Meet The Spirit of Change
Your long lost frenemy
There is something in your life you are hoping to change.
Change is daunting so kudos to you for accepting the truth. You’ve already taken the first step toward healing.
Right when you read the words, “there is something in your life you’re hoping to change,” you may have gone on a little roller coaster of conscious experience:
- “Not going there! Not today! I got shit to do!” That’s okay, we’ve all been there.
- “I don’t need to change, I’m here for a … friend/child/parent who I’m trying to help.” It’s okay, we’ve all been there too.
- “Where do I even start?” this is often accompanied by a feeling of sadness or overwhelm. Still not alone.
- Or maybe you shouted out loud wherever you are “I’m ready to CHANGE! PRAISE BE! Tell me what I need to do!” It sounds like you also experience bouts of motivation, like when we listen to Jock Jams fist-bumping in our closets holding power poses?… Oh…That’s just me?
Well I’ve got good news and bad news.
Let’s start with the bad news: I won’t be telling you what to do. That’s actually not bad news though. This is the internet after all and you shouldn’t trust me that much. I do; however, want you to trust me enough to finish reading this article and click the subscribe button!
The good news is, we have everything we need and we know what to do. I should say, part of us knows.
If you’re like most of us, as you’ve been reading this article the idea of “you” (or “I”) is almost entirely associated with the little voice reading the words on a screen to itself … Meanwhile you have been digesting food, filtering out sounds, interpreting discrete shapes as syllables/sounds/words/thoughts, seeing with color and depth, picking your nose (just a quick test for the wandering mind), secreting hormones, growing hair, breathing, oxygenating and pumping blood throughout your body, sorting through toxins and nutrients, producing energy in billions of cells, disposing of waste, balancing a microbiome, the list goes on…
Did “you” do that? The same “you” that’s reading these shapes as words and generating thoughts?
Yes…but also, not really.
If we can accept the fact that we are so much more than the thoughts in our tiny little spec of awareness then we can open up to our whole self. We aren’t often great listeners to any part of us that is outside of our immediate awareness. That means that sometimes the “rest” of our being gets loud.
Our inability to listen has put the “it’s complicated” status on our emotions. Our mind and body’s way of communicating with us has been given bad reputation: anger, resentment, sadness, soreness, pain, anxiety, inflammation, fear … these feelings are uncomfortable, but we can’t afford to label them as “bad.”
Our mind and body often resort to tension, disease, and discomfort to get our attention, hoping to spark an intention.
So, let’s try a little experiment. I’m going to ask you to set aside your judgments of “good” and “bad” feelings, and try to pay attention to any energy that arises as you read each of these statements:
- Regular exercise is necessary for fulfillment
- Eating nutritiously is fundamental to living a “good life”
- I, personally, get two hours every day to myself, to move, think, create, and be
- My spouse is supportive and caring and I love being with her
- Trauma can be healed with intentional effort and support
- A regular practice of present-state awareness (i.e. meditation) is vital to well-being
- Every human can prioritize their personal wellness
- Self-care is not selfish
- Self-sacrifice is self indulgent
- Therapy can be helpful
- If you aren’t sleeping well, you aren’t living well
How did that feel? What did you notice? Every person’s reaction will be unique.
If you read the first statement about exercise and you wanted to call 911 and report me to the authorities, that’s okay … but now you know what your body is trying to call your attention to. When I mentioned that I get two hours every day to myself, were you happy for me? Did you resent me and label me as someone who “just doesn’t get it.” What about when I mentioned my spouse being supportive and caring? What about the statement that every human can prioritize their personal wellness?
Whatever your reaction, let’s harness that energy.
A strong reaction is your friend. Those statements were polarized for a reason. If those statements didn’t create a reaction, that’s okay, take a minute to think of the last time you were energized, even today. What annoyed you? What generated anger or resentment? What created fear? What created a sense of joy and contentment?
As we open ourselves to receive information from our whole self we are better able to de-identify with our reactions and feelings. They are not who we are. Feelings are not broken parts ourselves that need to be managed or discarded.
Energy expressed in the mind or body (feelings, sensations, reactions) is insight. Whether the thoughts and feelings are more comfortable (joy and enthusiasm) or uncomfortable (fear and anger), they are energized.
Meet The Spirit of Change
This energy is our window to what, specifically, is calling us to change.
The call to change is inherently spiritual–something beyond our current life and way of being is calling to us. It may be our “higher-self,” Spirit, God, Source, the Universe, the Divine, Ted Lasso, our survival-oriented DNA, our future self, or simply our conscience…call it what you’d like.
(psst…I’m whispering in case you couldn’t tell…did anything in that paragraph create a reaction for you? Sometimes the “G” word can do that, that’s good intel if it did. All humans have struggled with that one.)
Regardless of what we call it, an influence beyond our conscious awareness seems to be driving us toward change. For the sake of simplicity and secularity, we’ll refer to this force within us as The Spirit of Change. That part of us that seeks to become someone brighter and lighter.
The Spirit of Change uses the tools of the mind and body to give us information and insight. There is nothing objectively “angry” or “jealous” or “annoying” about anything. Not in this article, not in social media, not at work, not anywhere nor in any thing. The beauty of every tragedy, no matter how big or small, is in the eye of the beholder.
Our everyday experiences are energized by our interpretations, creating a constant energetic exchange between us and The Spirit of Change.
It’s time to confess, I’ve been wrong my whole life.
I’ve spent most of my life associating feelings with reactions, believing that something outside of me creates feelings inside of me. I believed that if I could just train my mind and body better I could get rid of all those “bad” feelings and live in a perpetual state of positive emotion.
Now I’ve realized that it’s the opposite. Something inside me generates feelings and reactions. These forces operate more like predictions and projections from the many stories that I’m piecing together about my experiences. These stories are “based on true events,” yet remain completely independent of the experience.
Our stories fill in gaps where our experience has holes, and our experiences are mostly holes.
When I’m aligned with my body, I feel calm. When my mind has been cared for I am at ease. When I honor my spirit and live with purpose , I allow that same opportunity to others.
Internal alignment attained through an understanding of our deep needs and wants is what creates peace, not the management or control of uncomfortable feelings.
Most of us (myself included) still miss the message, which makes a regular practice that deepens our awareness essential to successful self-improvement. Rather than advice or motivation our power is in re-connecting with the knowledge that is already screaming for our attention.
When we enter the conversation with our Spirit of Change, deeply listening to the energy within us, we open our unique path to healing. Over time this energetic exchange shifts our way of being. We think, feel, believe, and do every little thing differently, emphasis on the word little. Piece by piece we merge with our Spirit of Change.
… So let’s try this again. IT’S TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE. Exercise, sleep, nutrition, meditation, hydration, anger, therapy, health, joy, relationships, work, jealousy, resentment, family, love…
What did you notice?
What is your long lost frenemy trying to tell you?
The healing path ahead is uniquely yours. A Story of One.
What will be your next smallest step?
This story was originally published on my Substack, The Story of One, Every One.
If you’ve stumbled on this new publication, welcome. I’m so glad you’re here. This is my intention for this community:
May our connections expand and our compassion deepen. May we build communities and systems based on harmony and resonance. May our love become unconditional. May we heal and align our mind, body, and spirit. May we turn within for guidance and raise our awareness. May we follow our unique path of fulfillment. May we honor our once-in-a-lifetime story, accept our limits, and love our here and now. May we resonate with a higher way of being. May we become one, every one.
