Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash
“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again” - Joseph Campbell
I am enjoying going back and listening to some of my old Insightful Conversations shows. This week’s rerun was with the fabulous Dicken Bettinger. Dicken is a pioneer in the teachings of the 3 Principles and the co-author of the book “Coming Home” with Natasha Swerdloff. He also happens to be one of my first 3 P teachers, and as such, he holds a very special place in my heart.
I love listening to Dickens share the story of what life was like for him prior to meeting Sydney Banks. For ten years, Dicken had been a successful psychologist who also happened to suffer from anxiety himself. He had tried everything he could to overcome his anxious thinking, from dream analyst, where he would wake himself up in the middle of the night to record his dreams, to cognitive restructuring, which required arduous hours of journaling and analyzing, not to mention his four-hour daily meditation practice!
Many of the modalities Dicken implemented helped, but they were not the panacea he had hoped for. It was only after he came across the Principles that Dicken was finally able to experience the peace of mind he had spent years searching for.
Dicken had two significant insights that changed his life. The first insight was when he saw that we all have perfect health and well-being at our core. He realized that he had spent his whole life trying to improve, develop and fix something that wasn’t broken. The second insight was that all his feelings were being created 100% by his own thinking and not by his circumstances or the people in his life.
As a result of these two insights, Dickens’ quality of life improved, and his anxiety began to lessen. To his amazement, with no effort on his part, he began to see that he didn’t need to believe the anxious thoughts in his head. And as he began to pay less attention to them, they began to diminish on their own accord. He also found that he could handle the inevitable ups and downs of life with more ease and grace. These days, instead of meditating for four hours a day, Dicken is far more present and available to spend time with his family.
Like Dicken, I also suffered from anxiety attacks before coming across the Principles. I would often find myself paralyzed by the anxious thoughts that swam around and around in my head. And similar to Dicken, I also tried everything I could get my hands on to quell them. Many of the methods I tried were helpful, but for the most part, it was like trying to put a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. It was only once I came across the principles that I found the relief I had been looking for.
I would be lying if I said I don’t suffer from the occasional episodes of anxiety, but they are light years away from the debilitating attacks that used to ruin my life. These days, if I get a visit from anxiety, I sit tight, knowing that it will pass without me having to do anything about it. The Principles have helped me see that Instead of getting carried away by my anxious thinking, I have the ability to reside in the sanctuary of the sacred space within.
This sacred space is available to all of us. It’s the space where we can find solace when life pushes up against us. It’s the space where we feel our connection to Spirit, God, the Intelligence Behind Life. The space beneath the anxious noise of our busy minds. The space where we hear the guidance of our wisdom. The sacred space where only peace, love, and joy exists.
With love and appreciation, Del 💕