"No one can give to us but ourselves, and no one can rob us but ourselves." Ernest Holmes
It is Science of Mind quotes like the one above that bring to light the high value of practical manuals like, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. Why? How are we going to change our experience if we don’t even know ourselves? How can I take 100% responsibility if I am unconscious about my behaviours, beliefs, stories and projections? I understand I am responsible, but what good is that if I really don’t know who I am? I love the title of the book, Wherever You Go, There You Are. It invites me to remember that, no matter what is going on in my world, I am responsible for my perceptions and reactions. Asking myself, “Who am I?” and, “What am I up to?” is a great inquiry along the path of conscious living.
There are other tools too. One powerful daily practice is a quick body/mind scan, to expand emotional and body intelligence. At any point in the day, simply stop and ask yourself what you are feeling: sad, fear, anger, joy, ‘sexual’ (creative) energy. This builds EQ; your “emotional quotient”. Next, check into exploring sensations of the body, and describing what you are feeling with ‘ing’ words… (i.e. tingling, stiffening, softening…). This builds BQ; your “body quotient”. Then, last but not least, bring to light your next thought (any thought).… This enhances your ability to pay attention to your random mind chatter. The self-reflective tools described here, help us to turn our attention inward; noticing the atmosphere we are creating for ourselves. I just got back from the worse retreat ever. “No biggy”, I decided. “Wherever I go, there I am… this is my retreat. I get to create my experience. No blame”. (I found plenty to do on this beautiful, 300 acre, Nicola Valley property). About 4 days into the retreat, I was pressured to give the facilitator a chance. “Besides, she knows so much,” I was assured. There was no hesitation in my response: “No thank you! This is my retreat. I’m good.”
The ‘old me’ would have done the “nice” or “right” thing. But the 2022 me is NOT making choices out of obligation. I am good, and I did not pay to make the facilitator feel better. Instead, though I spent the week feeling unwell, that was actually perfect, because I re-learned how to sit and read/listen to a book. (Not run and read, garden and read, drive and read… Just sit).
The wind blew, or it didn’t. The sun came out and the rain fell. I saw stars, and rainbows, and horses by the lake, and a 2-point deer. I saw marmots and small frogs… I was good, and so was my book.
Taking 100% responsibility is about paying attention to the life we are living.
You made your life, I made mine, and YOU can change your life. I can’t change it for you… only you can.
I know people that move a lot. They leave one place in the hope of finding a better place. They are “the grass is always greener over there” kinds of people. But, the best place is really the place we nurture within… by taking 100% responsibility…. Saying, “Yes!” to that which moves us, and, “No!” to that which doesn’t, makes all the difference. Let’s stand in our own shoes and claim our own great life! We each harbour a genius within. This is our Spirit Self, our special quality that makes us unique. Our genius is our talent, that gift that is so easy for us that we often discredit it.
Emma Curtis Hopkins teaches 3 stages of the Spiritual Path:
Hope
Faith
Love
So, I am hereby letting you know… you have an inner genius that’s special to you.
You might Hope this is true. It may be like the first tiny bud on a tree in the Spring. It is the beginning, and it is so important. As your spiritual understanding deepens, you will move from hope to a deeper understanding of your genius.
Faith. I have come to the place on the path in my life where I know I am excellent at my thing. I have faith in my abilities to teach, write, and “get er done”. I have faith in my connection to a bigger idea of Life. I know my faith carries me though troubled times and expands my life, making it better and better… because it IS.
The third stage is so important. We can’t truly Love anyone until we come to love ourselves. Many on the spiritual path say, “I love everyone, love is my gift”… but then they spend hours in self-hatred. We can’t know love for another until we begin the journey of self-appreciation and self-love…. It is only then that it expands.
We ARE the life we live. This isn’t meant to be a cruel statement. Rather, it is a wake up call. Own your life. Invest today for the the tomorrow you desire. Try something different just for the sake of different. Shake it up and see if you can expand. We are capable of so much more when we let loose the shackles of our mind.
We are the life we live.