For me, “waking up” has been a little like defrosting a freezer with a hair dryer. I’ve personally never defrosted a freezer with a hair dryer, but I’ve watched my husband do it.
Heat is applied and at first, nothing appears to happen.
Little by little, an inch of ice at a time becomes watery and shinier and drips away.
It feels slow in the beginning and a lot of doubt can show up.
“Is this doing anything? There is too much here…this will take forever.”
But once that first solid, murky chunk of ice begins to glimmer and sweat, you know something is shifting. That can be the boost you need to keep applying the heat.
In waking up, for me anyway (and this is a very personally unique process), applying heat is feeling what’s arising.
And questioning. But maybe mostly feeling. Or switching between the two.
Feeling melts the ice that’s holding the illusion together. Leaning into what’s arising to be felt. Leaning into the stories, the emotions, the physical sensations, the beliefs. Pulling them closer and looking straight at them.
And questioning, “Who is it that believes this? Why is this believed?”
“What even is this belief? What is it made of? How do I know this thought is believed?”
“What’s even going on here, anyway?”
“What am I afraid of? What do I not want to feel?” And then, feeling that. Lots of heat.
For me, and it really is personal so check in with your own intuition for yourself, that’s the hair dryer that melts the ice.
