It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
As we value experiences above things, we get more conscious and more open to more profound and more complex experiences. Nisha J. Manek, M.D. (Bridging Science and Spirit: The Genius of William A. Tiller’s Physics and the Promise of Information Medicine)
Now is the time to take the corrective measures to break out of old habit patterns. Gregge Tiffen (Open Secrets: Revealing Habits – February, 2011)
An experience this week and the awareness that it presented reminded me of just how much our habits are like the water a fish swims in. Like that water, many – perhaps most – of our habits are transparent to us, operating as our navigation system through daily life. Generated over lifetimes of experiences, our habits are hidden drivers on this sojourn.
Without awareness, habits rule. With awareness, we create choice.
Sadly, in our culture today we’ve adopted habits that are anchored in fear. As I discovered for myself this week, we probably don’t need to look beyond our front door, to identify habits generated from fear. Collectively beyond our door, fear drives chaos and divisiveness in the world. Perhaps it’s time to assess our habits, at least some of them. Perhaps it’s time to anchor them in qualities of the Universe, like love, peace, light rather than in the fear that has us seek to control that which is uncontrollable.
This muse emerged from a conversation last week, in which, a friend shared an experience she had while having her vision checked. When she was choosing the ‘better’ of two choices, she realized that while one choice offered clearer vision, the other choice ‘felt’ better. Hmmm…
I loved the awareness that she brought to the ‘exam’ (the doc was blown away too!). As I reflected on her ‘how does it feel’ distinction, I realized that a part of my current self-care/health maintenance simply didn’t feel right. Taking my extensive array of vitamins and supplements, all of which make perfect rational sense given my age, etc. etc., no longer felt good to me. And, it hadn’t for some time.
Upon reflection, I saw that this aspect of self-care had become an unconscious habit of gulping down pills with little awareness, other than perhaps a touch of annoyance that I ‘had to’ take so many. Ouch!
I’d lost the clarity of my intention – to maintain excellent health and vibrant energy. I didn’t prepare/organize or swallow with any intention in my awareness other than to ‘get it done’. Rather, I gulped them down hoping that I won’t become ill. I was acting in a habitual pattern of fear without awareness. Little wonder that taking them didn’t feel right or good!
And so, I stopped. No vitamins. No supplements other than nourishing Chinese herb formulas that have ‘felt’ right since I started using them several years ago and infoceuticals to support my biofield. I’m giving my body a rest. Feeding it clean, nourishing food. Being clear and intentional about and grateful for EVERYthing that crosses my lips. Then, in time, with strong intention grounded in love not fear, and using the intelligence of my body’s wisdom as a guide, I’ll re-evaluate and give this body what it seems to need.
In the meantime, I’m curious to look more deeply at my habits – habits of action (and inaction), habits of thought – to examine how they ‘feel’. Are they ‘right’ for me in each moment? Are they anchored in love, peace, light, power (not force or control), beauty, harmony, abundance? Or are they habits of fear to give the illusion of keeping a dangerous world at bay? Stay tuned. More habits may be revealed. Better yet, take some time to notice and be at choice about your own.
A Colorado Blue Sky Day!