The "From Scared To Sacred" Chronicles
Accounts of our human experience as we whisper change into being, and walk the longest journey we ever take- the path to our heart and soul.
March 30, 2024 —somewhere in Europe
Coming to my awareness…
It’s been approximately two years since I’ve “decided” to write “a book” called “From Scared to Sacred”. However, “decided” is a completely inappropriate word for what happened and I should have written “realized” instead. What happened was that as I was working on some texts, the words scared—sacred appeared to me. I wrote them, and looked at them for a while mesmerized by the tiny difference in the place of one letter encompassing a journey of a life-time.
It was not the first time that an insight will appear to me as if out of nowhere. The difference this time was that I had trust in that insight. I knew better than to question it. And I didn’t. I did not know exactly what I would be doing. And yet, I knew I will be doing it.
The process that followed was not as smooth as that, especially when I was trying to lead it from the head, instead of surrendering to my heart. Nevertheless, despite the inevitable set backs when I did that, I always knew whether I am on the right path or not.
My own journey…
Despite that the title came recently to me, my experiences with the subject of sacred date back many years ago. Today, I have a renewed understanding of what happened then which I will share as part of the chronicles because it was pretty profound and life-affirming on more levels than one. Going forward, my life will be marked with other encounters with sacred which kept telling me that there is more to life (and me) than what I understand.
On the other hand, I was living my life as “fearless”, and many would refer to me as tough and courageous. What was coming across as fearlessness was my relentless strive to leave behind everything that was trying to limit or mold me to fit in. And yet, I know now how “scared” on the inside I actually was.
Some years forward, I realized that “scared” does not relate only to personal experiences, but it’s a way of life for most, especially during times of deep societal transformations. I’ve been through a few of those, and that has given me the ability to see through some of the lies and manipulations coming our way in a conscious attempt to keep us scared. More recent events brought additional meaning to it. As a matter of fact, we have never lived in times that so congested of reasons to be scared.
I realized how often we are unaware that we are acting from a place of fear, and I have realized also how much misunderstanding surrounds the word sacred. Today, I believe that we cannot experience (the joy of) life to the fullest unless we come to terms with these states of being.
In parallel, I have also found out that there are many people who are aware of that journey and they have a lot of wisdom to share. They know that this is probably the longest journey we ever take— the journey to our heart and soul. It’s the story of how—what was already brought into being—gets brought out of the shadow and into the light.
Whose chronicles…
From the very first point of realizing that I will be “writing” about this, I knew that I am not driven by a desire to bring only my truth into the world. That of course is always present for any one of us, and I will do that too. And yet, that’s far from being all.
I felt that my role is more of an investigative journalist and a reporter of the stories of those who dare to explore life beyond the call to fit in and to conform, and who show up in the world in ways that make it a better place for all. These Chronicles are about those who have already started this journey, or they might be just curious and drawn to it. And it is also about those who may be just around the corner from mastery, giving back and building a legacy.
What’s the purpose…
The purpose will be to enlighten and lighten up the path for each other, make sense of our own journeys, make our inner lights shine brighter, and witness and celebrate each other as we shed outdated thinking, embody beautiful ways of living, and build better human systems.
My dream about these reportages has always been to remove the boundaries between the author, teacher, or thought leader as the authority and the participants, readers, and students- as the followers. I imagined this as a process where we step out to share our knowledge and wisdom while continuing to learn by the knowledge and wisdom of others. That’s why I’ve always known that the primary form of being of these writings will be digital so that they are alive and evolve with the contribution and involvement of its readers.
I have already conducted many interviews and collected many stories. Provoked by my latest interviewee, I decided to not wait for the whole to be done, but to start publishing one story at a time. I will be doing it here at Substack and you will be able to find the full collection of stories within the dedicated Section “From Scared To Sacred”. Hence, this is the start! Yay!
If you feel like sharing parts of your story, or if you feel you know someone whose story needs to be brought into the light, let me know.
What I know for sure…
Among the first things I learnt about the journey From Scared To Sacred is:
We are on the right track when life:
feels like JOY,
looks like BEAUTY,
sounds like TRUTH,
appears as MAGIC,
fosters CREATIVITY,
radiates LOVE,
breeds BELONGING,
creates MEANING,
honors ANCESTRY,
aligns with NATURE,
manifests PROSPERITY,
and WHISPERS CHANGE into being.
And vice-versa, living with fear, limiting beliefs or trauma can manifest itself in multiple ways- it may look either like failure, or like success. In that state:
we may mistake trauma and instincts for intuition,
we mix moments of pleasure with true joy or inspiration,
we get triggered as if pulled by invisible hands,
we perceive the world as a “win-lose” relationship,
we may feel helpless or a victim,
we may mix the sacredness of work with workaholism,
and we get caught up in other addictions.
That makes us hide aspects of ourselves.
We might not do what we know is the right thing to do, convinced it can't be done or it’s not worth it.
We may also find it hard to tell a lie from the truth.
What often starts as a self-preservation then kills our spirit due to a misalignment of our head, hands and heart:
-our head cannot grasp the context of what’s happening in the world today;
-our hands are stuck in a perceived lack of choice keeping us in lives we don't cherish;
-our heart feels disconnected from other people and from the rest of Nature.
In that state we knowingly or unknowingly contribute to making the world the way it is today by either how we act or not act.
Inspirations along the way…
Together with the stories, I will also be sharing art and other human creations which inspire me in some ways that’s related to the journey “From Scared To Sacred.”
Here come the first ones.
Breaking out of the mold
Below is a photo of the monument Freedom together with its author Zenos Frudakis. In his own words, he “wanted to create a sculpture almost anyone, regardless of their background, could look at and instantly recognize that it is about the idea of struggling to break free. This sculpture is about the struggle for achievement of freedom through the creative process.”
I find the sculpture highly motivational and very much aligned with how I feel the process has been for me. For example, the first stage of that figure—stuck still into the mold—was exactly how I felt in my youth.
Keeping on dancing
I stumbled recently upon this video and it represents symbolically for me a lot about the journey once you are “off the mold”. Both the video and its text touches me on so many levels…
The joy, the beauty, the art, the authenticity, the history, the freedom, the rhythm… The importance to keep on dancing so that we do not freeze into yet another “mold” no matter whether it might look a bit more advanced.
Also, the courage “to show irreverence” “with elegance” and to continue dancing and being alive, not giving in to the attempts of “sellers of fear in abundance” to “confine our conscience”, and to “not be without resistance to the instruments of their insanity.”
Here is the full text of the song:
We want to keep on dancing
See our thoughts embrace our bodies
Spend our lives on a chord grid
Oh, no no no no no no
We want to keep on dancing
See our thoughts embrace our bodies
Spend our lives on a chord grid
We are birds of passage
Never docile nor really wise
We do not pledge allegiance
At dawn in all circumstances
We come to break the silence
And when in the evening on TV
The good king has spoken
Come to announce the sentence
We show irreverence
But always with elegance
Drive, subway, work, purchase
Self-attestation that we sign
Nonsense on prescription
And woe to the one who thinks
And woe to the one who dances
Every measure of authority
Every whiff of security
Sees our confidence vanish
They show so much insistence
To confine our conscience
Let's not be impressed
By all these unreasonable people
Sellers of fear in abundance
Harrowing to the point of indecency
Let's keep them at bay
For our mental health
Our social and environmental well-being
Our smiles, our intelligence
Let's not be without resistance
The instruments of their insanity
Letting our light out
This statue is called Expansion by Paide Bradley, according to whom, “from the moment we are born, the world tends to have a box already built for us to fit inside. Our umbilical cord never seems to be severed; we only find new needs to fill. If we disconnected and severed our attachments, would we shatter our confinements and expand beyond our shell? Would the world look different? Would we recognize ourselves? Are we the box that we are inside, and to be authentically ‘un-contained’ would we still be able to exist? This is the irony of containment. As long as we don’t push on the walls of our surroundings, we may never know how strong we really are.”
This is yet another beautiful expression of the journey “From Scared to Sacred”. I would only add that our unique cracks make up also the unique way in which we will contribute to the world, hence, let’s love them and cherish them.
Last but not least, a big part of the journey from “From Scared to Sacred” is the process of letting go, surrendering and…
Unlearning in order to remember…
Here is how that symbolically goes with the story of creation of this sculp in the author’s own words, “so, literally, I took a perfectly good (wax) sculpture– a piece I had sculpted with precision over several months– an image of a woman meditating in the lotus position, and just dropped it on the floor. I destroyed what I made. I was letting it all go. It was scary. It shattered into so many pieces. My first feeling was, “what have I done?!” Then, I trusted it would all come together like I envisioned.”
Have you experienced that?
Have there been moments when you have let go of everything you hold on to, and that has given you a chance to remember who you really are?
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This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to more. I especially love the Freedom sculpture! And "Expansion" - I've seen that one before and love it. Keep going, Natalia! Thank you.
Sensational article Natalia. Thankyou for the song it is fabulous. As are the reference to the statues.