How does external change empower you?

Changes you perceive around actually you teach you a lot about the self. Yet, not everyone recognize the benefits are far-reaching. What you choose to perceive outside yourself is gradually preparing you to accept far-reaching inner changes.  Consider how perception of external change empowers you;

1) Changing weather encourages versatility.  While growing up, you may have gotten used to predictable seasons, temperatures, and associated activities. You would expect to wear certain kinds of clothing at certain periods of the year.  As weather patterns change more abruptly, some geographic places experience temperatures typical of of 3-4 seasons in a day.  Climate change promotes foresight, adaptability and resourcefulness throughout a perceived calendar year.

2) Shifts in societal focus mirror inner changes. People remark on shifts in the economy and in societal structures that no longer appear to be working. In other words, values and principles are evolving. This draws attention to conditioned belief systems that people sense they are beginning to outgrow.  Deconditioning is a process that prompts people to bring fears about change to the surface.  You quietly prepare to redefine a sense of security and replace fear with unconditional love.  When and how this process unfolds is totally up to you.

3) Perception of time is changing. Notice the kinds of changes around you that capture your attention. These are not the same kinds of events that focused your mind before now.  Each event that stands out reminds you that what has happened or, what may happen, is less relvant than where you are. That is, what you perceive as priorities shift with your consciousness of what is happening. How are psychological time and fears losing relevance and power over you?

Everything comes full circle

Many people focus on the sensation of fear and are unsure what to make of this. You may not realize that how you think and feel creates the life you lead.  Everything comes full circle. Consider revelations triggered insidec you by this Zen tale:

A man was running from a tiger, and he came to a cliff. He began climbing down a vine, hoping that the tiger could not follow him down and he could thereby escape. As he was on his way down, however, he spied a second tiger waiting for him at the bottom of the cliff. As he hung there on the vine, wondering what to do, he saw a rat begin to chew through the top of the vine.

Then he spied a strawberry, just in arm's reach. He reached out, plucked the berry, and ate it. It was the most sweet and succulent berry he had ever tasted. He closed his eyes and tasted the berry with his whole being, and said aloud, "what a wonderful berry this is!"

Then the rat finished chewing through the vine and the man fell to the ground, breaking his leg. With his leg broken, he could not run. The tiger on the ground came up to him and batted him around as kittens do mice, giving him one painful cut after another. One swipe tore out his left eye. Eventually the tiger tired of playing with him, and bit a large chunk out of the man's stomach for its dinner.

The man went into shock, the pain of the wound coursing through his entire body. But he did not die: he hung on to life for five more days as the two tigers (who, it turned out, were mates) used him as a source of food. His mind was dulled by shock, but not enough to keep the fear and pain from filling his world like a bright light. After five days of agony unlike any that can be described, he finally died.

His corpse continued to serve as a food source for the tigers for several more days. After that, the rat that had chewed through the vine came to gnaw on what was left of his bones.

How does mood alter everything?

The following is an excerpt from Awakening the Eagle: A Guide to the Medicine Wheel by Ralph P. Brown (Tawennihake). He is offering an interview for this blog to be posted nearby soon. 

Three men who sat on top of the same mountain, but at different times, were asked to describe it when they came down.

The first man said, "It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  It was breath-taking."

The second man said, "I was scared to death because it was so high! I was lucky not to fall off!"

And finally, the third man said, "It was so lonely.  I have never felt to isolated and alone."

• Three men
• Three perceptions of the same thing
• Three answers

But only one mountain.  The mountain is what the mountain is.  In truth, none of the perceptions is imposed on it by these three men.  The mountain is a mountain and only the way people see it differs. Different moods cause different outlooks.

How to break the vicious cycle

Your current relationships may not be the dream you have in mind. Part of you may not be aware that you have the power to break the vicious cycle of situations.  They exist to awaken you to new ways of thinking, feeling and understanding self. As you ready to make positive changes, consider these tips;

1) Realize you are in the midst of a vicious cycle.  When relationships evoke discomfort, the common thread is you.

2) Cease blaming others for your negative emotions. Learn to grasp root causes and heal triggers of these signals. 

3) Take responsibility.  If dialogue, commitment, or compromise do not come easily, what does it tell you about hidden fear? How can you reframe everything for the better?

4) Use patterns as a guide for self-acceptance.  If you focus on appearances, this suggests low esteem, inadequacy and ego-based misperceptions that do not serve you.

5) The answer is always love.  Only by loving and accepting all of you as you are now do you invite soul love.

Tap into the teacher within

Human beings are often socially- conditioned to seek outside themselves for answers. They request guidance from religious leaders, counsellors, therapists, New Age Seers and other perceived experts, for insight they choose not to find within.

Now, every person you meet is helpful to you based on your beliefs and what you hope to learn. Every connection has meaning and purpose.  When you choose to sense it, everyone and everything is a teacher who encourages you to draw the best out of yourself.  Regardless of who you consult and your apparent conditions, you have internal work to do for yourself.

Its a milestone to reach a point where you are willing to acknowledge fear or face reasons for discomfort of any kind.  Self-honesty and raising awareness do not come easily to everyone. Be gentle with the self.  Write yourself a letter. This need not intimidate you with the requirement of a journal, but you can choose to do that too.  Begin with these questions;

1) How do you describe happiness? Do you feel it now?

2) Which experiences enrich you, add meaning to your life?

3) What do you believe you deserve? How do you prevent it?

4) Why do you sense a crossroads? Which lessons beckon?

5) Which situation(s) are you ready to let go of forever?

6) How would the inner voice answer for your subconscious?