Take a new course in life

Awake! Arise!

 

Imagine what it would be like to wake up every morning with the thoughts, feelings, personality and state-of-being that you had when you were 5 or 6 years old. Imagine opening your eyes and feeling excitement at the potential of the new day—what will I do today, what will I discover, what will I create!? Unless you were unfortunate enough to have the worst of life’s realities imposed on you at a very early age, you probably remember the anticipation, energy, and joy that was the default beginning of most days. And if you’re extremely fortunate and/or extremely evolved, you may still or again wake with that experience. Good for you—you can stop reading now. 😉 For many of us, consciousness rises through the filtered light of anxieties, insec urities, and doubts. We lie in bed (thereawake arise’s something to be thankful for—you’re sleeping in a bed!) and wonder if we have enough, if we are enough and, over time, those doubts and anxieties overcome the hope and sense of possibility, and our reality begins to look a lot like what we’ve imagined and feared it to be. This reinforces how justified we are to doubt and fear—just look at my life! No wonder I feel this way! There’s the which-came-first-chicken-or-egg thing going on here, but I digress. Back in our bed and our waking state, we may begin to plan how we can keep that grim reaper of joy (doubt/fear) at bay for yet another day. Some of us may compile lists, some create strategies, some compute odds; some may roll over and pop another anti-anxiety pill. Whatever coping mechanism we choose, it is likely something that was created in the outer edges of our capacities—the edges of our body, mind, heart, and spirit. Anything that reaches further in is a threat to that innermost core of who we are, of what must be protected at all costs. That delightful little being that is our first and natural state is a jewel of infinite worth and doesn’t deserve, cannot withstand the cruel vicissitudes and capricious nature of life. Good for us—we protect and defend so well, we anticipate life’s next hazardous move; we prevail at maintaining our position at the top of the pile. Don’t look too closely; it may well be a dung pile.

Let’s get back to that first bit—imagining. The theory that our thoughts, our imaginations, create our reality is becoming less of a theory and more of an accepted fact. Science is proving that our thoughts change the shape of our reality. The thoughts you have the most move synapses closer together and awake arise 2make those synapses the strongest. The synapses you’ve most strongly bonded together by thinking certain thoughts more frequently come to transmit those thoughts that comprise your default personality—your intelligence, skills, aptitudes and most easily accessible thoughts and imaginings. So, if you allow that inside little You-Jewel to have a say in which thoughts you have and which “imagined” possibilities you manifest, that little You-Jewel can begin to come outside and play. If our thoughts and imaginings can literally change the shape of our brains, and if our brains’ thoughts can create a reality that pretty much justifies and matches our doubts and fears, this seems like a no-brainer to me. Why wouldn’t we make that bit of initial effort it takes to jump out of the box, out of the rut and use this incredible capacity to create a joyful brain and a joyful reality—one full of possibility and, dare we hope, fun!?

Nothing worth having is free (well, technically, it is free), so it takes some practice—practice thinking thoughts that are custom-designed by your own little You-Jewel—which only you know. Words like LOVE, JOY, LIGHT all come to mind, so they’re already queued up, but imagining actual scenes-from-earth that represents these concepts and imagining yourself in these scenes may draw those synapses together faster and stronger. One of the biggies seems to be APPRECIATION—many traditions and many happy people seem to make habitual use of APPRECIATION to jump start those positive thoughts, thereby greasing the wheels of transformation. And since “transformation” comes from the Latin word for “change in shape,” we’re literally changing the shape of ourselves and our world, all while lying in bed—doesn’t get any better than that!

– Heather Ryan

 


Heather Ryan has 30 years of experience as a technical writer and editor, most recently in the health care industry. She currently lives and works at Sunrise Ranch, and loves the opportunity to practice communion and unconditional love in all aspects of her living. Heather is passionate about learning, exploring/traveling, and spending time outdoors, and is extremely grateful for the opportunity to do all of that at Sunrise Ranch in her almost-home state of Colorado.


 

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