Things are certainly ramping up, but this is expected, for you have seen and felt the energetic press of change for a long time now and you have been feeling its certain effects. More of the same is to come. The times of change are not over, and how could they be? Without change there would be stagnation. Stagnation is unhealthy. Keep attuned to what is right, and always turn to your heart when your head is spinning. It will find a way to give you the right answer.
It’s not too late to slow down and take a breather. It’s not too late to lay stress aside and embrace a calmer lifestyle. You may need to do this consciously, with intent, or you may be forced to do this. Take a moment today to reassess and recalculate your intentions. What are you actually trying to do, and why? Sometimes it’s best to do nothing but wait.
Balance is key to everything, both within and without, within the physical body and within the spirit. Maintain balance by keeping your attention focused on what is going on inside you a little bit more today. Keep your attention on what your body is saying to you rather than overriding it again. It’s so easy to override the true needs of the self, so try to stay alert for longer periods today. Ask your body to let you know what it truly needs and wants. And then do the same to your spirit. They will respond.
Adeptness of spirit leads to an ability to go with the flow of life, not getting too attached to what comes to draw you away from honing skills of the Divine. Keep your focus inward, attempting to advance as much as possible each day, to fulfill the desires of your spirit self, even while you fully attend to the desires of your worldly self. Both selves deserve full attention so that balance is achieved in life. Though we speak often of keeping the inner world lit and alive, we also give equal attention to the outer world. Most people, however, lean heavily in the direction of the outer world and so our missives stress the need for the opposite, the inner journey as well. There is always more that can be done to keep a good balance!
Stop having to stop anything. We get hooked on this materialist imperative for the obvious reason that our senses provide a constant barrage of physical impressions that dominate our attention and mental consideration. We are led to believe that if we are to improve our lot we must change something physically.
In this scenario, our spirit, in its ego form, takes charge and insists upon a new schedule of defined behaviors that will advance it toward its goal. Inevitably there is habitual resistance toward this stated intent, but ego basks in the power of its determination as it pushes through.
The shadow of resistance might lie dormant as ego flexes its muscle, but inevitably there is a coup that overthrows the best of ego intentions. Ego intent is no match for desire. The fire of desire will reign supreme until the fuel that feeds it runs out. That fuel is the spirit of the lower mind that is identified with the denser energy of the physical body, as well as all things physical. Its battle cry is, generally, “More!”
It may be that we want desperately to truly change a behavior and, in fact, must to stay healthy. But in order to achieve this in a sustained way, the change must come at the level of spirit, not from efforts directed at the physical plane, which ultimately terminate in defeat.
The needed change is the refinement of the spirit of desire that issues from the lower self of the physical body and ultimately rises to the higher Spirit self that resides, in the transparency of truth, at the immortal dimension of our being. We experience that elevated dimension from the truth of our heart, the clarity of our intuition, and in our partnership with the divinity of all that is through the portal of our subconscious mind.
To avail itself of the power of this divine relationship, ego does well to focus its attention on suggestions to its subconscious mind, rather than focus on new rules for physical behavior. In this scenario, an influx of spirit energy from a higher plane of self is released to effect a greater spiritualization, at the coarser plane of the physical body.
Specifically, the ego could ask the subconscious mind to lift its desire for a particular behavior, and transform its energy into a changed expression for the greater good of self and other. How might such a transformation feel?
Say, for example one was dealing with a sexual addiction. Under the compulsion of such desire, one spends most of one’s day trying to secure objects to serve as a release for this desire. These casual hookups have no connection except the mutual desire for sexual release. Sexual desire at this level is at its coarsest—physical contact for physical release.
If one were to strongly and consistently demand that the subconscious engage its energies to lift this compulsion, the first effect might be the experience of a reduced actual desire, or physical neutrality, at exposure to a possible object for release. What one then confronts is more the old habit of thought of desire, but not actually the compulsion itself.
In this scenario, the ego is charged to make the choice to accept this gift of grace, and not purposely try to activate the desire for habit’s sake. The ego is asked to be the adult that has been provided with grace by its Higher Self and choose to stay in the peace of this actual moment. This is not a new rule, it’s simply being where you actually are in that moment. Ancient habits may require many rounds in this choiceful cycle.
The actual spiritual lifting of this coarser sexual desire might ultimately refine it into the experience of true loving connection and cherished sexual union in a committed partnership, with a true soulmate, versus mere release with an indiscriminate playmate.
Obviously, these transformative stages are relevant to the refinement of all compulsive desires. These might include food, wardrobe, substances, perfection, negativity, the getting of attention, rage, self-importance—the list is endless. Life in human form is life in the refinement of spirit, from the coarser to the finer, the ticket for spiritual adventure and advance.
The technology for this advancement rests in spirit relationship. This includes spirit at the physical level, spirit at the mental level of the ego, and spirit at the level of the divine in the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds.
Forget approaching change with a new set of rules for the body. Get instead to the spiritual heart of the matter. With love and demand, ask and you shall receive. Be receptive to grace as it arrives as it will, every day, in some way.
An equanimity mantra from Jan, said slowly, with emphasis on “I am”:
I am at peace.
I am at peace.
Within and without,
I am at peace.
