I was reading The Kingdom Within: The Inner Meaning of Jesus' Sayings by John Sanford, and I came across the term "divine anxiety." This concept captivated me.
Divine anxiety arises when you’re walking a path aligned with your soul’s deepest longings—a path that often challenges the status quo and separates you from the group. It’s the kind of anxiety that accompanies growth and authenticity.
James Hollis, my favorite contemporary Jungian analyst, describes this kind of anxiety as expansive rather than diminishing. Expansive anxiety pushes you toward transformation and deeper self-awareness, while diminishing anxiety holds you back and contracts your sense of self.
Being able to discern between these two types of anxiety is a hallmark of elevated consciousness. Anxiety, after all, is part of the human experience. But when we learn to identify whether it’s expansive or diminishing, we can embrace the divine within it.
Anxiety isn’t necessarily a reliable marker of right or wrong—it’s more about understanding its nature. Is it calling you to grow, or is it pulling you into fear and limitation? That’s the question to ask.
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“I don’t know.”
When I hear this in sessions with clients, I know it signals something powerful—strong unconscious forces at work. But here’s the thing: not knowing doesn’t mean you can’t know. It simply means you haven’t gotten curious enough yet.
Think about it: How could you not know something about yourself? You’re the only one who’s lived your life—the only one who’s been there for all of it. Of course, you have the answer. So why don’t we know?
Sometimes, it’s fear—fear of what we might discover or what it might require of us. Or maybe we resist change and stop short of the deep introspection that reveals those answers.
But here’s the good news: if you truly want to know, you can develop this skill. Introspection is like a muscle—the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. Over time, your unconscious will begin to yield its treasures. It wants you to know when you’re ready.
As James Hollis writes: “The hero in each of us is required to answer the call of individuation. We must turn away from the cacophony of the outer world to hear the inner voice. When we can dare to live its promptings, then we achieve personhood.”
You already have the answers within you. Trust yourself to find them, and take the first step toward living in alignment with your deepest truth.
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