I first heard of Gay Hendricks back in 2020. That was a period of massive internal transformation for me, and though I felt called to his work, I somehow ignored that voice and moved on.
It’s August 2022. I’m going through a similar transformation, and once again I felt drawn to Gay Hendrics’ most famous work on the zone of genius.
I watched this video here (you may skip parts of it but please do give it a watch - I am glad I didn’t ignore the voice this time!) where he talks about the four zones that we spend a majority of our time in:
Zone of competence - We are good at what we do, but there are many others who do it much better
Zone of incompetence - We are quite bad at what we do and really struggle to get things done
Zone of excellence - We are really good at what we do and are quite comfortable in that space
Zone of genius - We just flow. There is a sense of creativity that seamlessly flows through us
As Gay Hendricks struggled in multiple departments in life, one day he fell in the snow and hurt his head badly and had an out-of-body experience. It was at that moment that he experienced divine consciousness or oneness and after he regained his consciousness, he made his first “big leap.” He committed to spending more of his time doing things that would help him stay in that highest state of consciousness.
As he made this commitment, opportunities began opening up for him, but most importantly, he surrendered to those opportunities - he did not resist them, but instead, allowed the flow of the universe to flow through him and guide him.
I like to call this zone of genius—where you are in complete alignment with your deepest truth and the universe—your soul path.
We all have the potential to lead a path of guidance and surrender.
But I believe there are two key aspects to walking your soul path or stepping into your zone of genius -
To recognize the soul path, we have to be connected with our inner self, because our heart and soul are the inner compasses on our soul path.
We have to be willing to commit and surrender to this path without judgment. Constantly questioning the path will only make it difficult for us to fully thrive in this path
In this post, I am going to go deeper into the soul path, or the zone of genius, and in the next one, I will share details about connecting with our inner self and using that as guidance for stepping into our zone of genius.
So, what is the soul path? (actually, what is it not?)
The soul path feels natural and right.
It is not the path that you would choose out fear - do you hear yourself saying that if I don’t do this, this will happen …, or, I should do this because …
It is not a path that you would choose on a strong passionate pull or a magnetic desire (in today’s world, it’s very easy to mistake desire for your soul’s yearning)- do you find yourself saying, I really want this … where you find yourself running after it …
What makes identifying the soul path tricky is that sometimes we have to walk the paths of fear or desire to realize our soul path. It is through struggles and failures that we realize what is not for us (see my post here, for my story.)
And that is alright.
Also, what is tricky is that our soul path is not a static path. The path is ever-changing as our consciousness expands. For example, for a child with average intelligence, her path through school is pretty standard - 1st to 10th grade and then college and then perhaps a master’s degree. But say the child suddenly shows her unique talent in music or art or dance or math; the teachers and parents decide that she needs a unique path, so she probably skips a level or changes her school.
It is the same with our soul path. It is not static, but ever-changing in response to our commitment and involvement.
As we step up, the path too changes.
So how do we recognize our soul path, and the steps going forward?
That is when connecting with the universe and our inner self becomes crucial. It’s our inner compass on this unique path.
What is our inner compass?
(I will talk about this in detail in the next post, but here’s an overview)
It is pure consciousness.
It is the Starseed.
It is that which manifests as love, abundance, and creativity.
It is that which we have all come from and will return to.
It is omnipresent, but often forgotten and hidden under layers of lower consciousness.
To walk the path of the soul, it is important to get in touch with our higher consciousness.
Why have we forgotten our pure essence?
To be honest, there is no one to blame. It just is like this.
Earth is energetically in a plane where we are subject to a constant influx of higher and lower energy.
As an analogy, think of the reserves of energy on Earth - we have coal, which is a fossil fuel and unsustainable, and then we have the sun, which is sustainable. Now, it is up to us to either tap into the finite source of energy (which would give instant gratification), or the sun and other natural sources of energy, which will take planning and commitment going forward but give longer-lasting benefits.
Cosmic energy on Earth is just like that - there is both the higher consciousness and the lower, it is up to us to choose wisely.
How do we choose wisely? How do we choose to align with higher consciousness?
By raising our awareness.
It is only through awareness can we ignite the strength within us to make wise choices - not through thinking and using our logic, but it is through cultivating our inner knowing that we can choose our higher self.
How do we raise our awareness?
Meditation is key.
But essentially, get in touch with your higher self by immersing yourself in any activity where your mind and feelings switch off, and time becomes still, or perhaps, non-existent.
The more we immerse ourselves in these activities, the more our awareness muscle strengthens, because, during those activities, we realize what it means to be in a state of bliss, peace, harmony, and joy.
That is our zone of genius.
The goal is to be able to tap into our awareness at will, or ideally, to achieve a constant state of heightened awareness. Without that, it is very difficult to switch off from the highs and lows of daily life and tune into our divine inspiration, which is what guides us on our soul path.
To make this state of awareness a habit, start by making your “non-transactional” activities a habit -
Meditate every single day - sometimes, multiple times in a day if you feel like you need more guidance
Empty your mind and feelings by focusing on your breathing and by breathing deeply
Spend a few minutes every day doing things that bring you child-like joy and spend time in nature
Adopt a playful attitude towards life
Affirm - I am expanding in love, abundance, and creativity
Respond, don’t react
Practice clearing (I explain this in detail in the next post)
Conclusion
In this post, we have looked at what is the soul path, or our zone of genius, and how connecting with our higher self is an important step to walking our soul path.
Without the sun, there is no light, and without the connection to our higher self, there is no guidance on our soul path.
When you make the commitment to become healthy, you don’t see the results overnight. We have to work through years of unhealthy habits, we have to let go of things that no longer serve us, and we have to consciously choose healthy again and again and again till it becomes second nature to us.
It is the same with shifting gears from leading a logic/desire/fear-driven life to living a source-driven life.
Be patient with yourself on this journey because though it might be long (or short!), there might be bumps along the way where you might find yourself reverting to old habits, and they may be times when you feel completely lost; to get through, there is only one key - surrender.
When you feel like you can’t surrender anymore, surrender some more.
Love and light,
Vishanka
P.S. - You can know more about Gay Hendricks’ Zone of Genius in his book Big Leap