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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.