“It is at the moments when the doors open, when things flow between the worlds, that stories happen.” It is from Alix Harrow’s fantasy novel, ‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’. In the book, the curious young heroine named January has the ability to find the cracks in the world which are invisible to others but her, and she runs through every open door and goes on an adventure.
How many times in life have you taken a chance to walk through the doors? When in life have you ever dared to cross the threshold when the door lies open before you?
Many of us may not know even how to find the door or just wait for someone to bring us a key to open it for us. Then, what’s stopping you from finding it? What obstacles do you hold back from crossing the threshold?
The mythologist Joseph Campbell says that there is a departure stage where you have to cross the first threshold in order to take on a hero/heroine’s journey. Beyond the veil of the known into the unknown, there is only darkness and danger. Anyone who is courageous and competent will be able to face it and the danger will fade away eventually.
So, what would help you take the very first step to the unknown? And how much trust do you need to have?
✓ Pay attention to that what your sensory organs are telling you.
Let’s Imagine yourself playing on a swing – you start with sitting on the seat, moving your feet back and forth, and it slowly speeds up and goes higher and higher from the ground, you are sensing that your feet don’t touch the ground any longer and you start to feel the air on your face and the heart lifting up as the swing goes up and you sense gravity pulls you back down to earth – now you find a bit of courage to stand up on the seat and sense that your whole body is not relying on the ground any more but the swing itself. Notice that where in your body you feel various sensations and what emotions come up alongside them.
How long can you hold yourself and at which point will you know that you can make a big jump out of the seat? Count five to one and sense the exact moment where the swing goes up to the highest point. After that, let go of the swing and trust your whole body.
You may end up with landing down badly or with an elegant gymnastic move. Most of us want to avoid the first, so the thought might keep you on the swing for a while. Can you sense in your soma where you can discern the right timing?
✓ Learn from your past and expand your awareness.
I vividly remember that my parents used to tell me off whenever I stood on the threshold of the rooms in the house when I was little. Standing on the threshold in South Korea where I come from is a taboo, it’s regarded as a disrespectful and an impolite behaviour. I am assuming that it would be the same in many other Asian countries too. Some superstitious beliefs depict that the threshold represents a kind of boundary between life and death. They believe that the spirit can enter into the room if you step on the threshold – the living and the dead can coexist, but the latter is forbidden to enter the house. You will often find higher thresholds in ancient houses or temples in Asia.
So, what do you want to take away from this?
In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a term called ‘Bardo’ – which is an intermediate or transitional state between death and rebirth – the period between one life and the next. Standing on the threshold could also be meant as you are in this particular state. However, you can’t stay forever on the threshold. In order to be reborn – also go to the unknown – it’s necessary to cross over the threshold.
Can you go beyond the taboo and experience rebirth over and over again? Perhaps, the door may be already open for you, what you just need to do is that you embrace your own learning and keep moving on.
✓ Listen deeply to the calling but also equip your own tools.
You may have heard or experienced of the Law of Attraction, which says that our thoughts attract events into our lives. However, thoughts are just a form of our expectations or wishes and will not be materialised until we do something about it.
About a decade ago, there was a period when I felt strongly that I wanted to make a big change in life – living abroad, moving from far east to the west – myself as a born and bred South Korean woman in my early 30’s, it wasn’t a common idea at all culturally. I had no one who could help me settle in a foreign country, but I still let go of other peoples’ expectations on me, security, and materials that I had, and I just followed my heart.
However, there was a roadmap which I could also follow on – it wasn’t just thoughts which were waiting to be realised, but a doable action plan. Although any plan encompasses risks or issues, but you can learn how to manage or mitigate them, having your full attention and willpower.
Knowing where you are heading to, having a compass and a torch you can hold onto, you will be in charge of the journey. You may see ahead only within the beam distance, and you will be able to see further only when you take a step forward.
What does your roadmap look like? Are you perhaps waiting for a car to pick you up and take you there where you want to go to? What if the car never stops or it breaks down? Where can you find your own will?
Roberto Assagioli, the founder of the Psychosynthesis, emphasises that the ‘willing’ can be trained and cultivated like any physical exercises through the stages of willing, in his book ‘The Act of Will’. Sometimes, we notice that the inner experience of willing appears in a very subtle way – whilst we are meditating, or making a coffee, or walking in silence in nature – can we grasp any moment in daily life when we sense the urge of willing?
Each one of us can be January like the heroine in the book, someone who dares to go the unknown, who always learns from the lessons, who enjoys riding the wave even if she falls off and gets hurt, and who makes her own destiny and realises her dreams.
If you are ever stepping on the threshold now, remember that you are ready to be reborn. Just take another step and witness yourself what is unfold in front of you.