Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to face this challenge? is there A New Paradigm to shift my thinking?
Do you sometimes hear yourself asking these types of questions, either aloud or silently?
Whether you are struggling with a health condition, an addiction to unhealthy foods or alcohol, or even difficulty with your spouse or children, you may find yourself pondering the meaning of these hurdles in your life.
“Why couldn’t my life run more smoothly?” you may wonder.
You may even lament the happier existence you could be experiencing if only this particular scenario wasn’t playing out in your life.
A New Paradigm to healing your body, mind and soul.
When we are in the midst of discord in our lives, it can be very difficult to see a bigger picture.
But most of us can agree that when we do gain perspective after an unpleasant incident has occurred in life, we often find that there was a hidden gift.
In time, even though our losses can leave a void or a tender spot in our hearts, we often can see grace in even the most upsetting past incidents.
For example, at the time that I got sick at a young age, it felt like one of the worst things that could have happened to me.
Losing all my energy was a blow that was very difficult for me to accept.
However, from my current vantage point, as I now gaze back onto that period in my life, I can see the many blessings that were part of that experience, and how through that illness, a brand new world opened up to me—the world of healing at the levels of the body, mind and soul.
Getting sick in my early twenties opened up a whole new paradigm and new world of learning for me—one that I would never have delved into without the motivation of wanting to be well.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could gain this perspective on the challenges we face today without having to wait twenty five years?
Is it possible to find a gift in having a health situation that completely compromises our lifestyle?
How can we find a new paradigm to look at our struggles with food and our weight when the reflection in the mirror daily reminds us that we are losing the battle?
When your spouse disappoints you, what value can you possibly extract?
If we only see our life condition through the limited perspective of the conscious mind, the temptation may be to just give up, get busy with something else or look the other way by distracting ourselves with our addiction of choice—whether it be work, overeating, drinking, watching television or smoking cigarettes.
When viewed through the lens of our conscious, rational, analytical mind, our “problems” often cause us to feel hopeless, stuck or even desperate.
If we shift our focus from the problem by bringing our awareness to a greater aspect of ourselves, we don’t have to wait several decades to gain insight, hope and a new paradigm of understandings.
However, it’s not through the conscious mind that we can access this greater self within, because the limited nature of the analytical mind can not grasp that which is vaster than itself.
To reach our wider, deeper, wiser, spiritual self—our infinite and expansive soul, we must be willing to go beyond the terrain of limited, conscious thinking.
We reach the world of the soul by becoming aware of inner space—the space between our thoughts, the silence behind all sound and the feelings and sensations in the body.
As we open our awareness to a new paradigm and more complete sense of ourselves, we can deepen our connection to our core by focusing on the center of our chest.
This metaphorical heart is the doorway to the world of our deeper, wiser heart and soul.
When you narrow your focus to your breath flowing in and out of your chest, while at the same time opening yourself to the feeling sensation of the space that surrounds your body, you can begin to experience an expanded sense of yourself.
connecting with your "True self"
The more you practice connecting with your deeper self—what I call your True self—the more you can connect with the intuitive hunches that will guide you towards your next logical step, regardless of what is going on in your outer world.
Connecting with your deep self helps you to listen to the inner guidance that is propelling you forward on your life’s journey.
The seeming obstacles are only there to nudge you forward towards discovering your greater nature.
If we look at every facet of life as being there to help us advance into more of who we truly are – getting to know more of our deeper self, then we won’t be as tossed around by the inevitable challenges we face in life.
Rather than view our personal problems as a wall to bang up against, we can find that these same challenges give us a doorway to walk through where we can discover more fully how we are choosing to live, to breathe, to think, to eat, what we pay attention to and focus on, our awareness of our inner and outer worlds, how we hold ourselves (posture), our level of physical activity, the pictures we hold in our mind, the voices within and outside ourselves that we listen to and the beliefs that we hold to be true.
the opportunity to make the changes necessary with a new paradigm
These observations need not be labeled good, bad, right or wrong. Noticing our choices, preferences and mode of operation simply allows us the opportunity to make the changes necessary to support our greatest growth.
We are challenged because the subconscious mind that runs on automatic programming has made conclusions based on our life experiences, from the past, that limit us.
When we have a "problem" such as being sick or find ourselves struggling with addiction or relationships, we are forced to take a look at our paradigm and make shifts.
It may not necessarily be easy but it is a true path to freedom from the habitual responses to life that no longer serve you.
As you delve into your greater self, be prepared to uncover a real gift as you become better acquainted with and have more access to, and hopefully even live from, your deeper, wiser, spiritual, expanded self and by doing so, re-connecting with the longings of your precious, limitless, timeless soul.
As painful as they can be, life’s bumps and bruises give us an opportunity to grow, but we have to say yes to it, and be willing to discard that which limits us, from the past.
respond differently...
Choosing to respond to this new situation differently—with new thoughts, new inner pictures, deeper breathing, greater self-awareness, and taking healthier actions with new paradigm, will lead us toward a more desired outcome than just blindly following the habitual behaviors that we’ve become accustomed to, over time.
Every thought, emotion and behavior does have a consequence, not just in the outer world but on ourselves.
It's making those connections that allow us to truly heal and begin to honor ourselves.
Rather than wondering, “why me?” when things aren’t going the way we wanted them to, we can take a deep breath, open our awareness to everything in our peripheral vision, increase our feeling-sensation perception, connect with our heart, and ask,
“What can I learn about myself today that will be useful for me tomorrow?”
