When we embark on a spiritual path, we may be motivated to do so because we want to change somehow. We want more peace and less stress or to be more present and connect to something deeper within.
So, our desire to change is what gets us on the path.
However, the transformation comes when we let go of the need to change our feelings, thoughts, and experiences and practice being here right now.
Ouch. The ego doesn't like what I just wrote.
On the spiritual journey, we can get caught up in needing to feel a certain way or to fix something about ourselves. When this happens, our ego is still calling the shots.
"When I feel this way, I have arrived," we may think—arrived at what, though? There is no endpoint. The path is a moment-to-moment practice and is never-ending. What part of us feels like it 'has arrived'? The ego.
Here's an example:
One week we feel peaceful, aware, and connected to essence, thinking, "I'm doing so good. Everything I'm doing is working." Then sadness visits us the next week, or we feel irritated and think, "I knew it wouldn't last. I'm not doing very well."
This thinking is an illusion created by our ego.
Feeling angry or afraid doesn't mean we aren't doing good or on the right path. It means we are feeling angry or afraid.
We can't control what our next thought is going to be or what our next emotion is going to be. Everything arises from consciousness.
We can choose to be here right now. This choice is what deepens our connection to our true essence.
When we witness the emotions rather than become them, they don't define us. We become the observer, consciousness aware of the ever-changing landscape.
I love Pema Chodron's quote...
"You are the sky. Everything else – it's just the weather."
The attachment to needing to be a certain way or trying to change something because 'it is bad' is the ego.
Our ego is on a mission. It wants to change anything and everything it can get its hands on, including us, other people, and life in general. The ego doesn't like to 'just be.' It doesn't operate that way.
The ego thinks we transform because we work on ourselves, but all transformation comes from being here in the now. Radical allowing of our experience with no interference. Also sometimes called a 'hands-off approach.'
We don't sit there and not do anything; on the contrary. It requires a commitment to be consistent with our practice and a steadfast approach. When it gets uncomfortable or challenging, we keep on keeping on.
Transformation occurs when we get close to the immediacy of our experience. We are investigative warriors rather than doubters. Open and curious to what lies before us.
I'm currently taking part in some training, and my teacher said something that landed, "Reality designs itself so that Truth can come to light."
This message landed deep in my soul. I was reminded once again when we trust True Nature, we welcome everything, letting go of judgment or preferences.
How does it feel to be with someone who loves and appreciates you as you are? This unconditional love is the gift we give ourselves when we let go of the ego.
Being loved or allowed to be ourselves is more transformative than being therapized.
Our Inner Child doesn't want to be fixed. They are already hurting. She wants to be loved and seen exactly as she is.
When we let go of trying to change ourselves and take time to be with our feelings, body, experience, and ourselves as we go about our daily life, this is where the magic happens.
When we are born, we are born spacious. It takes quite a while to be in a body or to be someone, and now as adults, we want to create space or room again.
When we are present when we pause, we are creating space for consciousness to reveal itself; we are opening the door to connect.
Last week I mentioned 'Power of Pause.' This practice can make a huge impact. If we notice a dislike or resistance arising about the feeling, we observe that. It's not bad; we aren't bad for feeling or reacting this way. It simply is.
This practice is non-doing in action. We aren't trying to control or let it go. We take a hands-off approach and let it be.
The walls or structures start to come down; we see through the illusion and connect to the truth and our true essence. We can trust, allowing the tension in our mind and body to release or dissolve.
This is freedom.
The freedom to be who we are where we are.
With love,
Diane