Coming Back to Balance

A quiescent mind is a bit of an oxymoron.  One may have the appearance of being in a state of ‘quietness’ or ‘inactivity’ however, the mind keeps firing.   In any new initiative there are moments of doubt.  There will be days when one flies high and days when everything seems to be falling in on you.  Those ‘falling in’ days are a blessing because it affords us the opportunity to sit up and take notice. We take notice of things that make us feel bad and things that make us feel good and we take notice when we experience some measure of fear with both of these perspectives.

There are times when we don’t move forward with the things that make us feel good for many reasons but the common denominator is fear; fear of feeling good, fear of pleasure, and fear of bliss, fear of failure.

The most rewarding things our lives can come with great difficulty or great ease.  How we deal with transformative steps in our life is a choice.   We can chose to step in to the change with trust knowing that life will always provide us with what we need.  Or, we can fight the change and cling to a painful past, thus letting fear overtake trust. 

Transformation is like a mini death.  Any life-changing event is like a mini death.   And when this mini death comes in to your life it can rattle your bones.  Our vision becomes quite clouded at this point.   We may choose avoidance or denial rather than going forward in to the unknown and trusting that there is a better path for us.  A path that can lead to untold bliss and happiness.   We just need to step up and follow it. 

I trust that there is a cosmic rhythm and I resonate with it.  Everything always comes back to ‘balance’. So even when I seem to get out of sync, it will bring me back.  

Life will not always be a waltz, but it will always be in harmony.  

Return to the Rabbit Hole and Quantum Wierdness

 A core belief is the lens through which we view our world.  A core belief is quite often hidden from our awareness deep within our subconscious.   For instance I may have the belief that I am not good enough and therefore the work I do is not good enough.   The beliefs we have about our place in the world are clouded with strong emotions.  In order to change a belief from a negative one into a positive one, we have to visit the emotion associated with the belief.  So, you are thinking we just need to come up with a succinct affirmation and repeat it daily and the magic happens.   Maybe so.   If you are a person with a strong sense of self and high self-esteem, it just may work.  But, you say, I am not that person.  I believe that I am not good enough.  Repeating a positive self-statement most often will backfire for the very people who need them most.   Canadian researcher, Dr. Joanne Wood at the University of Waterloo recently published this same conclusion in her research.  You may repeat the same positive affirmation without fail daily and if you do not firmly believe you are truly worthy of this positive outcome, you will continue to reinforce the undesirable core belief. 

Change is instantaneous.  It takes no longer than a fleeting thought, in which you truly believe to be true, to change how you view yourself and your circumstances.    Every thought we think, every word we speak is creating our circumstance.   If we desire change we have to first become mindful of how we are contributing to, and giving power to, our core beliefs.   We must carefully monitor every thought we think and every word we speak aloud.   If these thoughts and words do not support the change we desire, change it.   Be mindful of the emotion associated with the thought.  Ask yourself; ‘How does it feel when I speak like this, or think like this.’  Feel the emotion.  Do not bury it again.  Once felt, let it go.  It no longer serves you. Core belief thoughts are stubborn and letting it go may take much effort.   If it feels anything less than good, then change the thought.    If it feels good, then the thought or spoken word is feeding your authentic self.  

Take ownership and responsibility for your thoughts.   Understand that you control your thoughts and do not allow them to control you because they are not a part of your true nature.  Your true nature, personality and character is what you choose to make it. 

So let’s return to the thought ‘I am not good enough so therefore the work I do is not good enough’.  One circumstance that may have fed this thought is that you are not selling your art.  From this we attach the ‘I’ to the equation and reflect that I am not good enough.   More fodder may come in the form of a statement by someone such as; ‘I see that you paint but what do you do for a REAL job’.  From this, we come away feeling that what we do does not matter to the ‘tribe’.  And since we inherently want to belong to the tribe, we come away feeling betrayed by what we do.   If this happens –and I am sure it has happened to you- we need to remember the words of Brene Brown: “Your critics are not the ones who count”.   Remember your tribe is made up of many characters.  Surround yourself with those who feed your soul and support your efforts and remember:

• ·         Thoughts are things
• ·         You are not your thoughts
• ·         You are not your emotions
• ·         Thoughts and emotions come and go of their own accord
• ·         You are a soul inhabiting a body and experiencing thoughts and emotions
• ·         Cultivate a non- judgmental awareness by being mindful
• ·         You are the space in which thoughts and emotions arise
• ·         Cultivate the space between the thoughts, that is, the ‘primary consciousness’ that underlies all thinking. (It is that "space between the notes," said Claude Debussy "that makes the music." If there were no spaces between the notes on a sheet of music, the sounds you would hear would not only be unintelligible but meaningless, even annoying.
• ·         Change is instantaneous
• ·         Slow down and everything you are chasing will catch up to you

Inspiration is just a thought away.