Nothing is as it seems…
What is reality anyway? What makes up your experience of what you see as real? Is everything static? The foods you like, the people you prefer, dynamics between friends and within the family framework, what you’re good at, who you believe yourself to be… Is everything simply as it is (from your perspective) or are things perhaps fluid, changeable, illusory – possibly based upon your constructs of thought?
Big questions… but questions worth contemplating nonetheless. If however you’re happy with your lot, uninterested in having a different, perhaps grander, more expansive and ‘better’ life experience then stop reading here. If however, you’re someone who’s unsatisfied and experienced that gnawing feeling that there’s more and you’re unconvinced that everything you’ve been led to believe up until now is the one and only truth, then I would suggest these questions are worthy of a least a little bit of your consideration.
I mean, for me, I would feel wholly disappointed if I thought that life followed one prescriptive route – incarnate, battle through the schooling system, decide what you want to do with the rest of your life at the ripe old age of 16, (for the males among us) find a career that would support a family, (for the women) find a male who can do the supporting, get married, have kids, come to know ‘life is hard’, pay the bills, do the ‘best’ you can, (for the males) keep slaving away until retirement, (for the women) wait (or dread!) for your spouse to reach said retirement, put the retirement fund towards holidays so you can finally start living (for doesn’t ‘everyone’ dream of time ‘away’ to actually enjoy the life we’ve been blessed with – another blog altogether) and wait for old age to bring you to your knees. Although controversially enough, if you follow the above, I would suggest you’ve been on your knees up until this point anyway… (I’m actually waiting for the backlash on this…)
And here’s the thing, before you see my words as taking issue with life’s prescribed ‘progress’ and societal protocol (again another blog in and of itself), I’m actually speaking about the way in which we move through these phases in life, the way we see and experience our ‘reality’ and what we deem as possible.
We can only view our circumstances through thought. There’s no other way to experience anything. Our beliefs of what we see as possible (or even the perceived glass ceiling on our lives) is thought too – they’re ideas, all made up and all up for renegotiation. There’s always a greater and grander version of what you believe to be possible. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with the above life stages, indeed, marriage can be blissful, having children is a priceless gift bringing indescribable joy, the work we do in the world can feel deeply fulfilling and rewarding and I am not having a bash at globe trotting or judging anyone who works hard to buy nice things – after all, we live in the material world and are here to enjoy it. But, I am suggesting that the way in which we move through life, the way we feel about these life stages and what we allow to manifest and unfold, is solely down to us.
Make no mistake about it, no-one puts that ceiling on your life, you do. No-one holds a gun to your head, forcing you to fall into the status quo – you comply with what unfolds by simply moving in that direction, believing that’s all there is to it and saying yes. We’re goldfish in our proverbial goldfish bowls, unaware that an alternate reality lives just outside of the glass. We’re looking directly at it but don’t yet have the eyes to see it. And why? Because we’re consumed in a thought based reality that doesn’t allow us to see the magic when we’re convinced of what we ‘think’ we know and what we’ve been taught – the mind’s too ‘full’, there’s no room for the ‘difference’. Thoughts become your reality and hear me when I say this, it’s ALL up for renegotiation. None of it is static – not the way in which you view your co worker, not your food preferences, not even the way you see yourself in the mirror or how you view your place in the world. Even WHO you think you are can change dramatically – for even the personality is a thought construct / labels that you’ve been given, bought into and made solid. They’re just ideas of yourself – they can be redefined in any moment. Who you actually are is a being with infinite and limitless potential, a being who can be and achieve anything. But let’s not even go that far, bring it to the moment, to the everyday – it’s possible to view your current reality in an entirely new way – it can change in an instant. Consider this – you could truly have a completely different experience of the same life – if your thinking about it changes.
Up until now, thought has remained pretty much invisible. We don’t even realise we’re doing it (thinking that is) half the time. We’re unaware (fish in fish bowl), but we’re having thoughts every moment we’re alive. No-one ever told us we don’t have to think the thoughts that occupy our minds. Left alone, untouched, thought will come in and move out, just like clouds in the sky. They’re fluid, they’re meant to pass through – we just give certain thoughts too much air time, allowing them to hang around, inviting them in for tea – ‘why does she always make me feel this way’ (misunderstanding right there – it’s the thoughts you’re having about ‘her’ that’s creating your feeling of ‘this way’), ‘I’m so tired’, (you’ll continue to feel it if you say it often enough), ‘I can’t keep up with my to do list’ (you’ll create more stress if you keep entertaining this one and have the exact experience of ‘I can’t keep up’, but, if left alone, you’ll find the thought vacate your mind and you’ll have more time ‘to do’), ‘I’m craving for chocolate’ (well, you will be if you continue to let it run through your mind until you’re at the point of salivating! but if you hear it ‘pop’ in, pay it no attention, I can pretty much bet you’ll forget you even wanted a sweet ‘treat’) – the more attention you give it, the more ‘weight’ it holds, in all and every area of our thinking / lives.
We are creators of our reality, what we believe we perceive, but if we truly knew that ‘Nothing is as it Seems’, if we suspend belief and leave a little wiggle room for something new to flow in – you’ll very possibly have an entirely different experience of the same person / relationship / situation – you’ll notice an open door you hadn’t the eyes to previously see, a different version of yourself living just beyond your refection, even a different experience of the same movie if you allow your previous thinking about it to become ‘looser’… The list is endless. The possibilities are vast.
I have been astounded at what has changed in my life with regards to my perception of something, someone or even myself when I have moved out of my own way and allowed something (some new thought) to flow in. I have seen miracles transpire once I’d made room for something new to flow in, once I’d loosened my grip on certain thoughts and finally allowed them to find their freedom. The trick is to know you’re thinking, to become aware that you are only ever feeling your own thoughts – for instance, even the way in which you’re experiencing my writing will be coming to you via your thinking about it – others will very possibly be having a totally different experience of the same thing. You may even revisit this on another occasion and feel completely different about it – it all depends on where your thoughts are in the moment. Nothing is static.
It’s so simple that it can seem difficult. But truly, you are creating your reality. Nothing is standing in your way of doing, being or having anything in your life, about from what you ‘think’ is in the way.
So here’s the thing, if you’re reading this, it means your conscious and alive on planet Earth, which means like it or not, you’re going to have to experience living through the process of thinking. So, here’s the choice – are you going to use this gift of thought against you (creating feelings of lack, struggle and limitation) or, are you going to partner with this awesome gift that allows you to experience life and create a reality of expansion, joy, awe, beauty, heartfelt connections with others and a deep appreciation of the awesomeness that is you and life itself? Not such a tricky decision really is it? But I’ll not be presumptuous and as ever, the choice is yours! ; )
To your evolution!
Emma
