JOANNA: A CRITICAL CHOICE to HEAL
At the age of twenty-four after a failed effort at suicide, I looked into the bathroom mirror, says Joanna, a retired CEO. So you have not had a nice childhood. I had an “Aha” experience at that moment. In a state of clarity, I became aware, okay, I have a choice. I can continue the rest of my life blaming my parents or I realized the only person who could heal and make changes was me. I then resolved I am going to do anything and everything to heal. I refuse to continue being afraid, lacking confidence, and feeling pain all the time.
Joanna made and committed to a conscious critical choice in her life. A critical choice involves a decision that has a major impact on our lives. We have the freedom to make that decision on a conscious level rather than unconsciously by blaming others or reacting to situations.
Do we want to continue choosing suffering? We will examine this next.
DO WE CHOOSE PAIN or SUFFERING?
Choice implies consciousness - a high degree of consciousness. Without it, you have no choice. Choice begins the moment you disidentify from the mind and its conditioned patterns, the moment you become present. Eckhart Tolle, Practicing the Power of Now
Do we choose suffering? Lyn, an energetic healer, has this to say about pain and suffering. We tend to avoid pain. Numbness and addictions indicates an avoidance of pain. With suffering, we recycle in the suffering going over and over the same story. Pain lies below suffering. When we choose to go into the suffering the pain can end, otherwise it remains unending. When we make the choice for “Yes,” the Grace can come in.
When we can hold and contain the pain, Grace can come in. Containing requires staying present with the pain or specific emotion, without slipping away and becoming unconscious. When we stop containing the pain, we fall back into our unconscious “shadow,” which feeds on pain like a hungry beast.
Withdrawal into fear, feeling powerless, victimized, holding onto anger, or feeling unpresent all indicates we have fallen into our shadow selves – parts of ourselves, which we deny. We can hold these parts with compassion.
When we run away from our pain, meant for us to face, it only gets worse. When physical or emotional discomfort arises, our mind activates and spins around all the details. Let the thoughts come and contain them without going over and over them. Then we keep the energy inside ourselves rather than projecting it out onto a person or situation.
We have a choice whether the energy spins inside of us or spins out into blaming or being angry with others. Then the situations will continue to occur repeatedly, creating suffering each time if we choose taking no responsibility for ourselves.
Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? What could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life -- and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you. Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
Lyn continues. If we choose, however, to hold a point of inner containment, then we experience more discomfort like a pot of boiling water with a lid on it. The energy builds so it can transform.
We also can choose to hold no anger towards the thoughts that arise in our minds. This can be a challenge for when our minds become agitated this indicates some unconscious choice.
Our minds want to stop us feeling. We can bring ourselves back to the present by screaming, exercising, using our breath, or focusing on feelings or sensations in our body.
As we contain, the patterns will dissolve. A truth lies at each layer of the pattern, when we remain present. When all the layers dissolve, we experience joy, peace, or oneness.
When we learn how to contain our pain and emotional reactions, we create a cup like a grail. Then Grace has a place to come into to change our lives and those around us.
Now we will look at making critical choices and new choices.
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.