So here are some more or less random thoughts today:

Fear is a funny thing. In some ways, it is powerful simply because it keeps you FROM the things that can empower you. That is to say, because we feel fear, we indirectly create an impoverished environment in which to live our lives.

In attempting to keep ourselves from things or moving in certain directions in life - it is also the same force within responsible for holding onto things that we believe will protect us.

Imagine a life in which you are always moving towards that which you desire. Imagine never fearing or running away from anything. They may seem like two sides of the same coin… but I have come to see that these two energies produce very different results.

Running away is retreat. Fear is withdrawal from life. It is pulling, holding, constraining, reducing.

Moving towards is loving, nourishing, growing, expanding, evolving.

One of the most fundamental things many of us in this life run away from is our own potential. Our own greatness. Our world is overflowing with self-defeating messages and “better than me” images. I loved the movie Akeelah and the Bee. It really brought home this message… it is FAR easier to accept our fear that we are a failure, that we cannot make it, that we will never be good enough, smart enough, beautiful enough… but what is really at the heart of these messages?

It is Judgement of self. And Who is the Judge?

And more importantly, what is the Measure?

What we are really afraid of, I believe, is all too often simply LETTING GO. It is a big principle in recovery work, and for good reason. The act of holding on is inherently in conflict with the very nature of life itself.

Life is about growth, evolution, and change. Growth does not happen without death. Old cells must die to make way for new cells. I am not 100% sure of the science behind this fact, but I read long ago in a Deepak Chopra book that every cell in our body is replaced within a cycle of every 7 years. Everytime I think about that, I am amazed.

This means that if I take a good look at what I often think of as ME, the physical me, in seven years time - NOT A SINGLE CELL of me will be the same. What is it then that will make the seven-year-out me the same or different from the now-me? Some of it is baked into our genes apparently. Some of it is in our environment. But all of that raw material is tremendously effected by our intentions, thoughts, and habits. And a habit is just something we chose to hold onto. Letting Go is a way of life.

Here are a couple of powerful thoughts that came to me out of the LOA (Law of Attraction) stuff recently.

Abaraham-Hicks talks about the Art of Allowing. On the surface, it simply seems to mean *allowing* other beings to go about their journey. Allowing them to seek their own Joy.

This is profound to me. At the heart of it, it challenges the Golden Rule that gets baked into so many our little minds at a young age. The “do unto others” rule is an ethical code of conduct that assumes that if everyone just did the same thing, and that same thing was a good thing, then the world would be a better place.

There is a deep rooted assumption in this idea that conformity is RIGHT. That everyone SHOULD follow the same rules. That the world would be a better place if everyone would behave the same way, make the same choices, and think the same way. And that there is a RIGHT way to do all of these things… and if there is a right way, there are surely wrong ways.

What is so liberating to me about the idea of The Art of Allowing is that it celebrates the diversity of the human spirit. It also liberates me from the overwhelming, tedious, and pointless task of trying to figure out what is right!

The effect of my own ‘code of ethics’ has brought me to a place where I have also experienced a great feeling of
rejecting the world around me. After all, if the world could be a better place - then this one isn’t ‘right’. If
people could treat people better, then they aren’t ‘right’. This leads me down a path of inevitable frustration, anger, and bitterness.

What if I look at the world around me and simply ACCEPT it? How? By Letting Go of my Judgement. What if the world is PERFECT? What if I am perfect…. perfectly imperfect? Hmmmm… now that’s a different feeling.

~~~

I revel in my imperfections
for they render my Judgements mute
and silence is the voice of God

~~~

Can people change?

I believe there is a core aspect to who we are, an “inner being” if you will, that does not change. This is the essence of self, the Observer, the silent self.

I believe almost everything else that we commonly think of as “Me” is nothing more than a wardrobe change in the play of life.

I am the way I am because of some combination of:

- this is how I want to be, I like it
- I have not yet Allowed change
- there is something about the way I am that works… it gets me what I want
- it matches my concept of me, it fits my story… a story of my choosing, a story I want and like

If I think of myself in this way, my life opens up tremendously. It expands. It grows. My story can evolve, become deeper. I can question what I really want in life. I can Allow change.