Archive for the allowing Category

The essence of compassion part 2

Posted by matthew on January 2, 2008  |  21 Comments

The topic of compassion is of course very close to the purpose of this site – it is an aspect of Love. However, this was instigated recently by the “Spread the Love Now!” project of Wade of The Middle Way, Kenton of Zen-Inspired Self Development, and Albert of Urban Monk.Net. This site, as the “About” page shows, has two writers, and we thought we’d each contribute something to this. So there are two articles about compassion, one for each of us. This topic is, after all, central to the purpose of this site – why else would we call it Loving Awareness?

If you haven’t read the previous entry on compassion by Karen, please do so. I’m (Matthew) going to add to it, starting with the first comment as a basis question – on the subject of child abuse. It’s a very good question, and representative on most people’s initial response to thinking of compassion in terms of awareness and acceptance, rather than having a duty to do something to solve a problem. I realize this is a touchy subject, and that what is written here may be controversial because of the massive cultural pain that exists. However, bringing compassion to such a painful area brings a huge amount of clarity to how it is applied in the world.

The essence of compassion (channeled)

Posted by matthew on December 29, 2007  |  28 Comments

The following is channeled material on compassion:

 

Let us speak to you today on the topic of compassion. Understand that when we use this term, we would like to refer to it as “an expression of Love”. Compassion is, in our perception, a melding of one’s energy with another’s. A combining to create something new that didn’t exist before. This new creation of energy as a combination of yours and another’s unites you, creates a bond between you. Over time, this act of creation between two people takes on a life of its own in some ways. But regardless of the length of time of the melding of energies, there does exist to varying degrees an understanding, awareness, acknowledgment, and acceptance of the state the other is in at that present moment. This acceptance for the state of another, whatever state that may be, is what we see as compassion.

Moving from control to freedom

Posted by matthew on November 3, 2007  |  No Comments

Here’s the next podcast from Karen Murphy. This is one that is actually a personal channeling, but illustrates universal principles in terms of what is required to make a substantial change in one’s life. In this case, it is from a constrained sense of having to manage everything (and control) to having a much greater sense of freedom via allowing. It implies more than is obvious.

Click play to start:

 
icon for podpress  Moving from control to freedom [21:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Karen is a professional channel. For information on services she offers, visit her web site at http://www.light-spring.com.

 

 

Here is the transcript of this:

 

Question: I recently described what I saw in _____ (female) as a very constrained system with only a few outlets, leading to output that looks like geysers. Could you both describe the state you see in her, as well as suggestions on potential actions to be taken to move to a more “free” state?

Response: 

 

 

We see that what we have here is a propensity to attempt to manage things. There has been such a feeling of lack of control in this lifetime that the fragment at hand feels it necessary to control many aspects of her life in order to not feel the terror that comes from being manipulated by others. We would say that this propensity has moved into a feeling of comfort that exists even though the need for such a method of interaction is no longer as necessary as it was once, when there were truly terrifying things occurring. Once it is seen and acknowledged that this state has existed and exists still then it is possible, with a certain about of recognition, to attempt to move from that instead into one that is more “free”, as you say.

However, we see some difficulties with this. In other words, for some patterns become so ingrained that it truly takes what we would say is a complete re-writing of the DNA structure in order to move into other patterns of thought, interaction and being. This DNA manipulation does not come, however, without a price, and we are not sure at this time that this fragment is willing to pay that price, as we see it. There are certain tradeoffs that would be made, and we do not see a willingness at this time to move into this more “free” state. However, that is not to say that it could not occur, and we would suggest then, if this fragment is truly interested in making these changes, a program that would probably take 2-3 years to accomplish. A program of nightly moving back into those places of terror and removing all elements of comfort that exist would likely remap the pathways within the both brain and physical self sufficiently in order to move into this more “free” state.

However, it takes a great deal of endurance, as we see it, and of course the willingness that we spoke of. Is this fragment ready to do this work? We are not certain. Will she ever be? We cannot say that either. However, if you were to think of life in purely linear terms, and of course being on the physical plane that is what you do, we would say that in order to move into that state which she knows is possible at this time, that this complete disintegration would be necessary to go through in order to reach that state.

We would say that if you are interested on behalf of this fragment (note: this means ‘person’)  in her attaining that state, then there are things you could do (and actually you have already been doing) in order to assist with this process. It would take some additional connection, especially during dream time, in order to help create the atmosphere necessary for her to more comfortably consider the absolute disintegration of self. Now, you might ask what specifically can you do, other than just think about it? You know yourself that ironically you are also moving through similar patterns in your own life. So the fact that there are parallels certainly should not escape you, and may assist you in making some choices of your own. However, we see you as much more comfortable with the thought of completely losing your “self”, as you know it, and being open to what comes from that process.. It is possible that moving into that more firmly that you can help provide a model, if you will, for her to move more firmly into that space herself.

It may be helpful to think about this process in terms of simply two fragments moving together in a lifetime and removing from it any aspects of “relationship”, as you see it. That would assist with removing from the equation some of the elements of arrogance that sometimes occur between you. Now in terms of what can later be gained from these processes for each of you, you probably sense on some levels what this would mean to your own personal development, and there are a couple of things we would like to point out.

1) It would certainly assist with your own abilities to have an effect on others, especially others on a wider scope. If this is something that you, in your head, wish to do, then his is a process that you wish to consider on a purely cerebral level. However, as you know, change does not take place simply on an intellectual basis, and must occur throughout all aspects of the Self, and that is why we spoke of the remapping of the DNA , as that would change every aspect of you, from your physical bodies, to your habits, to your emotions, to your interactions with others, to your interaction with self, to your perception of self, of others, and the universe.

2) This process we would like to remind you is not one to be taken lightly. It will change everything. You will not be in any way the same person that you were once. Now if that is something that appeals to you, again on a cerebral level it may be something that you wish to choose. However, know that choice occurs on many levels, and it is not just a simple matter of saying “that sounds like fun, I think I’ll do that”. It is a choice taken in conjunction with, for instance, everyone that you currently have interaction with. Consider that for a moment. If you make a choice that affects you on such a deep level, then you must also obtain the support of everyone else that you interact with. This is slightly larger than you think it is at this time. There are those with whom you have agreements, there are those with whom you have karma, there are those with whom you have past life association, there are those who not in bodies at this time whose agreements you must alter in order to make this kind of choice. So part of the process of completely allowing yourself to disintegrate – we would liken it to one of the 12 steps, where you must contact every one in your life that has been affected by who you are now, and not necessarily make amends, but at least identify this and connect with them again and receive their “permission”, if you will, to make this huge change, as that change will change them. It cannot help but do so.

In other words, you must receive almost permission on a global and universal level. That process itself requires abject and total humility. Now is it within you to possess such humility? We would not be bringing this up if we did not believe it was something you are capable of. But we would like to remind you that this process itself will bring with it pain and transformation. Just so you know what so expect.

Understand that if you choose on an essence level to undergo this, it will not necessarily be something that you’re all that conscious of when it’s happening. So to say that you wish a greater understand of it, yes, that makes sense again on a cerebral level. But because it’s a process and these parallels exist on much more than a cerebral level, it’s limiting to think of it in terms of something that you can understand. So we would suggest then, simply to expand your awareness into all the potentialities that ever have existed between you. In other words, expand your awareness to, for instance, all the past lives you have ever shared, and all the concurrences of those past lives, and all the reverberations that occurred as a result of the lives undertaken by those past lives that have occurred, and your collective concurrences. So you are starting to get the meaning of how huge this becomes. Expand your awareness into all of that, all of what happened, what might have happened, and what didn’t happen. And realize that’s only just a tiny, tiny piece of what exists between two fragments. So if you expand your awareness, again on a cerebral level, that’s extremely limiting. It must happen on a cellular level. And even that is limiting because your cells are not the whole of you. There is so much more to you than simply a body, and a mind and emotion.

So we would say to you then, that if you insist on attempting to have a greater understanding of this, because we see that you wish to do this from a place of wanting to help. The thing that would help (probably the most) would be holding a space of acceptance. That is not to say you are not already doing this. But to expand into that more. And include within that acceptance, acceptance for your Self as well. Acceptance for everything that has ever occurred between you, everything that ever will, and everything that never occurred between you. We have given you much to think about, and we would prefer it actually if you didn’t really think about it that much! Instead, just take the energy from what has come today and allow it to be there. That is all you have to do. Allow the energy to be a part of you. Because in essence, that is really all change is. There is nothing more ever necessary than that. And that is something we wish both of you to take with you this day.

 

Alright, we’ll tell you a story then, because again, it’s not what you know, it’s what you are. Remember that.

Once in time there were two farmers. Now, these farmers knew one another, but not all that well. They farmed in neighboring communities. They each built for themselves a business if you will, through their farming, and so became somewhat known by some of the additional neighboring communities. They were decent farmers and each of them employed some workers. Now one of the farmers had a worker who was quite disgruntled. Didn’t like the way he was treated; he thought he was better than being a worker. He really wanted his own farm, but didn’t have the wherewithal to establish that for himself. So he thought that what he would do is go to the other farmer to stir up a little bit of trouble, and see what happened. Because this disgruntled worker just liked to make things change more than anything else. He didn’t want to do the work, just see what would happen, because he was into observing experiences and interactions, and learning from that. So he went to the other farmer and started telling stories about the other, stories that frankly weren’t true. But the other farmer, being of a somewhat suspicious nature and wanting to hold on to what he saw was his own, started to believe these stories. Well, one thing led to another, and pretty soon the original farmer who was completely innocent ended up losing his farm, his family, his money, his good name, and was cast out of the community in which he lived. As you can imagine this was a bit hard on him. He spent a lifetime building his little “empire”, his little world, but he was big enough in it, and he was happy with that. Not being all that young anymore, he wasn’t in a position to start over. So since he thought that the start of it all was the other farmer, he decided to do what he could do to stir up trouble for that other farmer. But you know what? It all backfired on him. It did. Because he no longer had his good name.

Now, did he learn something from that? Not in that lifetime, no. But later on he was able to look back and laugh and see how funny it was. Because it really kind of was – the beauty of irony is really quite funny when you’re not trapped by a body. So what happened to the other farmer, you might ask? The other farmer managed to double his earnings. I’m sure you can imagine where the other half came from, and made the disgruntled worker his son in law. So everybody was quite happy with this, except the other farmer started having dreams at night, dreams which plagued him and was unable to sleep. He lost weight because he couldn’t sleep, he lost his hair, he wasn’t pretty. Every night he was plagued with the same thoughts that he had done something wrong. That made him very sad. Pretty soon he was a mere shadow of his former self. So he decided some change was in order. He sold off the majority of his new holdings. He kicked his son in law and his daughter out of his house. He thought that the change would make him happy, but it didn’t. He still had the same dreams, night after night. He grew thinner and thinner. Finally he died. And on the astral plane after this life he ran across the other farmer who of course had died too, because he had no where to go and died of starvation, and they had a talk about this life. And what they decided was that it had really been quite a successful one, because although they didn’t necessarily have a lot of face to face interaction, the very fact that each of them was living their lives affected the other one to such a degree that it created huge changes in each of them. And they both went away from each other with huge satisfaction knowing that – even knowing that much of the interaction never took place on a “cerebral” level between them. They were quite aware on this astral level how actions of each other did affect them. And they walked away the best of friends and decided to do it again in another life. The end.

So you can draw your own parallels and do with that information what you will. Again, simply allowing the energy to be there is all that’s needed for change. There is nothing needed for change. It’s very simple.

 

 

Reconnecting to Your Source

Posted by lightspring on October 11, 2007  |  2 Comments

All of us, each one of us, is connected to one another. We each are created from, formed of, and connected to the same genetic source material. This is such a universal truth that it appears in both religious literature and myth alike. The story of Genesis and the formation of us as humans is part of us, part of our heritage as a people, and the truth remains: we are connected, we are One.

Then why the pervasive feeling of separateness, of disconnection from where and how we began? Why can’t we feel connected to our source, connected to others and to the Universe, at all times?

The answer is both simple and complex: we chose the separation, each one of us, yet we can have that reconnection if we so desire.

Separation is a way of allowing us to become caught up in the illusions of the life experience so as to present ourselves and one another with growth opportunities. Simply put, we learn from interaction from one another, and if there was no interaction, we would not evolve. It is impossible to learn all there is about being human simply from interacting with the self.

We learn a great deal through conflict. Conflict arises from a feeling of disconnectedness, and without conflict there is often little impetus to interact and grow from that interaction. While it is certainly possible and often preferable to learn from places of joy, it is difficult for us to remain in that state long enough to allow the growth to permeate us; when in Joy we often are simply caught up in the wonder and beauty of it and neglect to utilize that time as well to grow and learn. It is a very human trait, then, to require conflict in order to grow.

That is not to say that conflict is desirable, simply that from it springs much to build a lifetime of evolution and growth.

While separation is part of the design of human evolution and growth, it certainly is not the natural state from whence we came, and often we feel a longing to return to that state of utter connectedness yet fee we have lost the way to get there.

It is one thing to say and acknowledge, “I am One with you, we are all One,” and it is quite another thing to hold that belief inside us, in our hearts and even down to a cellular level. How, then, to get there? How can we hold that knowingness inside us, so that it may be present to comfort us, to guide us, to allow us to remain connected with all that we are?

It is really quite simple.

All you need to do is to allow the connection.

“Allow the connection”? What does that mean, in real terms?

It means stepping into that place rather than forcing your way in. It means holding the idea of being connected to source at all times, holding it within you as a real possibility. It means, also, letting yourself deserve that reconnection.

Let’s talk for a moment about what we deserve. We all are here on this planet on a level playing field, meaning that we all, since we are of course connected and part of the One, deserving of the same experiences, the same opportunities. You likely believe this on various levels pertaining to human rights, civil rights, and the like. We are One. But going to you, yourself, thinking about only yourself, do you give yourself the same opportunities for joy and happiness that you allow for others? Or do you see yourself as perhaps having to work a little harder, a little longer, for the same growth that you fully believe others are deserving of?

Do you really believe that you deserve to be connected to your inner source?

If you are human, then you are deserving of the human experience. Period. And allowing a reconnection to our source is certainly and most positively part of the human experience.

Again, then, allowing the connection to Source means letting go of who you think you are and letting in all the myriad magical possibilities of who you could be. For all those possibilities are also You. You are far larger than you perceive. In fact, you are not only who you think you are and the millions of imagined possibilities of who you are, but you are also all the yous that ever have been, all the yous who ever existed in your imagination or otherwise, throughout your entire life. All those possibilities, whether real or imagined, are all a part of the larger You that is. And when you acknowledge all those possibilities, acknowledge your Self in all its grand bigness and perfection, you allow connection to Source, for it is through the You that is that your connection exists.

It is through the You That Is that your connection to your Source exists.

And it is by allowing and acknowledging all your myriad possibilities, tens of thousands upon millions of them, that you regain your connection to the One that is you.

Being present with emotions

Posted by matthew on September 30, 2007  |  3 Comments

Emotions are somewhat of a problem for the vast majority of people in this culture. They can be very pleasurable in the initial rush of love in relationships or in successes in sports and the workplace, but for the most part “painful” or “messy” emotions are thought of as something to avoid or fix. Many, many people have gone to counseling because at the root they see their emotions as a problem and thus think they have issues to resolve.

I personally love emotions. I love them for the huge gift of perceptions they bring, being a measure of dynamics happening externally. I love them for the self-knowledge they bring. But most of all I love them because inviting them in, fully, in their totality, brings such a vivid sense of aliveness that is not possible without them.

Simply put, there are no ‘problems’ with any emotions. The only problem is our own judgment, the perception of separation that divides parts of ourselves into ‘good’ and ‘bad’. This categorization has a strong influence in every experience of emotion.

I’ve written before about related topics, so for further reference you can look at The Allowing of Pain and Negativity and a table of emotions.

To look in detail at something, let’s look on a basic personal characteristic that is treated with suspicion and often repressed: the quality of aggression. It is recognized, truthfully so, that aggression can cause conflicts, crossing of boundaries, and a fundamental lack of listening. And yet this is only one aspect of aggression, an aspect fundamentally based in the perception of differences and separation. Someone mired in this state views others as unconnected to themselves, and therefore an enemy. This is always accompanied by a deep division in the self, where there is some denial of huge swaths of one’s being. Although this is all too common, it is actually not a natural state. Looking into nature and its purity, it is easy to find examples which are not based at all in separateness, but rather of following the natural way each creature is meant to be. Spending time watching tigers or black panthers in the wild gives a wonderful example of this. Their aggression is a thing of beauty, and harmonious.

My totem animal!

 

Within people, when aggression is allowed to its full fruition – without any perception of separateness – there is never any possibility for war because there is no one “out there” to make war with. Perhaps a better word for the state is dynamism. Dynamism is itself part of the spectrum of aggression, a great expansion of energy which includes and brings others together for a purpose. It inspires and provides a basis for positive change in the world.  Dynamism includes all the aspects of aggression mentioned above, but is not at all based in conflict, so the same energy that is used for conflict in one case is used for creation and beauty.  A wonderful example of this state is the spiritual teacher Krishnamurthi. There was a strong outward force around him which was joyful to be around, much like watching a panther in the wild.

All emotions – and personal characteristics – have this dichotomy. When blocked and based in the division of right and wrong, “me” and “not me”, any emotion can create conflict. When fully allowed to the degree where there is no control and no judgment, there is a transforming that occurs to move us into the potential of the experience of that emotion. This will always be a movement towards love of self and others. Allowing always creates a space for this transformation and movement. All too often, there is a desire to take action to transform emotions into something ‘better’. At its roots this is a non-acceptance of emotions as they are occurring in the present moment. Any action based on non-acceptance is likely to perpetuate that state.

Saying “we are complete and perfect just as we are” is not an empty statement, nor is it based in a positivity that is about avoiding focusing on “negative things” – though it has often been used for this purpose. It is a statement of fact. As we learn greater experience of allowing, we also gain more direct experience of this completeness. And thus, joy begins to be a regular occurrence.

The beauty of gray

Posted by matthew on September 22, 2007  |  5 Comments

Recently it’s hit home just how pervasive black and white thinking is. It’s fairly intrinsic to the American culture, so attitudes like the following list can be accepted without a second thought, or reacted to instantly:

  • “You’re either for me or against me”
  • “If you saying someone is wonderful, that’s fine, but bringing up mistakes made is blaming and should be stopped.”
  • “I’m through be controlled by my fear! I won’t listen to it any more!

The latter two are less obvious than the first one, so let’s look at them. In the bringing up of mistakes, there are an infinite number of ways this can be done. It can certainly done out of blaming and desire to punish. It can also be done out of a sincere desire to help others via gentle teaching, much like we naturally do with children. It can be done simply as a desire to bring people together, for walking on tiptoes around issues in order to be “positive” usually drives a group apart in time. It is sincerity and goodwill that brings people together, and there are myriad ways this can be expressed – sometimes in ways that may result initially in conflict.

For the last example, there’s an assumption that fear is simply an enemy to overcome, all in one step. Of course, our fears are usually not as simple as being afraid of heights. They pervade our entire perception. The humor in this is that rarely does someone proclaim overcoming fear except when they are motivated by fear. ”I’m afraid of fear, so I’ll make war on it!” might be that reasoning brought to light!

Bringing up the concept of fear is of course intentional, because it is central to black and white thinking. There’s always a core of it in that thought process. Within the desire to go to extremes, there is a universe avoided in the remaining spectrum of life, which clearly has infinitely more colors than just two. Even in the spectrum of gray there can be a swirling of colors, so to speak, and a great beauty. There’s little beauty in a black and white world; it’s a harsh world of enemies and allies in a constant battle.

 

reaching

Everyone is affected by fear. I too am affected by it on a daily basis. And yet, by allowing myself to experience fears, without refusing them or trying to get them to end, I’m finding more and more there’s a perfect completeness in that. Fear helps me. It’s meant to bring awareness to threats, to pains, to issues needed to be resolved, and that’s what it does if it’s allowed to. It’s not necessarily pleasant, but there is a great feeling of aliveness when I fully invite and surrender to it.

There is no one on Earth that has no lessons to learn, that never makes mistakes. There is also no one who makes nothing but mistakes. (Yes, that includes George Bush!) We each have a limited perception, and acknowledging that is loving, because it allows the full totality of someone, warts and all. It’s wise to be aware of potentials, for there’s always room for growths, but focusing entirely on them and not being present (and thus allowing) with the here and now is a form of cutoff and division. 

Though I rarely make reference to the Bible, one section I like (and usually find in a different interpretation than my own) is the part on Adam and Eve eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Most people overlook that description of the tree – the awareness of good and evil. To me, that simply speaks that it is the splitting of our perception into “Good” and “Bad”, “Black” and “White” that takes us away from “Eden“. Letting go of judgments and filters, and simply allowing whatever occurs without labels instantly brings us back to that state of primordial innocence.

the allowing of pain.

Posted by matthew on September 1, 2007  |  7 Comments

All of you have likely heard talk about the universality of Love. It’s in many places, from the Bible saying “God is Love” to various newer teachings. For instance, the most famous quote of A Course in Miracles is :

“The opposite of love is fear, but what is all encompassing can have no opposite.”

According to this, the universe itself is composed of nothing but love. And yet our experiences seem to be full of things which do not appear loving. Others may treat us with disdain and rudeness, and we ourselves may experience emotions such as pain, anger, despair and grief that we think are as far from the experience and ecstasy of love as can be. And yet, if the universe itself is made of love and we are part of the universe, then logically we ourselves should be made of nothing but love. So why do we experience such intensely negative emotions such as pain, when love is supposed to be ecstatic?

It at this point, let’s go beyond the labels we have for these emotions. Labels keep us fixed into a relatively small concept, and in fact there are wide differences between two people for the same experience of an emotion. If looked at deeply, there is a fullness within every emotion that most people do not even glimpse. In fact, each emotion is not a limited experience – it’s an entire spectrum, much like the light that comes to us from the sun. And like light, there are even huge swaths of the spectrum that we cannot even see. In fact what we know of as pain, for instance, is but a small area of the spectrum available of this one basic experience, but a small part of the expansive range open to us.

To go into more detail, let us now take a look at pain. To use the analogy of the body, pain serves a very useful purpose. It lets us know when there is something important that we need to focus on. If we are being stabbed by a sharp needle, for example, it is good to take immediate action to remove the needle from our body. Sometimes the pain is more chronic and speaks of long-term actions necessary to create a healthier environment in the complex system that is our body. So to put it simply, pain is a good thing. However, if we think of pain only as an enemy, and therefore do not listen to it, it is quite possible that the symptoms will grow exponentially larger until we reach the point where we see nothing but the pain. It is not pain that is the problem, only our experience of it and our reaction to it.

The inward experience of emotional pain is similar. It serves a very useful function – it lets us know what needs to be listened to and transformed. When fully allowed, this can be a truly transcendant experience. In most cases we see, of course, it’s misery, but to give a wider picture of what pain can look like, it is useful to think of it again as a spectrum. Here’s a table showing a range:

 

Blocking

  • A complete void.

arrow

  • Overwhelmed with pain; wishing death
  • Alone; lost in pain, blaming others.
  • Bonding with others through sharing pain.
  • Recognizing pain as an impetus to start caring for self.
  • Fully listening to pain to help transformation.

Allowing

  • Transcendence.
spectrum

All of these come from the same basic internal energy, that which we label “pain”. In this one emotion, there is a universe of difference in the experience. And yet the experiences are intricately intertwined; in each moment of meeting pain there can be an instant shift into another mode of experience. The only difference between the states listed above is the degree of allowing we have for the pain – which is the degree we make pain our friend, becoming one with it. Being completely in the present moment, in an ever-fulfilling process of allowing, opens us to the entire range. Resisting the experience will tend to move us to the more blocking side of the spectrum. Normally we sway back and forth a fair bit, even for minor pains!

Both ends of the spectrum are of course connected. Numerous accounts, such as Eckhart Tolle, exist of completely giving up in the pain of existing, surrendering to “the void”, and then dramatically shifting to an ecstatic experience of transcendence.

How does this then relate to love? Most people think of love as an emotion. If this were so, it would limit Love. Love itself is not an emotion. Love is the entire spectrum. Think then, that pain is not seperate from it; pain is part of that vast spectrum. Love is a complete allowing of everything. It includes pain, joy, anger, longing, connections with others, and all human experience. Love in some way can be likened to the space through which light can pass. It is Love itself that provides the allowing that enables pain to be the complete blessing that it can be, if it is surrendered to. If you think to a time where you sat in front of someone you knew loved you, it was at a time when everything in you was welcomed. This included all your emotions, all your thoughts, all your desired; it was all invited and allowed. Why then should loving ourselves be any different?

This of course in no way minimizes the paralysing agony that pain can be, or is it in any way saying people are “responsible for their pain”. It takes experience and wisdom to trust the process of allowing and surrendering to an experience, and most people need much support to do this. That’s what friends are for, after all. Still, I hope by looking at pain this has given a glimpse of possibilities that exist in every moment, inside every emotion.

PS. There’s an online group aimed at discussing concepts like this and integrating it into our lives which I’m a co-owner on. If anyone is interested in it – which does involve time, exercises and experiments – please send me mail. And of course, comments and questions are always welcomed!

beliefs … a new perspective

Posted by matthew on August 28, 2007  |  No Comments

More material to be in the book “Loving Awareness”.


In the self-help community, there is much emphasis on how you need to change your beliefs to change your life.  “Change your thoughts, change your life!” is a maxim of Wayne Dyer.   Beliefs are how we interpret the world – every one of our experiences is filtered through our beliefs.  This is why ten different people coming from different backgrounds can have fundamental differences of interpretation of the same event – the jury system in the courts gives regular examples of this!  So changing beliefs can indeed have a powerful impact on lives.  However, most people think of a belief simply as a pattern of thoughts, and it is far more than this.  So what are beliefs, if we look deeply at them?

 

In the western cultural framework, we tend to think everything is intellectual.  We’re a society that usually values intellect above all.  So when we talk about “mind” we generally refer only to thoughts and leave the emotions and the body divorced from the equation.  Not so in many oriental traditions.  The word “mind” in those cultures encompasses all of the mental, emotional, and physical parts of ourselves.  From these perspectives, we are a fully integrated system, with every part of ourselves affecting any other.  When there is recognition of this, there is more possibility of transformative changes occurring within ourselves.  Thinking it is only our thoughts that affect us and denying the real effect the body and the emotions have upon our thoughts and each other can easily lead to mind games, with no changes resulting, and thinking that all that it is needed is more effort in doing the same thing that hasn’t worked in the past. 

 

Now, on this expanded field of who we are, beliefs exists everywhere in who we are, even outside thoughts.  In a real way, they are analogous to habits – a pattern that repeats in how we process information .  I liken them to rivers across the continent that is the Self.  Over time, trenches and canals appear that are the result of the water flowing in a certain pattern.  There is then a tendency to continue on the same course (whether in thoughts, body movements, or emotions), but any of them can be changed with consistent effort.  If dams have been constructed, blocking the flow, there will be alternate ways things flows.  Many of these can cause more harm than good, of course, but our bodies are quite adaptable – within reason.  There’s actually a lot of similarities between the “flows” of our emotions, thoughts, and body processes.  For instance, an emotional memory might cause someone to feel anger and disappointment when someone doesn’t look them in the eye.  This “gut reaction” occurs without thought.  Similarly, a sound of a traffic accident might cause adrenaline in someone and they’d jump up to run outside, without thought or much emotion. 


Because we’re a complete system, it’s all interrelated.  For example, a man may have fixed thoughts about how a woman “should behave” in a relationship.  These thoughts may be a protective layer around a core pain in the body relating to abuse by a mother-figure in childhood; in this abuse there would be both emotional pain and body memories.  Now, trying to change the thought patterns of this man will likely run up against a brick wall because it’s only addressing thoughts.  This wall of course, is perfect – the thoughts are self-protective, and there is definitely pain that needs protecting, for it isn’t appropriate to bring up just anywhere or with anyone.  This isn’t to say changing thoughts is pointless; it creates ripples which may create a domino effect in other parts of the system.  But thoughts aren’t the master control of it all, especially when there’s not much consciousness in them.  We’re a great tapestry of interweaving energies we call thoughts, emotions, and matter, and we become more adaptable and powerful when we work with this whole, rather than a smaller part of ourselves.

 

So then how to do this work in this quagmire?  The answer – which will be familiar to regular readers – is via allowing.  We’re not like machines that break and then require a mechanic to go in and fix. We’re constantly healing and balancing simply by being who we are, in every moment of every day.  Most alternative healing recognizes this and tries to support the body’s natural strength instead of imposing harsh chemicals, for example.  If everything’s out on the table – and everything includes thoughts, emotions, and the body – it’s quite a change provoking event in itself.  Anyone who’s been a witness to a person being deeply vulnerable cannot help but be affected by the experience.  Once the full wholeness of self is brought forward, there is a space of creation in that present moment that literally enables new worlds to be created.  These are worlds forced on your body by ramming affirmations inwardly; this is a process of mutual creation, and thus, a process of Love.

 

To put this in action, here’s an exercise I wrote:

 


Exercise

 


This exercise is about being big about whatever process is going on in the moment, in ways that encompass the physical, intellectual, and emotional aspects of ourselves.  To be precise about being big, here is my definition:

 

Being big is about bringing the full totality of who you are to the world.  It has nothing to do with being loud, or pushing others, or speaking inspired thoughts.  You can be big no matter what your experiences in the present moment are.

 

For instance, someone desperately angry might be very loud and attempt others to change.  They would feel small to others, because they are not showing vulnerability about where this emotion is coming from.  On the other hand, others might be feeling worthless, full of condemning thoughts and not feel like they deserve to take any space around them.  They might be very shy and quiet.  Bringing that forward, in its totality, without any apology or protective face, would be big.  They might tell others they need to express this, then crawl into a corner, crunch themselves into fetal position, and mumble the thoughts they are having.  So long as they bring the full totality of who they are – which includes the knowing that this is only an experience and not defining in any way – they are big.  They are showing they are bigger than their own experience.  This is vastness.

 

So the exercise is to be big.  Bring whatever it is going on in its totality and express it.  If you need to scream, scream.  If you need to crawl into a fetal position in the deepest corner of your garage, do so.  If you need to hit pillows, do that.  But do it from a space of allowing.  Allow emotions to flow, whether through written words on the page, wordless sounds, or through the voice.  Let it come through your body; place your body in a position that encapsulates your experience.  Let thoughts ramble forth from your mind.  But above all, allow all this from a place of play.  Be a child again.  This is through a choice to let it all come forward, laughing at yourself from the dual perspective of seeing how whole you truly are while allowing all the “imperfections” come forward.  You know that this is not defining you, and yet it is just perfect the way it is.  If you can’t inhabit that space, allow whatever you can.  The point isn’t to change anything in this moment, but to allow it and give full expression without judgment or control.

 

The magic of fully allowing is that it transforms.  If you are fully you in one moment, there is no limit to what you can be in the next moment.  It’s amazing how someone’s experience changes by the end of the exercise, especially if there’s someone you trust watching, which is encouraged! 

 

Beliefs permeate the being on every level.  Transformation can manifest through altering one level or another of perception, and it is possible to alter beliefs within the space of an eye blink, thereby creating irrevocable transformations that reverberate through all levels of the Self.  And it is true also that transformation within the Self will create transformation within a wider space known as a family, a community, a world, or a universe, or all of them – for they are all essentially the same.  For this, then, we can change the phrase into “change your thoughts, change the world”.

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