You want a cup of water. So you measure out eight ounces of gorgeous H2O. And then you pour it into a cup that only holds four ounces.
Three things happen.
- The water overflows and spills everywhere.
- You probably cuss. A lot.
- And, most sucktastic of all, you don’t get your water.
Of course, it’s totally obvious why this happened. You poured the water into a container that was too small to hold it. So it overflowed. And made you drop a handful of mad f-bombs.
Even though it’s usually way less obvious, the same thing happens when you’re working toward having less stuck and more awesome in your life.
It starts with the thing. The ick thing you want to shift. Or the good thing you’re hoping will happen. The thing that’s different – and presumably better and more awesome – than what you have now.
Cool.
So you do all kinds of stuff to make the thing happen.
You meditate or visualize or dance naked under the moonlight do some kind of ceremony. You do wacky energy stuff. You knock yourself out doing law of attraction stuff. And, on top of all that, you do bunches of practical stuff that should help make the thing happen
And then nothing happens. Zilch. Nada. Zip. The thing is nowhere to be found. It never shows up, even after everything you did.
Or maybe it does show up. You actually get the thing. And then you freak out because the thing is big. And it’s shown up. And it’s BIG!
Gack!
This freak-out-in-the-face-of-bigness promptly proceeds to push the thing away.
No bueno.
So why isn’t this getting-the-thing thing working the way you wanted it to?
Because your container is too small.
We’re talkin’ containers, yo
You have a container. An inner container. That hangs out at the energy level. Which is really not as weird as it sounds.
This container holds the good stuff in your life. The good stuff that’s already there. The good stuff you’re cooking up now. The good stuff you want when you work with sacred sound.
This inner container is like a holding tank for awesomesauce.
But, like any container, this container has some limitations – namely how much good stuff it can hold. Which – kooky container metaphors aside – directly affects how much awesome you can comfortably allow in your life.
That comfortably bit? Super important.
Because when you want more awesome than you already have, and your container is too small to hold it, things can get hard. And messy.
Like pouring-eight-ounces-of-water-into-a-four-ounce-glass messy.
Three things that are likely to happen and likely to suck
If your container is too small to hold the good stuff you want, it’s safe to say that one of three things is going to happen.
The most likely option is that the good stuff just won’t show up. I mean, how could it? The container is too small to hold it. There’s no room in your life for the thing. So it just never arrives. Because it has nowhere to go.
Argh
Or maybe, despite the lack of space, the awesome thing you want manages to wiggle its way in. But it gets claustrophobic. And being smooshed sucks. So the good thing you wanted? There and gone before you can even enjoy it.
Ugh.
And sometimes the good thing will show up. And hang out.
But it’s big. And your container isn’t.
This creates pressure. Which can lead to lots of hard, icky moments.
Moments that – aside from tripping every single issue you’ve ever had around being capable and being enough – are totally overwhelming and filled with one freak out after another.
Ack!
Lottery nightmares and public meltdowns
Trying to fit more awesome into a container than it can hold really never works. And it never ends well.
Look at the people who win the lottery, and then, a hot minute later, are totally broke and worse off than they ever were. Or the people who get famous and then have too-painful-to-watch public meltdowns. Or people who get into a position of power, and then do all kinds of awful stuff with that power.
And what about the everyday examples?
The person who finds love after dating a ton of toads, and then pushes the new, non-toad-ey person away, even though they’ve wanted a totally toadless partner since, like, forever.
Or the person who has worked like crazy to make some big something happen, only to trip over it or run away from it when it finally does.
Or the person who, despite their Herculean effort, just can’t seem to get ahead, or get past being stuck, no matter what they do.
Lots of different situations. All with the same underlying problem.
A container that’s too small.
Must. Make. Room.
Pretty much every single person that comes to me is looking to increase the awesome in their life. Because that’s just what sacred sound does.
So when you show up, you have your thing. It’s the thing you want or need to live a more radtastic life.
And sacred sound can totally help to make the thing happen.
But you may need to biggie size your container a bit to be sure there’s room to receive this bundle of awesome when it shows up.
Sacred sound can do that too.
So during every session that I do, I spend a lot of time working on gently expanding your container – making sure there’s plenty of room for the great big gorgeous thing you want.
I work with a gaggle of sacred-sound-making instruments to create the absolute perfect container for the thing. So when it shows up, it has somewhere to go.
This means the thing you want and need not only happens, but it happens easily and comfortably. Instead of spilling all over the counter and making you drop a bunch of f-bombs.
Woot!
Two ways to biggie size your container like a rockstar
I’d like to buy a vowel.
Every letter of the alphabet has its own mojo. And vowels have some special super powers. The letter O is awesome when it comes to biggie-sizing-the-container kind of stuff.
I know it may sound nutty. And it is.
Kind of.
But it works.
So give this a shot and see how it shakes out.
Start by thinking about the thing. Whatever it is you want.
Then close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And as you exhale, make a long O sound – like in the word go.
Feel the sound gently expanding the edges of your container out out out. Keep doing this until you feel surrounded by yummy spaciousness.
And then spend a few minutes in silence. Let that newly biggie sized space be filled by the deliciousness of the thing.
Open your eyes whenever you want. Go on about your business. Repeat as needed.
Wacky? Yeah.
But effective. And easy peasy.
Bowls. Which are containers.
Singing bowls are not only some of my very favorite instruments in the whole wide world, they’re also my absolute favorite instrument to work with when it comes to biggie sizing containers and making room for more awesome.
I mean, they’re bowls. Which are containers.
Slam dunk.
And the sound of a singing bowl not only helps you to expand your container, it can also help to fill it up with the gorgeousness of whatever it is you want.
Double slam dunk.
Here’s a little nugget of sacred sound from one of my uber favorite bowls. It’s nowhere near as cool as playing a bowl in person, but it’ll give you a taste of biggie-sizing-it-via-singing-bowls.
Before you listen to the sound sample, think about the thing.
And let your focus be something like I’m expanding my container so that it’s big enough to hold the thing easily, comfortably and completely. Except in your own words. And with the details of your specific thing, so that it’s a perfect fit for you.
Then listen to the bit of biggie-size-it sound love below.
As the sound of the bowl ripples out, feel the edges of your container getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Making room for more and more awesome.
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You can also download this, if you want.
Right click to save it. Throw it on your iPod. Put it on repeat. And biggie size yourself silly.
What’s the great big gorgeous thing you want?
And is your container big enough to hold it?
How do you think your life would change if you made room for it?