In this post, we’re going to talk about the story, mythology, and archetypal wisdom of the Phoenix. And this is a really, really important story in my life and in my journey. And I hope it becomes that for you too. Since a lot of you that read my posts are into Human Design, my HD Incarnation Cross is the Right Angle Cross of the Sleeping Phoenix, which I thought was really cool when I found out, as the Phoenix energy has been so important to me well before I knew what Human Design is.

If you haven’t ever seen your Human Design chart or want to know your Incarnation Cross, generate your free Phoenix Method Guide including your unique Human Design chart here. 

So, I have been working with the Phoenix energy and inspired by this archetypal wisdom that exists in the consciousness field for a long time. Ever since the first of many deaths and rebirths in this lifetime back in 2010 when I quite corporate and allowed my Heart’s Truth to guide me to a new path by letting it burn the old one down and create space for the new one to rise. 

And that’s the most important thing I want you to get out of reading this post: It’s PRACTICAL. You can apply this. And, if you do, it will change your life. 

The Story of the Phoenix

The story of the Phoenix is one of a colorful, bright, vibrant bird of many different shades of reds and oranges, and sometimes other colors as well. And this bird lives in paradise it’s entire life until it dies of old age. Kind of boring right? No adversity to overcome. Just paradise and a comfortable death. BUT, when applied to your life, it can mean so much more. 

First, let’s look at how the Phoenix dies. When the Phoenix senses it’s life is coming to an end, it leaves paradise. Depending on the story you’re reading, this usually happens when the Phoenix is between 500 to 1000 years  old. 

Once they get to the outskirts just outside of Paradise, they find a tree and build a nest. They get comfortable and then sign the Song of their Heart. This song ignites a spark from the Sun which ignites the nest and the Phoenix, burning the Phoenix to ash. Yet, the Phoenix dies peacefully, They don’t suffer. There’s no torment. It’s a loving, compassionate, Fire of Truth.  Three days later, anew Phoenix rises from the ashes and flies to a new paradise to live out its life for the next 500 to 1000 years. 

Applying the Story

This story only becomes powerful and meaningful when you actually apply it. So, I invite you to contemplate your life with you being the Phoenix and your current comfort zone being the paradise, whatever comfort zone you’ve created for yourself that you feel safe, yet perhaps stuck/trapped in. 

Often, when you move out of this comfort zone, I imagine it would bring up fears, excitement, and discomfort of the unknown. So, while the comfort zone is comfortable, it’s often not satisfactory. But the discomfort of leaving it outweighs the dissatisfaction of staying in it. 

This is because you live in a society that teaches you to not follow your heart in the direction of risks. It teaches you to be logical and make informed decisions based on pros and cons. 

And so, you’ve merely forgotten how to listen to your Heart and Truth. The good news is you just need to remember at a pace your nervous system can handle. And to do that, you can follow the Path of the Phoenix. You’ll notice when the Phoenix realizes it’s time to die, it doesn’t fly far far away outside of Paradise. It flies JUST outside of Paradise. And so too can you step JUST outside your comfort zone. One step. Not a big leap. 

And from that new vantage point, you sing the Song of your Heart, of your Truth. This could be in the form of a conversation, setting a boundary, or an action you take. In this “one step” practice, I’m inviting you away from are the three F’s: fixing, forcing and figuring out and towards the three As: awareness, acceptance and alignment.

Once you’re aware that you’re in a comfort zone, and you’re ready to take that step towards the PERCEIVED dangers outside of it, there are usually parts of self within your neurology that are not going to like that idea. They are parts of you that created protection patterns that you needed earlier in life and now have become habitual. This is the old version of you that, at this point, needs to be surrounded in the Fire of your Truth, a loving compassionate fire that allows it to rest finally. And you do this through the second A, Acceptance, by realizing how much the pattern helped you AND feeling actual gratitude for it (instead of trying to fix it). 

So the first step is awareness, awareness that you’ve built a comfort zone to feel safe in AND that you no longer need to stay in it to be safe. Then an acceptance of the fear and discomfort that comes up when taking the step outside the comfort zone. A practice of slowing down and being with the part of you that is scared, instead of getting annoyed or frustrated with it. Not forcing your way outside your comfort zone when parts of you aren’t ready (that’s the tormenting fire). But letting it be a compassionate, loving, gentle, and patient fire.  

This is the path to sustained change that will allow you to stabilize outside bigger and bigger comfort zones as you expand with gentleness and compassion (vs. the rubber band affect of forcing yourself outside your comfort zone and rubber-banding back when you can’t sustain the change.) This process will actually have you making the impact and money you want to be making with much more ease. Your mind will think it’s taking too long but your mind is happy running in circles, as long as it’s fast. Take your time. Reprogram your neurology slowly. 

Stepping outside the comfort zone can result in uncomfortable sensations and emotions. It can be intense. Giving yourself time to adjust allows the stabilization to occur. And, as you let the compassionate, loving Fire of your Truth burn away the old patterns that aren’t helping to ash, now it’s time for the three days. 

It’s time to stand in the fire and ashes until your new reality emerges from the ashes of the old. During this time, there isn’t as much to do as your mind will want there to be. It’s about taking aligned action and being patient. During this time, you may not see results and things may seem even more scary. But, that’s because reality is reorganizing around the new vibration you’re resonating to, a vibration that is higher and lighter after releasing the stuck emotions and old thought patterns associated with the old  protection pattern. 

If you try to make things happen during this time, you may revert back to the old comfort zone and old protection patterns. If you stay aligned to the Fire of your Truth you’re now tapped into and keep taking aligned action, it’s only a matter of time before your new reality emerges that is much more aligned to the Truth of who you are. 

 Because you took the time to release and burn away resistance FIRST. 

This takes great Trust at times in these moments. It takes you allowing something to happen without you needing to be the one to “make it happen”. It’s more like you’re supporting it’s happening. This takes letting go of thoughts and patterns you learned and not reacting to the discomfort, sensations, and emotions in your body. But to respond to them with deeper breaths and more awareness so you are choosing aligned action from a calm nervous system. 

This is the practice.

This is Step 3 of the Phoenix Method, the hardest step. 

And, as your new reality emerges, your Comfort Zone begins to expand to include where you are, and you have access to a whole new level of connections and opportunities and communities and relationships that can support you in getting you to that next step that your heart is pulling you towards. 

And the GREAT news is that, once you get the hang of the Phoenix Method, you can repeat it over and over and over again to continue expanding your comfort zone was small, manageable step at a time by following YOUR wisdom, by trusting the wisdom of YOUR body – so you never give your power away to anyone or any system again. 

I hope this post helped you. Thank you for reading! If you haven’t downloaded your Phoenix Method report yet, I highly recommend you do so below! It’s free. And it’s personalized to you. 

If this post resonated with you, I invite you to join the “Human Design Applied” Facebook Group where you’ll find support and inspiration to embody your Human Design, align to your truth, and trust yourself like never before!