Today's topic is about unifying the self. One way we have become fragmented is a way in we have all been affected in one way or another ... our experiences growing up with our loved ones, friends, teachers ... strangers .... experiences in life and our ways of reacting/responding to these things.
There are many ways to approach this Work we do. We look at the body and it tells us things. We observe behaviour and it reveals certain things. We use our feelings and intuition and learn from that. We move and learn from that too. Everything we do ... everywhere we go ... every moment reveals something to us if we look, sense, hear, feel beyond the ways we are accustomed to.
Ever wonder why it is that we may have a genuine desire ... a feeling to do something ... a goal ... a dream we may have ... a desire to improve our life or something about ourselves ... a desire to be free from the dramas we engage in - in life and in our relationships .... and come up against inner blocks - or even external circumstances that appear to be preventing us from achieving these things? How about the famous New Year's resolutions ...
When we examine the foundation principles of many genuine spiritual paths, we find a common mention of the unification of the inner self ... an inner and outer harmony and balance in the energy flows. While each path may have a unique way of wording this, it is none the less the same.
Within all of us, fragmentation of the self exists to different degrees. As we grow up, we learn that people do not always appreciate us exactly the way we are. Babies are the first to learn this and it goes on and on from there ... each parent is different, our grandparents are different, our friends and teachers and all others we come in contact with are unique .... we learn from an early age what is acceptable and to whom. We respond to these things by masking the genuine expression of our self in the moment. We all do this in different ways.
Observe a child over time - many very young children (babies...toddlers) will behave more naturally and genuinely whomever they are around. Then there is a point at which they begin to learn, through experience, that when they behave a certain way, different people will react differently. Over time, they gain the awareness that they can attain specific results with a change in their behaviour, tone of voice, words etc. They begin to consciously and unconsciously alter their behaviours in order to get responses they like or to avoid the one they do not. Over time, this solidifies into a set of unconscious behaviour patterns we can call conditioning. With Work, we can alter this conditioning and our personality.
As adults, we are a unique mix of many ways of being ... inside ourselves... we can call this many I's ... there is the I that says I wish to eat well .... there is the I that wants cake and eats it ... there is the I that comes forward around certain people and behaves this way ... there is the I that comes forward around other people and behaves that way.
Life is not rigid ... all of life is moving and changing - even if slowly. Some of us develop rigid ways of being that we present to all people - we may imagine that this is unification, unless we see that we have no flexibility and freedom of expressing and being whatever we feel to be in the moment. Our rigid ways do not allow us to feel or experience many things, and can often be seen in body structure. Our bodies reflect what we hold onto and how we restrict ourselves from feeling and engaging with the energies inside and around us.
Most of us are not aware of these subtle shifts inwardly and we feel and talk of ourselves as though we are One and United inside, while we are not. There are many ways in which to experience that we are not One within ourselves ... here I will mention a few. If we were One (or whole, as some say), then we would have the ability to do what we say we will do ... we would not experience inner conflict, as this is the result of different aspects of ourselves not in agreement with each other, therefore we are divided inwardly ... we would be aware of ourselves as we are with each person, and if we behaved differently around different people, we would do so with the awareness of it ... engaging in the moment and acting according to how we feel with each person with awareness and not due to our conditioning, attitudes, or reactions. Instead, we have excuses, justifications and explanations for why we behave the way we do around different people and we really believe these things ... as though we had no inner responsibility for our selves and the way we behave, talk, hold and express our self.
Control is a good word, here. We have no control over emotional attitudes or reactions when there is no awareness of our inner state ... no inner wakefulness and self-reflection. We feel justified, instead, when we react. Control (not in the usual negative sense of the word), comes with awareness of and engagement with inner and outer movements of energies. The first step is development of awareness and ability to see ourselves as we really are.
Natural is a great word to use here. Prior to the conditioning we are all exposed to, we are more natural with people ... we may behave differently around others - not due to unconscious patterns, but due to a natural expression of what we are feeling in the moment ... this is different - it is genuine. Babies and toddlers are more genuine ... ever hear a toddler say something like - that person smells, mommy - or yuck, that smells bad - when sitting down to eat a meal at a restaurant or your friend's house .... we may cringe, wondering if anyone heard them, but they are genuine and do no know about hurting people's feelings (there is no intention to do so) ... they simply feel and express the truth ... then they begin to learn what is acceptable according to what they are taught. But what is acceptable is not always what they are really feeling, and so they learn to mask what they really feel. What is acceptable is different to different people ... how confusing this is to a young child developing ... soon, for most, it becomes more important to view the outside world and respond according to IT rather than from their own genuine SELF -- with wisdom and discernment developed over time and with proper guidance.
The degree to which we are separated and fragmented from our genuine self depends on our own unique experiences growing up, and how we responded inwardly to these experiences. There are differences in our ways of responding to similar things - even as a child in a similar environment ... working where we are at currently and consistently with useful tools will alter us inside and out. Comparing ourselves to others and/or judging ourselves or others for where we/they are at will not assist us in any way.
We are also born with certain influences, tendencies and characteristics ... some of us look at these things in relation to the energies present at the time of our birth ... natal charts etc. ... we can use these things as another sort of tool to gain insight into our tendencies, and strengths and weaknesses. It is useful to remember that we can Work to alter our level of Being and it is not wise to assume that we are limited to any system's way of viewing or labelling the many ways we appear to be. Personality tools, elemental descriptions, natal charts etc. are wonderful tools to assist with our understanding; remain open to your opportunity to be something NEW, and focus your awareness on NOW ... the work is here and now ... work from where you are here and now ... know how you are here and now ... you are what you are in THIS moment, so this is where the Work always is ...
If we are truly fragmented and disconnected from our genuine self; what do we do differently? How can we access our genuine self? This is what genuine spiritual paths can lead us to depending on our ability to do the Work. For example, taught properly, Yoga, Chi Kung, Kung fu and other Ways are all Paths to the genuine self ... Yoga, Chi Kung and Kung fu are examples of paths which work with the body in order to unify the self and to unite with the Source of all things.
So what do we do with all this? Embark on the journey of a spiritual path and do your Work. Find out for yourself if there is a better way. Know yourself. Develop a higher level of awareness. Learn to see your self as you really are in the mirrors of self-reflection all around you in every day ... not as you wish to see yourself ... or as you are accustomed to seeing yourself ... or according to how others see you ... Enjoy the benefits of discovering how to consciously co-create your world instead of unconsciously attracting things which you are not enjoying ... or which you may superficially enjoy to your own detriment ... Consistent Work over time reveals to us that there is truly more to us and Life than we have experienced.
