Even though we may say we want change, many of us are actually afraid of it at a deep level. Though we may outwardly express a hope for something new, inwardly we may be in resistance. Holding on to old patterns in our hearts, minds and actions, we find ourselves too often in the same situations over and over again, without the transformation we had anticipated.
We may blame circumstance, others, even the divine, for the events in our life. Or we may blame ourselves, getting stuck in self-criticism instead of opening to solutions. Try and try as we may, here we are again, right back to where we don’t want to be! So how do we break the cycle and make way for real change?
When you want something to change, your tendency may be to see the problem as external. So you go out and try to fix the situation or person to your liking. Sooner or later you discover that this leads to further unhappiness because you don’t have the power to change people or situations. You can only change yourself, which means being present.
Change does not happen anywhere other than where you are in this moment. When you pause the ongoing inner wanting for things to be different, you find that the steps to change – that you thought were an absent mystery beyond your reach – are in fact right under your feet.
I love the word “understanding”. To me it shows that when your heart opens to what is happening in this moment, you become aware of how you are supported. You are standing under, rooted in the fullness of life. There you find the genuine inspiration, momentum and traction to meet your personal potential for change.
Be willing to see things as they are, rather than how you want them to be. Acceptance is not blind or resigned, but active and awake. By accepting what is, you are not giving in, but tapping into the flow of Nature, which is ever changing. You open to the fullness of life, that serves your highest good and the good of all.
When you are unwilling to see this moment as it is, you only perpetuate your feeling of dissatisfaction, from which pain grows. You create a push/pull dynamic in which you divorce yourself from your true source of power: being a co-creative participant within the whole. Mistaking yourself for the isolated “doer” of your life, you become frustrated, feel alone and experience a roller coaster of highs and lows from conquest to defeat. This cycle is draining and does not serve anyone.
The next time you experience something you don’t like, such as getting a bill in the mail, notice your feelings about it. Rather than getting angry or despondent and feeling like a helpless victim, or trying to push away any feelings of discomfort by making a joke of it or setting it aside to “deal with later”, just see it, for what it is. Notice the situation with open eyes. Only then will you find the expansive course of action that will bring lasting joy.
Change arises from a place of active beingness within you. When you are willing to open to life as it is and surrender to the fullness of the moment, you discover the richness of life, where change is taking place. In every moment, there is a spark from a loving universe that is just for you. It guides you to your soul purpose. Go there, and watch your world transform.
Parvati is an award-winning musician (I Am Light, Electro Yog, Yoga In The Nightclub, Sanctuary), yogini (YEM: Yoga as Energy Medicine), author (Aonani of Avalon, The Three Supreme Secrets for Lasting Happiness) and founder of the not-for-profit Parvati.org. All her work is dedicated to protecting all life on Earth by establishing the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS). More info: parvati.tv and parvati.org.
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