Going Forward
This morning, I was meditating very early and feeling these words “going forward” so powerfully in my mind that it even further concretized my realization - that is what we do. We are always moving forward and making choices but sometimes we get caught in the power of our past actions or we get caught in the anticipation of future actions which haven't even occurred yet!
I think this is one of the deepest elements of what self-realization and self-empowerment really is about, taking total command of the moment, taking a deep breath and focusing inwardly on the power that you always have. It’s funny how sometimes we feel we're powerless when it's actually the other way around.
As I write this I have a beautiful view to the east from our Bamboo Garden Wellness Center and I'm watching these hawks fly through the air with such ease and grace, their powerful wings spread wide to catch the air currents as they dart from here to there. Their inner focus intent.
That kind of freedom of flight is the essence of who we truly are. Made even more poignant in those moments when we feel trapped by our past actions or we feel daunted by imagined future events that haven't even occurred yet. I think part of the essence of how we continue to emancipate ourselves is a certain continuity or a certain constancy of ever reminding ourselves of our ability to take this command over our thoughts, our minds, our emotions, and to realize that we are so much more than that.
I tell my students that even just taking the moment to take a deep breath or to consider more deeply is the spiritual juice because that's using the power of the will to invoke changes in the stream or the flow of our energy.
Interrupting those old patterns and limiting beliefs and focusing on going forward is the essence of defining a much more powerful revelation of our true character, it is following what some teachers call the true self.
A personal example that I use is when early in the morning I must get up or I begin to meditate and certain fears arise unannounced I then focus on my breath, and I focus on being in the deepest gratitude for all that I have. That in itself is interrupting negative patterns so that they don't gain ground or take root within my being. That is me making conscious choices to emancipate myself from limiting beliefs no matter how powerful they are. I realize that I am not my thoughts.
We know the emotions that we feel or express are always preceded by a thought. It is when those thoughts begin to control us whether they are of past actions or imagined future events that we suffer and we lose the center of our inner balance.
When I engage any of these negative feelings that come across, I recognize them for what they are. And I become invisible to their energy and, frankly, just allow them to pass through me without attaching to me at all. And of course, I'm not successful all of the time but it is by concert effort that continues to define the nature of my character in this lifetime.
You can do the same, going forward. Be consistent and discipline yourself to know when there's a negative pattern, and instead of allowing it to take control, interrupt that energy and move forward.
Blessings,
Dr. Richard Jelusich, Ph.D.
