From time to time I sip from the eclectic cool-aid and post on more avant-garde subjects—or, as KristenLamb dubbed my log line when I took one of her classes on promotion through social media a year ago, speaking from the Mothership.
Today is another one of those days.
If you are feeling stuck—take heed, it is kick-in-the-butt time.
Whenever I “feel” stuck, I know it is time to shift my definition of self and reality; time to bust out of some paradigm that is no longer serving me and liberate myself or stretch my identity.
The paradigm I’m speaking of is the accumulation of ideas, built by others before you that you have adopted and functioned under up to now. Every day I read about the changing world of the internet, writing, publishing—like shifting sand that is in constant movement. If we are to stay current, we must be willing to change as well.
When your paradigm is no longer serving you effectively anymore, you may feel “itchy and restless,” and have a desire to break out and become more. That’s the feeling that tells you it is time.
So what are we breaking out of and how do we do it?
I visualize the paradigm as a box in which you have fit yourself. You have been “living” within the constraints of those six sides. While inside that box you have been unaware of the other parts of yourself that are outside, growing unrecognized and unacknowledged. And, like a pair of clothes you grow out of, it now limits your movement because it no longer fits you—you have been expanding beyond it but you have not acknowledged that growth.
If you think of that box as a chain that binds you, (I know, I know—I’m throwing lots of metaphors at the wall hoping one will stick) the strongest link on that chain is the one called “fear.”
That is the biggest hurdle to get through on your way out of the box.
(I can hear Bob Marley singing Get Up Stand Up with my own title: Break Out Free Up: http://newsone.com/1224855/top-10-most-politically-significant-bob-marley-songs/ That would be the 8th song down )
The fastest way out of that fear is meditation—I have mentioned it before, and people have different ideas of what meditation is. My simple explanation on how to do it: find a place free of distractions and empty your mind of the voices—you know the “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” (I should be cleaning the house. I should be writing. I should be a better person. I shouldn’t be wasting my time doing nothing. I shouldn’t be listening to this freakin’ California liberal hippie’s advice)—you know: that voice.
It is time you open yourself up, break out, free your spirit so you can sing your song, paint your picture, dance your jig, write your story. Time to shift the definition of yourself and reality—bust the paradigm.
Think Dr. Who and the Tardis.
You need to know that you are not simply the sum total of your
daddy’s religion or your mama’s cooking. You have pieces of yourself that are totally unique
to you and you need to find them and unite them back into
yourself, letting go of those things that no longer serve you and that continue
to hold you back through the grip that fear of change has on you.
Part of this process involves the forgiveness/letting-go mobius strip, a cycle you need to go through—until you can break free and move on.
If I haven’ lost you yet, back to the meditation.
Now that you have emptied your mind (don’t give up because it hasn’t happened
yet, it takes time to wade through those mind voices that keep the doubt and resistance
going and it will vary from person to person), you will be ready to listen to that quiet voice that is outside the box, the one that is
hard to hear, but never-the-less is there, trying to reveal
those other parts of who you are.
Are you still with me? Some have said WTF and
have dropped off. But you have chosen to hang in there and see where I’m going
with this—good for you.
I could give you all the eclectic cool-aid today, but for the moment, do the
above exercise/meditation to be ready for the next step. Otherwise, it will remain half complete and easily dismissible as
ineffective. It’s this part of
the process that is the bit@h and
needs at least a week of practice
just to quiet the shoulds, shouldn’ts and fears. For some it will take longer,
and if nothing else, you will feel better and more energized.
Until I post the next part, meditate each day-say 15-20 minutes.
YES YOU CAN. Even if you lock yourself in the bathroom for 20 minutes, you can
spend time with yourself—for yourself.
Do this for you. By next week see how many should/shouldn’t mind constructs you have quieted.
Anyone in your past you still haven’t forgiven? You say you can’t?
Realize this is not for them, this
is for you. You can’t move forward to envision a bright new future while
holding onto a dark event from your past.
A quick aside: many of you practice yoga or some other exercise
that stretches your body—this is good because what the mind resists, the body
can often help open. Yoga and deep tissue massage free up the energy pockets in
the body that hold on to stuck energy (acupuncture and acupressure are a few
other systems that help release that energy and get it flowing better if you
can’t do yoga). Starting from the body first sometimes works to open and
release those resistant mind constructs).
Next time in PART 2: Haven't had enough metaphors yet? There will be a bit of
web metaphor for you Sci-fi fans of the Matrix coming up.
I guess I haven't lost you yet. Maybe next time.
How do you clear out the mind garbage? Or do you?
