Pamela Hale's Blog

Recently a beloved friend and yoga teacher, invited our yoga class to form a group intention: “I am strong and flexible and I can easily dance with the winds of life.” I loved that so much that I’m making it my intention. And how will I begin to manifest that intention? I turn to Flying Lesson #3: Take the Pilot’s Seat.

When I look around me, I only find one person who can put me squarely on the route to being strong and flexible. That would be me. And, I also find only one who can help me easily dance with the winds of life. Again, I’m the one. So I’d better just strap myself into the left seat of the airplane and pilot myself through the coming year.

Barb and our yoga can help me be strong and flexible, and I can do my weight-bearing exercise and walk on the land. Those are outer actions I know how to take. The “easily dancing with the winds of life” part is more subtle and complex. How do I navigate that one?

Well, part of taking the pilot’s seat is learning to “source” or make decisions from the “seat of the soul,” as author Gary Zukoff put it. Exercise can be acted out using the mind and body—even the ego-- but dancing with the winds of life comes from a deeper place.

I know what my dance will require from me. This last year has taught me that pushing is not dancing. Setting goals and expectations that are too high and unrealistic only sets me up for guilt, disappointment and burnout. So what does my soul/pilot suggest as a course correction?

Part of piloting, she points out, is being the one in charge of my airspeed—my pacing. My soul has its own preferred rhythm, the pace that makes it most contented, and contributes to my well-being on every level. And since I am fortunate enough to work for myself, I can be the boss or pilot who decides on my “attitude—“ the airplane’s angle of “nose up” or “nose down,” one way of decreasing or increasing airspeed.

When I walk on the beautiful land here in the Sutherland Valley, beneath the Catalina Mountains, the land reminds me that Mother Earth has a heartbeat, a rhythm. Being in nature attunes my body to her rhythm and reminds me of my own natural pace. So does meditation—it is a way of stopping to check in with the Source, and with my own body/mind, and re-calibrating. I need to change my attitude, to pull the nose of my airplane up a bit and slow my speed.

Another practice is continuing to say “Yes” to my life as it unfolds. The winds of change have been turbulent this last year, and the intensity may only increase. All the systems and habits that are outmoded must be dropped. I can choose to say “Yes” not to things I dislike, but to the notion that I am capable of holding space for all that I encounter.

Can I control those winds of life? Certainly not. All I can do is pilot myself through them. I am the only one who can decide whether to do that through struggle and pain or whether I’d prefer grace and ease.

These simple practices are transformational. They return us to the wisdom of the ancient ones, who knew that well-being and real peace and growth come from being in touch with the Mother, syncing our heartbeat and our dance with hers, and managing our own energy. This is moving beyond being a victim or fate and instead, seizing our true destiny.

And so I pass on to you the intention you may decide to adopt a combination of Barb’s and mine: “I am strong and flexible. I easily dance with the winds of life. I am taking the pilot’s seat .”

What are your thoughts? Come and interact about taking the pilot’s seat at Facebook.com/FlyingLessons! I’ll be posting more tips all through the month of January.

Interact with Pamela about taking the pilot’s seat on Flying Lesson's Facebook Page

Pamela Hale, founder of Through a Different Lens, creates powerful, practical tools and experiences that bring vision, creativity and wisdom into focus to help people thrive—physically, professionally and spiritually. Journey with Pamela as she conquers her own self-doubt and fear of flying and the gifts she gathered in her new book, Flying Lessons ~ How To Be The Pilot of Your Own Life. Pamela uses the story of her pursuit of a private pilot’s license to help anyone—in the air or on the ground—to break free of “gravity” and realize one’s potential to soar. Flying Lessons is a practical and entertaining journey in authentic power, freedom, and fulfillment. More about This beautifully illustrated, multi-layered memoir

Relationships are hard work sometimes. Isn’t it amazing how being with a loved one can be so effortless and easy-breezy, only to turn to the hardest, most painful work we’ve faced yet? Whew! Sometimes I need help beyond what my thinking mind can offer me.

And so I turn to my Sand Spirits Insight Cards and to the images I photographed way back in 2000 on a Mexican beach. Walking there, I watched in wonder as colorful stones, streaks in the sand and natural objects morphed into forms and figures that spoke to me.

Before you decide that I’m delusional, take a look at the 3 images below and see what forms or figures pop out for you. I drew them to speak to me about the way I’ve approached my dearest relationships in the past, the way I am approaching them now, and the possibilities for the future. See what they say to you about this.

The first one shows me a profile of a woman facing right, her back, shoulder and breast outlined. She has a funny small head that is looking back at the past. She feels nostalgic for the past, but her strong body is already facing forward. I think she has been divided, reluctant to let go of the past and step into the present. Do you see her? What does she say to you?

The second one speaks to me of the present, and shows me the face of an old wizard with a light in his left eye, a closed right eye, and a big two-layered hat or headpiece. He tells me he can “see the light” with his left eye, which is connected to his right brain, the intuitive, creative part of him. That is how he connects to the higher truth that he wears like a crown. “Go within,” he says.

This is oh-so-brief, but do you see the map that is being laid out for me, just by looking at these images of nature? Are the “sand spirits” giving me this wisdom, or am I just tapping into my own? What do you think and what do you see? I would love to read your comments!

I’m at the beach right now, so I am seeing scenes like this and reveling in being near the ocean, which I have loved deeply all my life.

When I was little, I “found God” at the ocean. When I looked out at the horizon, I thought it was so wide an infinite that God must live there. The ocean is still a wonderful place for self-reflection.

Have you noticed the dark streaks in the sand made from iron filings? I’ve always loved their patterns. Have you seen how these streaks are particularly strong above and below and around stones at the water’s edge? When the waves come in and then recede, they leave streaks in various shapes.

That’s what I noticed the day I discovered that the combination of stones, streaks and other natural objects created forms and figures! And even more amazing, they seemed to come alive and speak to me.

That was back in 2000, and since then the Sand Spirit images have spoken to people all over the world, revealing the power of their intuition in moments!

If you haven’t learned about these images, look for them at your local shoreline.

You’ll love this magic tool that will help you gain insight on any issue in your work or life.

What do you see in the image below? What does this form or figure say to you?

I look forward to sharing the story and the images with you!