So much is in motion these past months. So much has come up for met to feel, process and release. And, new realizations arise weekly. Wow, just wow. Intense AND interesting times we live in!
There is no going backward. We are moving forward quickly. All aboard!
In these times of hotly debated political and social topics, it can feel energizing to be in reaction (at least for a brief moment). Our instinctive sense of outrage can feel righteous and invigorating. So what’s wrong with that? Nothing really, yet it is not optimal. It is old programming.
By immersing ourselves in outrage, by stopping at reaction, we are really lying to ourselves. We convince ourselves that reaction is doing something. Then instead of taking real action, we just get outraged over and over.
This is a trap. A clever trap of the mind, yet a trap nonetheless. It is a trap when it doesn’t evolve to something else – some new insight, some new passion, some new idea about what can be done.
Getting outraged once is great information. It tells us what we are for and what we are against. Getting outraged as a daily fix is a kind of addiction that doesn’t serve our highest good.
In reaction we often stay stuck in judgement. In reaction we may even call up prejudices and biases that limit the expression of our most evolved self (that we didn’t even know where there!). Being aware of these things is a good place to begin, a good place to mindfully Shift. Not a good place to stop.
Three Heart-Constricting and Contracting Aspects of Response:
Reaction limits expression of self.
Reaction is a vortex of emotion that spins, often without real resolution.
Reaction reinforces the sense of separation we feel from others.
Evolving Into “Now What?”
When you are triggered, Shift into response mode.
This is a good strategy whether you are triggered by politics or in your personal relationships. Response has more chance of expanding one’s consciousness and of raising one’s energetic vibration. This puts you in space of expanded heart and expanded personal potential. And, as we know, the personal is the collective. So expanded heart at the personal level empowers expanded heart potential in the collective consciousness field.
You hold more light as an intentionally thoughtful, reflective, and caring person. Instead of going into a contracted energy state, you SHIFT to become open to MORE! More creative possibilities can then appear in your consciousness field. More compassion can appear. More love of others can emerge.
As long as you are contracted energetically in reaction, in outrage and such – you are outside your true Self – that Self that hold the keys for transforming whatever you are in reaction to!
Response requires a pause. A breath. Often a deep breath that expresses “Okay, I see that, I feel that…Now what do I wish to do?”
And in that pause after the stimulus there lies the opportunity for meaningful action. Response involves real choice rather than merely experiencing a hijacked emotional state.
Once engaged and centered we can choose our “Now What?” even if the choice is that there is nothing that needs to be done except disengage from the negativity.
Response allows you to choose where to focus your precious energy in a way that brings out your experience, your gifts, and your light into play. In response you can decide not to take things so personally/ You can choose to take an empowering step or even set an INTENTION for how you’d like to respond in the future.
Three Heart-Expanding and Opening Aspects of Response:
Response makes more room for your more soulful self to show up.
Response allows the heart to unveil a bigger picture at play.
Response empowers the heart-linked-mind to choose effective action.
Reaction is part of the SURFACE Game of Life that is in play around us. It is the epitome of polarization. Us against Them. In this game there are no real winners. This is a true swamp where our energies go down the drain. We are so done with this centuries-old game – it’s illusionary aspects become obvious day after day.
Response is part of the DEEPER Reality Creation – that which we are birthing into being through consciousness. This deeper reality is infused with greater awareness, compassion, creativity and love. From response we direct our energy from a sense of self-empowerment. We are victims no longer, no matter the lingering narratives that linger in the Surface Game of Life.
In this new game of DEEPER Reality Creation we no longer give our inner or outer authority away. We see how everything is an energy pattern of mental, emotional, and physical expression. We see our options. We embrace our responsibility for acting from our better nature.
So what is the energy pattern you’d like to act from?
If you can choose the new energy pattern that IS an expression of the optimal you, What Does That Look Like? What will you be modeling for others? Can you envision it?
These are indeed intense and interesting times. Much of what we are experiencing is highly challenging. Please know that I walk this path with you. I do my own processing around challenges. I have to make choices that align me to growth. None of this is easy.
If you make one choice leading up to the August Eclipse, may it be the choice to focus on the goodness in the world and to then consider all the grand and small ways in which you CAN make a difference. Usually, opportunities are right in front of us when we aren’t distracted, emotionally hijacked or physically overwhelmed.
Try to enjoy the challenges as you more and more speak up as your authentic self. I love you all so much.
Melissa Wadsworth is a visionary mentor, artist, and author of Collective Manifestation: Heart-Centered Blueprints for Creating Intentional Community. CollectiveManifestation.com for more info.