“Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance.” That one line from the song Shackles (Praise you) has been playing in my head for almost two weeks now. It has been the very first thing on my mind every morning and I have also passed it onto others with my incessant singing. They have joined me in what has become a relentless songfest. It wouldn’t be so bad, except I don’t know any of the other words, and nobody else does either, but that has not stopped me (or them) from signing this one line over and over and over again.
So usually this is the way I receive a message from the Universe. I receive a prompt such as word, phrase, image, or line from a song. This prompt is stuck on repeat for a few days until I sit down to write. From there the message flows out and the prompt is instantly gone. It is an easy case of trust, believe and receive. I surrender and all is well.
But I continued to put this particular prompt on hold. Each time this one song line would burst through, I would say to my guides, “Yes, I know. I will write. Soon.” Meanwhile I questioned what it meant. I was exceptionally busy and without something more than just one line, what could I possibly write about. I didn’t have the time to sit down and wait, I needed to sit down and have it on the page instantly. I wasn’t prepared to actually sit down until I had more to go on. That didn’t stop the prompt though, nor did my groaning in disbelief as it continued to be my waking thought and daily annoyance, for me and everyone around me each time it blasted from my mouth.
I decided that I just didn’t have enough to go on. One line was not enough. It had to wait. At the same time, I tried to think of something else to write instead, but nothing came. Now this method of receiving prompts from my guides has worked every time for me. So why was I blocking the inflow of inspiration. At my wits end with singing this one line, I sat down to write.
Ah, the shackles. Suddenly clarity rushed in. The shackles are the mental constraints we place upon ourselves. They are the thoughts of being too busy or too tired. They are the stories we tell ourselves about not being ready or able. The shackles are the self-imposed restraints of putting something aside that we know won’t go away until we deal with it properly. They are the shackles of thinking we are separate from the Universe and are either responsible for working everything out, on time, all the time…for everyone…is this you? Or, are unsupported by the Universe and incapable of creating change.
The shackles were the very conditions I had placed upon myself that were preventing me from receiving Divine inspiration. I was telling my guides with every action and every thought that I was too busy, too tired and that I needed more information before I even sat down to write. I was placing a block on the flow of inspiration that had been previously uninterrupted. I was not in a state of surrender. I had temporarily thrown trust, believe, receive under the proverbial bus while I searched for a quick answer. Really, was I trying to place restrictions on time and energetic flow! What was I thinking!
In my defence, it must have been due to the weight of the shackles I had created for myself.
Our minds are capable of creating shackles of every shape, size and colour, every second of our waking lives. They can have incredibly limiting results and may last for a short time, or may last an entire lifetime. What shackles have you created for yourself and which ones can you take off your feet today? Thankfully my feet are now free to dance once again and I await my next Universal prompt with gusto.