Andrea Hylen

“Going down the rabbit hole in physics terms is how far are you willing to discover your true nature. Example would be, Why are we here? what is the meaning of life? How did we get here? Did we evolve? Were we once part of another world?” ~Wiki Answers

A few years ago, my teenage daughter and I went to 45 Jonas Brothers concerts. 24,000 miles of driving all over the United States and Canada in 11 weeks. When we started the trip, I had enough money for three concerts. I had no idea how we were going to make it to all 45 concerts. We just held the intention and the vision and resources showed up. It was hard to explain to people why we were doing this especially when it was hard.

I knew in my heart and soul that something was compelling me to free my mind, to open to new ideas and possibilities and carve a new path. I used that feeling to tune into my intuition, to access ideas based on experience and to open to new ideas. My daughter and I drove in silence for hours every day and sometimes through the night. In the silence, I tuned into deeper listening.

Resources and people appeared. A friend offered us her home when we were in Denver even though she was in Hawaii. A friend of hers left a key under the front doormat. We stayed with a friend’s relatives in Idaho. We were invited to dinner in Portland, Oregon by Jonas Brother’s lovers who had been reading my daughter’s blog. We were interviewed by several newspaper reporters who found us on-line. The back up band’s bus driver gave us his hotel room at the Hyatt and the Marriott and the Hotel W. Jordin Sparks drummer, Michael Bedard, and I had a random conversation outside the venue one night. An hour long talk about, The Alchemist. He got tickets for us that night. We were hired by a toy company to film JB fans playing with a toy called Bop-it! New ideas. New possibilities every day.

I learned a lot about living in flow that summer. I stayed connected to the music we were listening to in each concert:

Jordin Sparks singing One Step at a Time.“Take one step at a time.”

The Jonas Brothers, Fly with Me. “Now, the past is gone. To give all I can. To believe once again.”

That summer tour opened up even more of my desire to live from inspiration and to create a new life based on what my heart really wanted.  We all have so much old conditioning and societal expectations that are deeply ingrained in our minds and bodies. The idea of changing the expected pattern is frightening. It means people won’t like you. Or they will think you are weird. They will shun you from the pack where we no longer feel like we belong.

There are layers of this in Maslow’s chart of self-actualization. We want to belong. And belonging has a certain look to it. My own experience has been a dance of autonomy and following my heart and then finding my way back to try to find some sense of belonging to my original tribe and to the communities of friends. I feel like I have lived my whole life in this place of going down the rabbit hole and disconnecting or living an underground life from my family. Finding like minded people and having experiences then finding a place where I am confident enough in this new experience to reconnect.

It takes courage to go down the rabbit hole. You would think it would get easier because the people I am closest to would see that I am the same person when I return. Especially because many times they embrace the experience, too. I have influenced new ideas and ways to live life.

But, here’s the truth. The rabbit hole gets deeper. My desires are bigger. Authenticity is primary. Things that bring my heart joy do push the discomfort button for many people. The reward and the reason I do it is the freedom to finally be me. Again and again.

I am still learning to find places to nourish myself when I am in the depths of going into the rabbit hole. I am still learning to come up with a few words and sentences to soothe the fears of my loved ones while I am disappearing for awhile. I am still learning to love myself when I am in the midst of the new.

The only way through it is to dive in and experience the thing that calls to me so deeply. The next rabbit hole.

To the adventure!

 

“Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world.” ~The Course in Miracles.

 

 

**********

Andrea Hylen believes in the power of our voice to usher in a new world. She is the founder of Heal My Voice, an organization that inspires women and men to heal a story, reclaim personal power and step into greater leadership. Andrea discovered her unique gifts while parenting three daughters and learning to live life fully after the deaths of her brother, son and husband. In addition to serving as Heal My Voice’s Executive Director, Andrea is an Orgasmic Meditation Teacher and Sexuality Coach.

She is following her intuition as she collaborates with women and men in organizations and travels around the world speaking, teaching and leading workshops. Her passion is authentically living life and supporting others in doing the same. To connect with Andrea and learn about current projects go to: www.andreahylen.com and www.healmyvoice.org.