You read that correctly. There is a moment, there is a level of discernment, when you get to choose what energy you will jump into, what thread you will follow, from what energy you will act.

I want to be clear:

This is not pushing out an uncomfortable or unwanted thought or a feeling and attempting to replace it with another.

You want to bring uncomfortable feelings close, get intimate with them. The simplest way I know to do that is with the breath: breathe the feeling into your heart and breath it out of the heart, until it dissolves and you learn what is underneath. (And there’s always something underneath.)

Make no mistake. It takes fearlessness to breath fear or anxiety or anger or even boredom straight into your heart. That’s some spiritual warrior shit. But that’s who you are.

And it cultivates in you a habit of hesitation and a mastery of discernment that allows you to choose.

You will begin to witness yourself feeling the difference between what is yours and what is not, what is old and what is not, what is ready to drop away and what is emerging—and which strand to follow.

My guru used to teach about the 7 streams of Shiva. In each choice, there are 7 paths: one neutral path, three paths of the higher mind and three paths of the lower mind.

She also used to tell us to put an index card on our meditation alter that said: This is what my Ma meant.

I had that experience of recognition this past week about the 7 streams of Shiva: witnessing clearly, with detachment, that there were two strands of energy present in the wake of a very challenging situation. I could indulge in a loop of anxiety and anger (which had already been faced squarely and processed), or I could move forward in my work with conviction, commitment and openness.

One was at the surface—frenetic and demanding continued attention—and the other was the deeper truth—quiet and steady, with a substantial amount of power.

I found that, once I had the detached clarity of witnessing this, of feeling when I was pulled into and working from each, I could choose, again and again, not from my mind, not by pushing the other away or down as bad, but by simply connecting to the strand that was more true.

This is why we practice: to call up discernment, hesitation, resilience, centeredness when we need it, as a reflex. Spiritual wisdom is a muscle like any other, and I can tell you from personal experience, it kicks in without my asking to my amazement and gratitude.

You have this ability. You can choose.

I shared this yesterday with someone who was witnessing the power of the copy for her newest offerings and wondering to herself, Can I really deliver that? The power coming through in sharing her new work came from her. She IS that. (So, of course, she can deliver.) But anxiety and doubt created a (false) gap between her and who she actually is. And whichever energy she’s connecting with will fuel her actions—and therefore, impact her results.

Can you relate? (I can.)

Most of us have well-worn patterns of something—anxiety, fear, anger, shame, whatever. It is not that those experiences are not real. They are. They have a root, and they have a wisdom. They also, however, become a habit we continue long after they’ve served us.

When you know what you experience is a habit, you can cultivate another, with courage and (a lot of) compassion.

I know no shortcut to this discernment. No short cut to hesitation or detachment or the ability to choose in every moment.

I know only practice. And that I can offer you.

As the Summer Solstice approach, a seasonal energy attunement is a powerful place to start. Season energy attunements use the energetic practice of a personal mantra to calibrate you to what is most alive and fruitful for you right now. The Solstice is the heart of transformation during the year, where we turn toward the height of growth.

Won’t you join me to cultivate your own mastery to choose?

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