The Quiet Hermit's Titanium Secret: (What May Be Holding Back Your Greatest Work)

Among many urges the past few weeks, I must admit the greatest one has been towards quietness. It's been a time of introspection and growth for me, but also for many friends.

Not that I haven't gotten out at all. I've had more adventures and changes in my recent life than I could ask for, pushing me out against the barriers of my beliefs -- in particular my beliefs about who I am and what I'm capable of.

Like the Lion, and the Fool, I've been blessed recently with the mythical Hermit messenger lighting my path. I was surprised when I learned of his invincible titanium superpower -- it's surprisingly hot. ;)

I'll do my best to share it with you now...

The Quiet Secret of the Hermit's Invincible Strength

The Hermit is often seen as a wise old man, shunning visitors and hiding away in his cave. The archetype I encountered is different, though. More of a wizard than a cave-dweller, this hermit is a mysterious being at the peak of the human experience; his heart and mind are synched with the flow of spirit.

The wizard-hermit has come to peace with the mysteries of the universe and the human experience. Having come full circle in his journey -- and learned to master himself -- he now carries this light for the world. That's one reason he's portrayed on a magical mountain peak as opposed to a cave.

Fully turned on.

Notice that although he's mastered himself, he's still fully immersed in the light of his existence?

The surprisingly hot part about it is that he's really turned on by it all. You can see that his light won't be goin' out any time soon; he's risen above the limitations of the human existence, and is a light unto himself. Now fully turned on and enthralled in awe -- at any moment, you might just see him step effortlessly through the portal of light and float on into the ethers...

Meanwhile, he's here, and silently holding the light of truth for himself, and the world. His light is turned on, and he's merged with the infinite -- it's his light now.

The true secret of the hermit's lion heart is this solid strength of quiet self-reliance and inner illumination.

How to Capture the Hermit's Titanium Secret

The journey of illumination...

1. Opening your eyes and heart to see the many forms the light of spirit manifests in this earth and in your life -- this is the starting place.

2. Seeing this light all around you, you allow it to permeate your awareness, and slowly it begins to merge with your mind. From here, the light illuminates your vision. You begin to see with the heart.

3. Seeing with the heart, you're able to shine past the emotional reactions of the heart (and belief-system limitations of the mind). This is where most people get stuck, vacillating between the knowing of the deep heart, and the self-limiting emotions and belief systems of a lifetime.

4. At this point, you've begun developing a conscious practice of mindfulness, to center in truth when your fears and emotions get whipped up throughout the day. Sometimes this practice requires moments of retreat from the world in order to center and find the point of equilibrium -- the hermit encourages you to journey into your soul to find the truth of who you are.

5. You begin to take these journeys out on the road with you, testing them in the world, and watching the results. Here, the hermit-wizard is with you also, reminding you to stay centered in the gorgeous glory of your blissful illumination, keeping your mind immersed in the flow of spirit, even as you engage with the world:

He encourages you to turn yourself on -- to find the juicy source of pleasure and fulfillment in your life -- not from others so much as from your own self.

Recognizing the Signs of the Hermit's Strength

“[The hermit's] insight pierces through our arbitrary divisions of space and time to reveal the meaningful pattern of the ever present now. He sees so deeply into the present that he clarifies all time, past and future and their interrelationships.” - Sallie Nichols, Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey

The primary key: a sense of joyful ease permeating your life and work. When you know deep in your heart no matter what happens you'll be content and immersed in the great mystery, then you are -- in fact -- invincible.

Luckily, the goal doesn't require you retreat from the world in a cave of isolation forever. Those occasional moments of isolation and retreat are just times to recharge and re-center. Your work feels good and clean, happily taking residence in your soul, and moving effectively from that place. At that point you witness it piercing the veils of human perception, and doing magical stuff by its own innate power.

Where you can catch the wave of this meeting place of spirit's flow with your heart, is where your work will soar -- people are naturally drawn to work created from there.

You've let go of the need to control those things outside the realms of your influence -- like the opinions and actions of others -- and you can rest in the mastery of what you know.

You know what matters about 10,000 times more than what other people think of you and your work? -- that it expands your capacity to love and respect yourself, your own work, and your value in the world -- regardless and irrespective of what anyone else thinks about it. The stronger this love, the greater your personal power.

You've let go of worrying about how things will work out, or if you'll be able to pull off your goals, because you know that whatever you're doing is coming from your heart and spirit, and therefore it's meant to be. How it's received in the world, and whether it meets your old standards for success are really irrelevant.

The more you can let go of all the other bullsh*t the more your work will pull its own weight. It does more than pull at that point, it becomes like a giant powerful fulcrum — able to lift tens of thousands of people into the light of their great journeys.

You've begun to judge success not by metrics of outside approval, validation, or popularity, but by how they make you feel -- how turned on you are in following through the spirit flow in your life.

It really doesn’t F*ing matter how many 'shares' you’ve gotten, how many people responded, how uncomfortable it might have made you to put your work out there, etc.. When you finally get the validation and 'success' you thought you wanted, you'll be left feeling empty and lost if you're centered on these baseless metrics.

You've foregone the fluff of highly perfected packaging -- the cultivated persona of 'being put together' -- and dived deep into the depths of your heart, working from that place of joy instead. You're turned on by life itself as it arises within you.

This is a call to action. How deep can we go into our self-illumination? There is no bottom.

That’s why we’re cultivating Lion Heart:

Fearless, courageous, powerful. Joyfully present. Noble and just. Executing goals with precision and ease, precisely because they are flowing from the deepest heart of silence. A heart turned on by its own gorgeous essence. That's the white hot secret titanium superpower of the quiet hermit.

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Read more about reframing your reality, aligning with the universal elements and capturing epic flow in my book: Flow: The 5 Elements Way of Fierce Wisdom, Strength & Beauty

Hermit image artwork © Stephanie Pei-Mun Law

Live well, and please Retweet/Share with your gang... thanks for your support! -- :)