Tag Archives: change

A Day in a Life: The Evolving Self In Recapitulation

So, as I wrote about last week in Self in Recapitulation, what eventually occurs as the recapitulation journey is taken is that the old self breaks down and a new self begins to form. As this new self grows stronger and more present it becomes clear that old defenses, once so important and necessary, just don’t cut it anymore. The world, we discover, does not have to function as it once did because we don’t need it to. We realize that it’s safe to change and we find that in changing ourselves the changing world finds us quite likable and acceptable in return, greeting us with open arms.

In containment...

Through deep self-exploration and with self in containment—adult self in balance with inner child self, ensconced in a supportive environment—this change occurs over time, naturally, in a process that we can handle. As we take the recapitulation journey, for as long as it takes, we begin to experience a new, expanded self. In bits and pieces or in leaps and bounds this new self presents itself to us in a myriad of ways, in deeply personal inner changes, in our dream work, in our relationships, and in how we handle the vicissitudes of life itself as we make our way in the outer world. Eventually we may discover that this totally new self is someone we never even imagined we could be.

Even while we are deeply entrenched in our recapitulation process we are offered glimpses of what it will mean to become whole and fully present in this world. We are constantly offered moments of magic and awe. If we can accept them purely as such, as instances of a fully present self projected forward, perhaps months or years ahead, we grasp the deeper meaning of change, of what it will mean to finally attain a new self. We grasp what it will mean to assimilate our fragmented self, to integrate all our parts and become whole.

Recapitulation takes work. The first work is in finding an adult self we can work with, within the context of who we are at the moment. We all have a mature adult self inside us somewhere. We all grew up, went to school, got jobs, perhaps became parents ourselves, took on responsibilities of one sort or another. We all have access to a parent self, constructed from what we grew up with perhaps, as I wrote about last week as well. This parent self, no matter where it comes from and how domineering or shaky it may be, is where we start.

Then, as our recapitulation process unfolds, we confront that parent self over and over again, questioning its choices and actions, finding out what they are based on, questioning who is really in control and why. We might find that we don’t really like that parent self, nor do we adhere to its belief system, to its fears, or its needs. We might find that it doesn’t belong to us at all, and then the real work begins as we explore who we truly are as our own separate and unique being.

As we allow ourselves to leave the old world and the old parents behind, acknowledging them for having gotten us this far, we take over our own lives. We become fully responsible, knowing that we alone are enough.

A new self emerges...

There came a point in my own recapitulation when I knew this, that I was indeed all I needed to navigate life, that I was all I needed to be balanced and whole, to be contented, fully responsible, fully present and fully alive. And that was the point when I learned what it meant to love myself, for being who I am, for my daring, adventuresome, strong, and capable self. And then I learned that there was even something more important than self.

Finally freed of old ideas of self, I was then ready to learn what it meant to love another human being, intimately and purely. And in allowing myself to be loved in return, I learned the meaning of universal love, of giving without needing anything at all in return, simply because love is always available to give. I learned how to simply be.

In taking over responsibility for our own journeys and moving forward into life in our own unique way, we have the opportunity to live differently—always—abiding by a new set of proven principles, our own, firmly and forever in alignment with our spirit. We may make some mistakes, even some of the same ones that we’ve made before, and we may have to recapitulate quite a bit of old stuff, but with those moments of magic and awe leading us onward we just keep going, knowing that the world we grew up in was just one aspect of our lives and it does not define who we truly are.

By taking up the challenge of our recapitulation in a mature manner, by answering the call to do deep inner work in full awareness of its many challenges, we allow ourselves to change ourselves and our world. In giving ourselves permission to face, dismantle, and pore over the pieces of our old selves, we move on into new and different life, evolving life, taking with us only that which truly works for us.

In alignment with our spirit’s intent, now with our truths in hand, we find ourselves on a new mission, eager to learn more about life, why we are here and where we are going. Now we know the real value of recapitulation, because we are living it. We are living life more fully, without fear, the world greeting us each new day without fear in return.

Something new...

Each day I learn something new. I learn the lessons I personally need to learn. I learn that we are all students and teachers, parents and children, selfish and selfless, lover and loved alike. Every day, I ask the universe to enlighten me a little bit more, to help me as I continue my journey.

Show me my failings so that I can confront them, I ask. Show me my beauties so I can enhance them. Show me my goodness so I can share it. Show me my magic so I can evolve. Lead me on my journey so I can be of service. Thank you for teaching me to be humble, selfless, and kind.

May we all take our journeys without fear, always open to the path that unfolds before us. May we stop running and hiding long enough to take a breath of something new, aware that one fresh idea is all we may need to begin a new life.

Most humbly offered,

Jan

Readers of Infinity: Body-Mind Communication

Somewhere in between the shadows lies the aware self

Dear Infinity: What message of guidance do you offer us today?

Be mindful of the body self. Be aware that pain signifies a need for change. Be also aware that in change itself there is indeed pain. Pain may be a catalyst to change and change, in turn, may trigger pain, but either way, in offering pain, life is suggesting that change is necessary.

Why must we change? As human beings life is all about change. From the moment of conception until death, change is constantly taking place, both incrementally and in leaps and bounds. Sometimes we find ourselves perfectly happy to be along for the ride and at other times quite reluctant. But, in the end, change happens anyway.

There is a determining factor, often overlooked, in the changing process and its outcome, and that factor is the self, the aware self. In training the aware self, one becomes attuned to what the body self indicates in its daily alerts.

Pay attention to pain, not as something to be suppressed and gotten rid of, but as a challenge to raise self-awareness. Pay attention to what pain is trying to tell you, often on a very deep level. Pain may come in the form of physical pain, but it is also likely to come in the form of emotional or mental pain as well.

Allow the self to treat pain differently now. Attend to it differently. Ask it to clarify its message. Ask it to guide you to understanding and release—for pain requires a response on your part if it is to truly be released. In release comes greater clarity and growth, the kind of growth that leads to more acute awareness of the self, both the physical body self and its messages as well as the higher, aware, self and its messages.

Inner work can begin simply by bringing attention to pain in the body—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual—in whatever form it appears. Ask it to let you in on why you must suffer. The higher self and the body self communicate quite well already, but you lie somewhere in the middle of the communication, often not privy to the real messages being sent. Learn to speak the silent language of body-mind communication. It’s not really that hard to do.

Somewhere in the folds of self lies clarity

Ask pain, in whatever form it comes, to lead you to clarity. Know that it is necessary, first of all, and know, as well, that it is equally necessary to acquiesce to the release of it. It is what happens in between that matters. Old pain left behind creates blockages and communication between the body self and the higher self suffers as a result, leaving you feeling distant, in muffled unawareness.

Find time for quiet talk within. Learn the secret language of body-mind communication. Begin with that. Sit with quiet mind and wait for insight. You will receive it. Decide what needs to be done to begin a process of change that is right for you alone. If a course of action is not clear, ask again. Receive another message and ask another question. In patience, await your body-mind response. It will come.

There is always a part of you ready to give the answer. There is another part of you that must be ready to receive it. Once you begin to recognize these two parts and the language that they alone speak, you will be well on your way to changing in a different way, all aspects of self—body, mind, spirit, physical, mental, emotional—communicating nicely.

Oh, and don’t forget to enjoy the process, one of the most engaging and enlightening, that of being human with awareness!

Thank you infinity!

Most humbly and gratefully channeled by Jan Ketchel.

Readers of Infinity: Seek Goodness

Seek your honest self

Here is a message from Jeanne.

Be not afraid to speak the truth, to act truthfully, and to be true. At all times act from your hearts.

Even as I repeatedly suggest acting always from your heart, allowing it to guide you, so do I suggest that it become your most trusted guide. For heart-centered goodness must become the new norm.

In honest appraisal and in honest conversation will change that is truly good arise. In being honest with the self first will honest interaction be possible between partners and beings of acquaintance alike. Only in truthful and honest interaction will a world change be possible, as well as change in the lives of those closest to you.

It is time now for honesty with self regarding the deepest issues that plague you, My Dears. Whether they are simple and fairly inconsequential or quite profound and confusing, if you do not face them your progress will falter and you will struggle needlessly. Remind the self always that you carry within all the answers you need. Remind yourself also that you carry within all the problems you need too. Attend within and then carry without all the goodness you find there, for you will indeed find goodness within.

Is this the way?

The way to goodness and light resides in your daily process of self-discovery, change, and growth. Set your intent to seek always the light within. Ask it to guide you to discover your heart, your goodness, and your truth. Light the way to your future with that light from within. Through your darkness it lies, always waiting for you, with open arms, full of love and light.

Look within and without for your answers. Seek balance. Seek your heart’s truth. Ask it to guide you so that you may find your way to happiness and a long life full of goodness. Yes, it does exist! For each of you!

Most humbly, and with love, channeled by Jan Ketchel.

Readers of Infinity: Times Of Change

Here is this week’s message from Jeanne and all of Infinity:

Pull into center of self

Sit in calmness and know thy self. Although there is great turmoil in the world around you, do not attach to its troubled energy, for it is but the energy of the times. It is the energy that must be passed through in order for change to happen. Be calm like the solid earth at your feet. Know that within the self that earth’s calmness reverberates. That is where you must sit while you wait out the storm.

Know that turmoil within is growth-oriented, but if you are pulled apart by its tensions you will suffer greatly. Find always your inner strength and balance. Pull always inward to sit in its calm center. This is where you must also wait out the inner storm, a storm that also rides in on these times of change.

Allow the self this: the truth that your spirit knows everything you are going through, that it seeks union with you and, without rejecting anything you are going through, it seeks acceptance and acknowledgment of its presence in your life. Spirit asks for acceptance and that you let it guide you through these turbulent times, both those outside and those inside.

Constantly pull back into self now. Connect with inner calm spirit of self and know full well that you are on the road to change. The journey began a long time ago. Spirit asks you to finally accept this truth of self and then it asks that you allow yourself to keep going. The journey will not stop, only you stop. Is that really what you want to do?

The only real stopping necessary is the stopping of outer turmoil and distraction by constantly re-centering in spirit self. That is where calmness lies. In that calmness will you succeed in gaining clarity and fuller understanding of your personal journey. But it is only in continually taking that journey that its fulfillment will be revealed. And who knows what that might be!

Fulfillment lies in the hands of your daring spirit self. Let it guide you. Let it surprise you. For that is what it will do, My Dears, surprise you indeed!

Keep going. Don’t be afraid. You are safe in your own hands. Live who you truly are.

Channeled by Jan Ketchel

Readers of Infinity: A Message From Jeanne—On Patience

Dear Jeanne, I ask for your advice on behalf of all your readers. You constantly mention that we are in changing times—that change is happening all the time—and I get that, but I also know that sometimes it feels like change is so slow that we hardly notice it. I know that incrementally we are shifting and changing all the time, both inside ourselves and in the outside world, but it often feels like we don’t really get anywhere. I pose this question because I know many others are struggling to get to a new level of awareness and experience as well, and may be equally frustrated at times: If our goal is to get to a new level, how do we actually get there?

Here is Jeanne’s response:

Are we making it harder than it really is?

I suggest, My Dear Ones, that rather than focus on the goal that you focus instead on the process. It is not the goal that will lead you to a new level but the steps you take on your journey. Allow your steps to be enough for now. Allow the incremental process that you might find frustrating to be all that you need to hone your skills. Do not look forward so much, but instead study what comes to teach you every day. You see, that is where the change you seek is already happening.

In those incremental daily shifts, in those signs that come to guide you, though you may miss their significance until you have experienced their outcome, you are already in the midst of change. This is what I do, indeed, talk about all the time. Change is already upon you. But do you notice?

I advise patience in all things now. Watch what is happening outside of you, carefully now, as you take into consideration the truth that fundamental life-enhancing change is happening all the time. Note that each day you are indeed a little further along on your course, that you have learned something new, that you are more open to your process of growth and evolution. And a little bit more each day is enough.

Release yourselves from impatience and let go to patience-with-awareness. Wake up each morning to a new day, for that is what it truly is, a new day to change the self even incrementally. And that is what you must all focus on now, incremental change, each step taken while more fully embracing the progress of the self. Your speed of progress is not an issue, it’s what you learn and what you do with it that is important.

Learn this: trust the process, as you lean into patience and work on gaining the alertness you may need to signal the changes you may have been missing.

Take your time to pause each day and take note, writing down even the tiniest of experiences that may be even slightly odd, quirky, mysterious, or downright phenomenal. And then seek the greater meaning for such experiences. Look at them without fear, and only with consideration for the lessons they seek to teach you. That is where your changing self will meet your impatient self and reveal the mind-blowing moments of awareness. What have you been missing lately? And what does it mean for you specifically? What does “taking it to the next level” really mean to you? It might not be what you think.

As I said, be patient, be alert, take note, learn something about the self and the journey you are on today and everyday. Be open, as open as you can be to the ultimate goal of growth.

Perhaps it's enough to just enjoy the light of a new day.

Yes, the light of freedom is there at the end of the tunnel, yet do not get blinded by it before you have traveled the road to its true source. It is not the light you seek now, but the necessary lessons that will lead you to fully understanding the meaning of the light at the end of the tunnel. It is inside the tunnel, in each step you take that your lessons lie.

Look with joy on your opportunity to experience a new day in whatever world you reside in. Be joyous that you are learning what you need at the pace you can handle. Your own spirit decides the process, no one else.

Be patient. There is a reason for everything.

Thank you, Jeanne. Personally, I learn from this message that as we change we often seek to replace what we’re missing with something new, a new habit, a new comfort, a new person. Feeling the gap, we grasp at something that will make us feel comfortable again. Perhaps we even grasp at meaning. But what I get from Jeanne’s message today is: don’t grasp, even at meaning. Just keep taking the journey; you will learn everything you need. As she says, it’s the journey itself that is important, and not necessarily the goal. Set the intent and then let intent lead the way. -Jan