitive scientist Dr. Don Hoffman, author of The Case Against Reality. Part science, part spirituality, they explored the nature of consciousness and reality. All matter in the world, they explained, is just a massive web of vibrating energy that’s invisible to our naked eyes. Nothing—from humans to rocks—is solid or ‘real’ until we focus our conscious awareness upon it. If that’s the case, I wondered, why do we not choose to create a dream life? Why do we remain stuck in unhappy situations even when wish to change? Why do we cling to old ways of resolving conflict or solving problems rather than wielding this secret superpower within? It’s like having a pair of ruby slippers but choosing to board a Greyhound bus to Kansas. Do we just not know there’s another way? There is. We can say goodbye to the yellow brick road and click our heels instead.

How we get stuck

Of course, if we all possess this power, it seems like we’d end up creating a battle of the biggest, best and most bad ass ruby slippers, right? Isn’t that what we see in the world today — greed, competition, domination? Is anyone really winning?

Depends on how we define winning. In our old ways of resolving conflict, winning means dominating. Someone wins and someone loses. End of story. But in the metaphysical world, we’re a big, connected blob of energy. What we do to one, we do to all, including ourselves.

As Brene Brown says, humans are hard wired for connection—meaning we live and breathe for deep, authentic relationships. Yet, despite this pearl of wisdom, many of us stay locked in battles with others for years, even decades. We’re so attached to our version of truth, being right, or winning, we just can’t let go, blocking ourselves from what we desire most — connection.

When we can’t let go, we’re under the spell of our lizard brain. This primitive part of the brain, called the basal ganglia, is all about survival. The lizard is our oldest, most reliable friend when we’re facing real danger, like getting swallowed by a lion. But when we’re looking for creative conflict resolution and connection with other human beings, it’s about as helpful as a flying monkey.

Consulting our inner coach

Another concept from physics is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Which means, the harder we push to win, the harder others push back. Imagine two defensive linemen locking helmets on the football field. This could go on for days if the coach didn’t call a time out to reassess the game plan.

That’s what we’re like when we’re in lizard brain — regurgitating our grievances, lamenting about the past, obsessing over what should or shouldn’t be, or blaming others. Admittedly, it can feel good sometimes — like succumbing to the lure of a bed of poppies where we don’t actually have to do anything that moves us forward.

But if we desire something different in our lives, we need to kick start our brain’s coach, the cortex. This is the higher part of our brain that controls thinking, creativity, and planning among other higher human traits. In other words, wake up from the laziness of lizard brain and choose to create more consciously.

There’s no place like home

How did Dorothy wake up? With Glinda’s guidance, she closed her eyes, clicked her heels three times, and repeated a very famous mantra, ‘there’s no place like home.’

As Dorothy focused her awareness inward, she let go of the external solution she’d fixated upon — the Great and Powerful Oz — and tapped into a higher source of wisdom. As we all know, that’s when she finds her way home and discovers that the yellow brick road of Oz was all a dream, not reality.

To find a different approach to age-old conflicts or blocks in our lives, we also need to detach from reality, or the concrete ‘truth’ of what we’re experiencing. Then venture inside where higher wisdom can inspire and enlighten us.

In other words, clicking our ruby slippers to find our way home — the place in our hearts where we find love, connection, and higher purpose.

If you build it, they will come

Luckily, we don’t need ruby slippers to journey inside. A journal, a walk in nature, a paint brush, a musical instrument, or any instrument of creative expression serves the same purpose. The lizard is like a scared child that is desperate for attention. We just need to give it a voice, listen, and appreciate its concern.

My personal favorite is journaling. Although I’ve been writing since I was a child, I didn’t begin journaling until my late 30s. It changed my life so dramatically that I now make it a daily practice. If I’m in lizard brain, I start asking questions like What am I feeling and why? What’s triggering me about this? When in my life have I felt this way before? Without fail, the lizard brings up memories and buried feelings from unresolved wounds.

Feeling heard, the lizard can finally relax. Then the inner coach can think and create in a more conscious, productive way. That’s when new ideas, solutions, or perspectives arise. Maybe not immediately. But as the saying goes, if you build it, they will come—through dreams, signs, so-called coincidences, aha moments, and other spiritual messengers.

To receive these insights, we need to stop pushing our own agenda or clinging to our version of truth long enough to allow them in.

Can we choose happy?

There’s another adage that asks would you rather be right or happy? Since there are infinite versions of the truth and no concrete reality, there is no ‘right.’ So, what if we let go of what doesn’t exist anyway and decided to choose happy?

The Wizard of Oz came out in 1939 when movies were king. Today, video games are the modern ‘motion pictures’ for many. I’m not a gamer, but I think the uber popular video game, Minecraft, offers an interesting metaphor here, too. Players begin in survival mode and seek to enter creativity—at this higher stage in the game, they’re immune to death, can fly, and have access to all the best building blocks to create the world of their dreams.

In our own lives, could we learn to accept that our own truth or perspective doesn’t ‘die’ because we allow another one to exist?  Could we let go of our old stories long enough to gain the freedom to fly to a higher plane of wisdom? Could we use the building blocks of conscious creation to connect and create rather than divide and destroy?

Saying goodbye to the yellow brick road

I can’t help but wonder if our species is mesmerized by such magical stories because they tap into a higher wisdom we long to express.

I believe that we are all spirits having a human experience, connected by that invisible field of vibrating energy. Hence the name, Good Vibrations. When we ask for guidance and remain open to receive, spiritual messages arrive in many interesting and creative ways.  So, while these are just movies and games, we can also receive them as gifts of Spirit — helping us to expand our understanding of consciousness and reality.

That’s how we go about saying goodbye to the yellow brick road — or accepting it isn’t real. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the journey. It can be a beautiful one, filled with wonderful companions who love and support us. But when we get stuck, we just need to remember that we’ve had the power all along.

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I’m a holistic life coach who specializes in expressive writing to nurture healing, insight, and creativity. Check out more inspirational articles at my blog, Good Vibrations. For more information about life coaching, visit my website at www.manifestwithmargrita.com.  If you have a question or topic you’d like me to write about here, or would like to join my Good Vibrations email community, email me at [email protected]. And follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn!