Loraine Van Tuyl, PhD, Licensed Psychologist, offers Inner Balance Counseling to help you reach your wisdom and deep power.

In times of painful or difficult transition, it is easy to forget that our need for challenge and growth is as inherent as our need for food. From the minute we are born, we enjoy exploring and learning new things. As soon as we have reached a certain sense of mastery in one area, we move on to the next developmental task despite the fact that we will at first fumble and stumble at attempting the new skill.

The transition from leaving a comfortable state of satisfaction and mastery to one of uncertainty, challenge, and risk occurs throughout our lives. It seems to be a vital ingredient to feeling alive and invigorated. Our creative spark and life energy are fueled by the friction and chemistry that exists between certainty and uncertainty, safety and risk, the known and the unknown, routine and adventure, and the loss and gain that we experience every moment of the day as evolving beings.

The right balance between stability and change differs not only from individual to individual, but also from culture to culture. Many ancient, earth-based cultures "artificially" and periodically challenge the mind, body, and spirit through fasting, shamanic journeys, isolated meditation, vision quests, and other rites of passage. These ancient spiritual traditions teach that learning to embrace change is necessary to realign us with life-enforcing earth wisdom, energies, and rhythms.

Our contemporary world, in contrast, has increasingly placed more value on technological advances that enable us to control more and more of our natural world. We forget that the safety of mastery and illusion of stability might stifle our personal growth in the long run. When our focus shifts from our inner compass to outward success defined by careers, power, money, possessions, and an avoidance of all growing pains and discomfort, we often respond with symptoms of anxiety, depression, addiction, and emptiness. Natural cycles, dips, and role shifts may be associated with feelings of incompetency, worthlessness, failure, and intense stress, and a vicious cycle may develop when we try to beat these feelings by responding more frantically to meet external demands instead of making inner changes that support us.

Instead of dreading times of transition and/or feeling stuck in dysfunctional patterns, it is possible to learn how to welcome the ebb and flow life's changes and the rich time for inner work that they provide. They allow for self-exploration, an opportunity to conquer nameless fears, and a chance to reconnect with your boundless, wise self.