Going deeper through detachment

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Detachment allows you to explore all the facets of life

“True detachment isn’t separation from life but the absolute freedom within your mind to explore living.”  
~Ron Rathbun~   

Attachment creates suffering in our experience; therefore, detachment creates peace in our experience. Worlds away from apathy, detachment is genuinely being at peace with whatever unfolds without layering the situation with expectations, must-haves or the perception that something is or was wrong.

When you experience the present moment with an open heart, it allows you to see see more clearly. A quiet mind is the beginning of freedom. Rather than living a repetitive pattern, we learn to break free and just be.

No matter how it appears, everything in your life situation is pointing you to this truth. Practice with daily application: When you send a text, release all expectation about when you will get a response. When you let someone know what is important to you, release the need to be immediately understood or heard (sometimes others process information more slowly). Notice the small ways that attachment creates disharmony and choose to utilize that moment of awareness to do things differently.

The smallest breakthroughs in habitual behavior create dramatic changes. Infinite gifts await your discovery.

Holding on to unworthiness

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When someone doesn’t believe they deserve joy, they often sabotage their own efforts.
“We cling to our beliefs, even when we know they cause us suffering. We maintain our illusions, even when they make us miserable. We know this, but we refuse to act on it.”  
~Ezra Bayda~   

When you interact with someone who seems to consistently find fault with the present moment, respond compassionately. Do not move into their playground by becoming defensive or attempting to change their point of view. Since the mind is controlled by ego, your actions, energy and love will have a greater impact than words, logic, ideas or concepts.

Unhappiness is an addiction. It blocks us from experiencing an authentic connection with one another because it causes our interactions to be ego-driven rather than soul-driven.

Everyone struggles with unworthiness at some point in their journey. The ego will find a reason to hold on to frustration rather than experiencing the present moment joyfully. Don’t wait for life to fall into place before you choose to be happy. You have the power to create whatever experience you wish.

Enlightenment is Now

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When you strip away the cacophony, love is speaking through the stillness.

“Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.”  
~Eckhart Tolle~ 

Practice listening. Observe without mentally labeling what you see. Choose to experience the sacred energy which flows through all life. It sounds simple, but active listening and observation call upon us to break free of thousands of years of human conditioning.

We have a role to play in the transformation of our collective consciousness. The moment you choose to approach situations differently, you create an opportunity for growth. This can only be accomplished by being present. If your mind is elsewhere – worrying about the future or carrying the past – you’ll be too distracted to see clearly.

Each of us is responsible for our own state of consciousness. In this moment, how peaceful are you? Resistance creates anxiety while acceptance opens us to receive grace. Cultivate your ability to accept what is and respond to life with inner awareness. Enlightenment is not something that you’ll experience at some point in the future. It is here Now.

Indicators of transition

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Unexpected challenges are meant to wake us from the sleep of illusion.

“Spiritual practice includes learning how to open-heartedly receive the shocks of life – the things you don’t like, the people who criticize you, the job that goes wrong, the partner that leaves, the health that fails you – whatever shakes you up.”  
~Ezra Bayda~ 
When you are ready to break free from old patterns, you may notice that they increase in intensity. You may experience resistance from those around you because your changes cause a definitive shift in relationships and how you choose to respond to your life situation. See the resistance and chaos as indicators that the changes you are making are significant and push forward.

Personal change is akin to cleaning out a closet. First you must take everything out to determine what to keep and what to discard. This process often makes other rooms appear cluttered and can be momentarily overwhelming. But as you purge and reorganize, everything eventually becomes calm once again and you can see the results of the action you have taken. Intensity is part of the process of transformation.

Sometimes life forces change upon us. Know that you are able to handle anything that occurs in your experience. It would not unfold without explicit permission from your higher self. These moments of awakening have the potential to lift you to higher states of consciousness.

The joy of Infinite possibility

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No matter how far you have come, remember this… you have only just begun.

“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity.”  
~Gilda Radner~ 
 
We are here to explore the facets of love.  As we evolve, the patterns that once served us so well need to shift. This is simply the nature of expansion and is the basis of our journey as masters in the process of awakening. Consider the various belief systems and circumstances you’ve explored as stepping stones that have provided a brief foundation for your life experience. Never stop learning.

Old souls typically explore many ideas and teachings and ultimately work with a blend of truths that speak to their soul. This is normal. The time for orderly, structured belief systems has passed. Be willing to see yourself as a channel for the light of consciousness.

Let your life be a dance of discovery. Everyone you encounter has the potential to teach you something new. When we can bring a sense of humility and openness to our interactions, we stand on the threshold of infinite possibility.

You are love

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Choose to fall madly in love with life.

“Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not “I love you” for this or that reason, not “I love you if you love me.” It’s love for no reason, love without an object. It’s just sitting in love, a love that incorporates the chair and the room and permeates everything around. The thinking mind is extinguished in love.”  
~Ram Dass~
 
Seek love – in the mirror, in the breeze, within life… Love resides at the core of everything we experience; however, one must be alert to perceive it. You may hear the mind saying, “The world is filled with hatred. There is no love in violence.” Look beyond the obvious. Love and hate are two sides of the same contrasting experience. One cannot exist without the other. Therefore, hatred ultimately teaches us about the strength and truth of love.

Recognizing love becomes easier when you have learned to love yourself. Without the distraction of negative or critical self-talk, we are able to see with the heart. If you cannot find love in a given situation, be the one to bring love to it. Your light can transform the darkness.

The energy of Oneness permeates all of existence. It connects us. It frees us and allows our energy to expand to touch the world with something powerful and transformative.

Intuition

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Intuition is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

“Come from the heart, the true heart, not the head. When in doubt, choose the heart. This does not mean to deny your own experiences and that which you have empirically learned through the years. It means to trust your self to integrate intuition and experience. There is a balance, a harmony to be nurtured, between the head and the heart. When the intuition rings clear and true, loving impulses are favored.”  
~Brian Weiss~   
The quieter the mind, the more you can hear. Intuition is a tool that we can utilize as an powerful aspect of our spiritual growth. Integrating the spiritual experience with the human experience awakens true mastery. As we evolve, we bring a different viewpoint to our life circumstances and learn to trust our inner wisdom.

You will likely discover your own unique way of deciphering the messages from your higher Self. Be patient with this process. Practice different approaches and see what works best for you. As you work with this energy, you’ll learn the difference between intuition and ego-generated thought. Always, the ego will create fear or doubt while the intuition (even when forewarning of a potential challenge) will make you feel empowered.

Self-karma

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Everyone who enters your life has a role to play in your growth.

“The spiritual practice of relationships is about working on ourselves only, freeing ourselves from the constricting grip of our own unhappiness. It is not the other person’s job to take our unhappiness away; our discomfort is our own responsibility. Attending to our own spiritual tasks – seeing our judgments, opinions, beliefs, demands, ad staying present with the fears out of which they all arise – frees others to move toward us. Then, when they no longer feel the need to defend, they become more willing to take care of their job. Thus joy in relationships becomes possible.”  
~Ezra Bayda~ 
When we are ready to heal old emotional wounds, our higher Self sends an energetic call out into the universe requesting assistance. Those who answer the call are willing to play a role (typically adversarial) to bring the energy of the wound to the service. These loving souls are willing to risk losing our love and goodwill in this life for the specific purpose of healing.

When we get triggered, when life gets intense, healing is possible. As Rumi once said, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” The ego may attempt to distract by moving in victimhood; however, this form of resistance indicates that true transformation is at hand.

You are loved, supported and guided – always. Trust the processes of your awakening by choosing to turn and face your challenges with an open heart.

Nurture yourself

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Treat yourself with kindness and compassion.

“The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person, or event – through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you – ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with who you are.”  
~Eckhart Tolle~ 
 
Many people forget the importance of self-love. They give and give, stay busy, constantly focus on the next goal or project and typically neglect their own needs. Make yourself, and your state of consciousness, your top priority.

Pay attention to how you begin each morning. Do you immediately rush into tasks that need to be done? Do you lay in bed visualizing various scenarios, reach for the phone or click on the tv? Remember that wherever you place your focus first sets the tone for the rest of the day.

With this in mind, create your own balancing rituals. Begin a loving conversation with yourself and with the Divine. Just for a moment, move into gratitude, slow down and breathe and set your intention. Throughout your daily experience, remember to check your state of consciousness. Are you stressed? Do you need to eat, drink water or be more mindful?

When you nurture yourself, you have more to give those you love. You will be more patient and compassionate and take an active role in your own awakening.

The blame game

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The ego loves to judge, blame and criticize. Purposely choose not to participate in such behavior.

“Blaming is an addition. Justifying ourselves can keep us lost in our stories for hours, days, and even years. Blaming puts the focus on the perceived faults of the other and lets us evade the necessity of directing our attention inward. Blame always separates, always disconnects. Overcoming addiction to blaming is an absolute prerequisite to experiencing the connectedness that is the essence of who we are.”  
~Ezra Bayda~ 

When we find fault with another, it distracts us from working on our own dysfunction. Our collective society is currently caught in a mental-emotional trap where it seems that no one will ever be happy with any situation. Social media has provided a way to hide behind a facade while spewing anger at specific people, situations, institutions, companies or more broadly, differing categories of politics, religion or race.

All judgement is self judgment projected outward. It’s important to stay aware and consistently observe the energy that we send out into the world. When the need to blame arises, choose to be silent. Examine the situation to determine what has triggered your ire and focus your attention inward. Bring higher consciousness to whatever you choose to think, say or write. This is an opportunity for you to evolve.

Ultimately, when breakthrough occurs, all we will experience is gratitude for the other. What formerly manifested as reactivity is transformed into awareness and healing.