Originally published in Inner Tapestry. Go to: www.innertapestry.org
TRANSFORMATION
Here is where you get to be an alchemist, changing the lead of a part of your life you don’t like into the gold of your dream life.
Of course, to change, you have to change. But we humans tend not to change until the fear of commitment is less than the pain of the status quo. Commitment is critical, because changes won’t last unless we make them non-negotiable. The ego mind is solely intent on the survival and protection of the familiar, of what it thinks is safe and comfortable. Thus it will resist any change toward growth or development.
Growth is a risk, and ego doesn’t like risk. Stepping deeper into life is vulnerable, and ego doesn’t like that either. Following your dreams requires stepping outside of your comfort zone, and ego really doesn’t like that! So ego will rebel, revolt, intimidate and assault your attempts to make changes, no matter how they may benefit you. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that your resilience can overcome your ego if you lovingly, clearly, simply and practically persist in pursuing your dream.
It is not the boss, the spouse, the government, the weather or anything else “out there” that needs changing if you are unhappy with some aspect of your life. Or if, in part, something outside of you does happen to be part of the problem, the only thing you have the power to change is you – your perspective, attitude, willingness, beliefs, actions, etc. The power to transform your life lies within you and in collaboration with whatever higher power you have a relationship with.
It is invaluable in this process to see what fear-based beliefs and habits you hold in your unconscious, because the unconscious is the level at which you have to change them. Trying to change deep-seated fears only at the conscious level is like using white-out and markers to change an error on a computer screen. You have to make the change in the hard drive! That is done through acceptance, forgiveness, willingness and love. To make lasting change, embrace your reality and see the challenges, fears, failures and limiting beliefs as opportunities to heal.
I developed this formula, which is a simple, concise and powerful process to follow in order to transform your life. The preliminary work is to bring your unconscious wounds to the surface – actually they do that on their own, just notice your resistance, resentments, critical judgments, blame and shame. I call that preliminary piece EXPLORATION. Then the steps in the formula are I+M+P+I=T:
Inspiration (Dream it; what is the thing you most deeply want for your life?)
+Motivation (Feel it; how does the dream feel in your emotions & senses?)
+Perspiration (Do it; take right action, commit to that action, and persist in it)
+Integration (Be it; know that you already are what you want to have & become.)
=Transformation (This will happen automatically when you take those 4 steps!)
Following this formula, no matter what you want to transform in your life, will lead you closer and closer to your desired result. The changes you want to make, though they may be challenging, are doable if they come from the heart. Embrace them.
Whether you are attracting, creating or transforming your life, the final piece, and maybe the most important, is to be grateful. Every night, reflect on the day and be grateful about everything! Everything was either a gift or a lesson, and both are invaluable. Anything you can’t say thank you for is baggage; anything you can say thank you for is fuel. Gratitude is the gateway to personal power (love), allowing us ordinary folk to do extraordinary things with our desires and dreams.