It is only by polishing the mirror of the heart with daily practice that we see beyond the illusion of our thoughts and emotions to the vast and luminous landscape of our true nature. - Ram Dass
Have you ever wondered about the nature of your own reality?
How do you see the world?
How do you experience the world?
How do you perceive the world?
Do you trust your own filters?
in your reflective moments, the quiet moments you sometimes spend with your own heart, do you ever feel that there is more for you out there? something beyond what you know, an experience of your life, your soul, your creativity, your potential?
.... I feel this a lot...
I remember the first time this happened to me. It was just after I graduated from York U with a BA in Anthropology... Not sure what I thought I would accomplish in the world with that ... but I did it and what it showed me was that there is a BIG WIDE WORLD out there to be explored and experienced...
It was just after I graduated and bought my first car
... funny story ...
I bought a manual without knowing how to drive standard. I ended up in the middle of multiple intersections stalled and in tears, mid winter, pleading with my father to come rescue me... smh.
Anyways, back to the point, so I bought this car, had it for 2 weeks, stalled it everywhere and then one night I laid in bed and realized what a monumental mistake I had made.
Lease payments? what's next, mortgage payments? I was 23 ... what did I know about life? virtually nothing.
I hadn't experienced anything yet, I didn't have the faintest idea who I was, what I wanted or where I was going. I was just doing what I thought I was supposed to do. My life was being dictated to me.
I went from King High, to York U, to a VW dealership and I could forsee the next 3 decades of my life from there...
the status quo...graduate, get job, buy a car, find a mate, buy a house, have babies... and well, we all know how the rest of this story goes because it's what we are sold and told is the only way to live out our lives.
But, I never bought it. And hey, to all those who are reading this, who followed this path... this is in no way to shame or cast judgement... my point here is to highlight that there are many ways to do life. Some ways work for some people and other ways work for others. It's not easy going against the grain, believe me. It's easier to travel the already paved road.
One of the greatest privileges from the world I was born into, is that of choice.
So... I went back to the dealership and they miraculously allowed me to reverse the sale. How that even happened is beyond me? Some good luck, some good karma?
With the payment from the return of the car I immediately bought a one way ticket to Argentina.
3 months later I was en route to South America, for my first real voyage into the world.
What path are you on?
What path would you choose, if you could choose any?
You do realize, you get a say in all this?
I wish I knew then what I know now. That we get a lifetime to create a life. And this life is a reflection, of who we are, our nature, our desires, yearnings, callings... and also, our fears, doubts, limiting beliefs. For better or worse, our life mirrors our mental-model, or Paradigm. Most of us are living out the Paradigms that were handed to us by our family, society, bosses, managers, spouses etc...
Look around you... your friends, your partner, your work, your hobbies, your happiness, your pain, your joy, your sorrow... all of it that creates the tapestry of your life. This is your Paradigm.
One of my self-development Guru's, Bob Proctor RIP, and his predecessors talked a lot about Paradigms and for me, this is the most accessible means for understanding our experience of the world. And... how to intercept and redesign our lives, according to the Paradigm we desire.
... Old Paradigm VS New Paradigm...
The night I lay in bed and realized I'd made a big mistake with the car, I spent the entire time visualizing what my life could look like... I saw myself travelling to South America, I saw myself learning Spanish, experiencing another world, trying new food, seeing new sites, meeting new people. I imagined every single detail.
Flashforward 3 months... and there I was. Landed in Buenos Aires and there I stayed for the next 3 years.
Everything thing I had imagined, I was experiencing. The people, the food, the museums, the art, the music, the culture, the language. There I was expanding from my centre. There I was in my New Paradigm. Living the way I wanted to, having the experiences and growth I desired.
What you think, how you see, how you frame, how you interpret, perceive, understand, empathize... all of it... begins in your heart and in your mind.
With every thought, every word and action you are cultivating your living reality.
98% of my clients approach me from a place that they don't want to be. They feel disconnected from their centre, going through the motions and all the while knowing more deeply, that it could be different.
The question is HOW?
How do we start again?
How do we build a new framework?
How do we overcome the subconscious conditioning that is dictating our realities?
The answers to these questions will be found when you make the choice to build your New Paradigm.
It doesn't matter where you've been and what you've experienced, what matters is what you want and where you're going.
Hbu, have you ever had an experience like this? Where you saw it in your mind and then it became your reality?
