360 Degree Support
“Whichever way I fell…”
Once at a workshop hosted by Christine Kloser, she talked of the many challenging days she had in the months before the event. On every level, she was stepping out bigger than she ever had before. Many times, she had doubts and fears. One of Christine’s comments was, “I had 360 degree support. Whichever way I fell, someone was there to support me.” That enabled her to step into the unknown.
One of the points Christine emphasized is that, especially for those of us who keep learning and growing, as we’re expanding, we will be uncomfortable, we will experience fear, and we cannot do this alone. You need support, I need support, we all need support.
Teachers, mentors and authors who help to guide transitions and transformations all make the same point. We all need support.
As all of us are gradually coming out of lockdown, we’re not returning to the same world we left. How do we support ourselves and each other as we figure out what’s most important to us now and how the world works now?
Seven kinds of support
Seven kinds of support that may be useful to you are:
1. Self support – your inner strengths, talents and wisdom;
2. People support – helpful individuals in your life;
3. Social support – groups that help you grow and flourish;
4. Systems and routines support – technology; equipment and procedures that make tasks easier, more convenient or more automatic;
5. Environments – your surroundings, indoors and outdoors;
6. Energy support – the kinds of energy that surround you (harmonious? stimulating? affectionate? safe? calm? exciting? uplifting? fun? serene?);
7. Cosmic or divine support – a higher power greater than all of us.
Self support (your own inner strength) and cosmic support (higher power) are the bookends of what supports us most. These are amplified by external support in the form of helpful individuals, groups, systems and routines, physical environments, and the kind of energies that permeate our environments.
Please don’t think you need a game plan for each kind of support. Rather, consider them as a smorgasbord of possibilities. Some will be relevant to your values and desires and priorities; some will not. Some will be plentiful in your life; some will not.
As you scan the seven kinds of support, think of them in terms of your deepest desires and areas of focus. Select a few forms of support that will be most useful as you move in the direction you’ve chosen.
Ground rules for creating support
1. Be lighthearted. Try not to make “setting up a support system” feel like just another overwhelming item on your too-long to-do list. That would not be supportive! Play with creating support. Feel joy as you are clearer and clearer about how you can support yourself, and how you can engage others to support you as you make changes in your life.
2. Accommodate your style. If you love structure and routine, think of structured ways to build more support into your life. If you love variety and spontaneous adventure, seek out new and different ways to create the forms of support that will be most beneficial to you right now. (Will it be people? technology? a new environment?)
3. Know you have access to all that you need.If you don’t believe that, imagine what it would be like if you did believe it, and act from that consciousness. You may not have everything you need in physical form right this very second. But absolutely it is within your power to access everything you need.
4. Start now. Maybe there is something you believe must happen before you can experience more of your soul-level desires (examples: “I need more education.” “I have to wait until [something] happens.” “I have to move to a new location”). I challenge you to question that belief. There will be at least one step you can take right now.
5. Consider the essence of your soul-level desires. I challenge you to think of ways you can experience some version or aspect of your soul-level desires right here right now in your immediate circumstances.
6. The key point: go for the feeling state of your deep desires. Keep adapting so you experience that feeling state. That will give you the experience of your soul-level desires in forms you might not have expected or predicted.
7. Fulfilling soul-level desires is hugely supportive!
Reflection questions
Which of the seven forms of support are most relevant for you right now?
How might you create the “feeling state” of those forms of support?