Metamorphosis

In the last post , I shared a lesson I learned from the book Pritchett you2 ; this time, I have insights from the inspiring companion, The Quantum Leap Strategy.

The chapter 'Open Your Gifts' describes how the caterpillar must stop crawling - what is does best, and take a pause before it can transform with the ability to fly!

I know this is a common metaphor and nothing new; we learn about it in school, but for some reason, it struck me. I never gave any real thought to the process of something slow and sluggish stuck to the leaves of a tree, ultimately becoming something totally different and able to float through the sky, covering great distances. I got captivated thinking about what a wild change that is, and I got curious about exactly HOW that happens.

Two major processes are happening that really brought this home for me.

First: the caterpillar effectively sheds its skin and then DISSOLVES nearly the rest of its entire body. All the muscles and most organs get DISSOLVED. It's basically left with just a brain, heart and breathing tubes. This blew my mind ??.

The connection the book was making just got a whole lot deeper for me. I have always worked with the idea that I needed to add things to my life to improve. I need to add a skill, add another notch on the career ladder, add experience, add knowledge, add more repetitions, etc. Those things are all fine if I want to crawl along on the same path... just like the caterpillar

BUT as I work on big changes in my life, I'm learning that the key is subtraction - what are the things I need to STOP doing and eliminate that hold me back and keep me stuck in old patterns and habits? Not to mention the idea of dissolving - dissolving the ego and the elements of my identity that aren't part of who I want to become. If I can let those go and free up space to create something new - no telling what's possible!

Second: in the 'goo' of the dissolved caterpillar parts, Imaginal Discs wake up and start creating the butterfly. Imaginal Discs!?! WTF I have never heard of that before - I guess maybe I learned it in 6th grade science but long since forgotten. Imaginal Discs just sound so cool.

These discs aren't just full of imagination; they have all the knowledge and genetic code to create the butterfly from a sac of goo, which was once a fully functioning caterpillar.

The rebuilding phase of the caterpillar > butterfly journey also struck a deep chord with me. Our minds hold all the imagination, wisdom, and codes to make huge changes in our lives - we just need to give it the time and energy to be released and emerge to our full potential. It's one more counterintuitive notion - it doesn't require any more effort or work - not adding anything new, it's letting what is already there lying dormant do what it was meant to do - fly free!

Just as the butterfly goes through stages of metamorphosis, there are stages of personal transformation as well.

1. The feeling or belief that change is possible (a catalyst)
2. Learning to listen to our intuition and align to our values, talents and capabilities - ones we may be currently denying exist or have yet to explore fully (lying dormant, but ready to emerge)
3. Subtraction - removing blockages, unlearning habits that keep us stuck on the same trajectory, reducing limiting beliefs (shedding the old)
4. Acting with clarity - moving in the direction of our dreams, unleashing our natural talent, fumbling through the unknown without fear. (learning to fly for the first time!)

This is how the mindworx, it's got the imagination and creativity to unleash our full potential, but it needs the habits, identity, and ego from the lesser version of us to dissolve and make space for the full breadth of our capabilities.

I'm embarking on a program to do just that for myself. At the end of the program, I'll receive training on how to help others with this subtraction process to regain the clarity that already exists within us for pursuing maximum potential! I'll provide updates along the way and share more about what I can offer at the end of the course.