Hello Dear Ones!

A most unusual day yesterday. In addition to it being the day of the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – country of my birth, province in which I live, and city where my son, daughter-in-law and grandson reside – there was much emotional challenge for me from many sources. (I smile as I type the word source – without a capital letter. Now, if I had been in the flow of Source I’d have had a less stressful day.)

It was not the events of the day but my immediate (one might say innate) responses to each of the scenarios as they unfolded that prompted my decision to suggest this particular topic for our post this week.

Given the unique situations that arose throughout the day, I responded to each situation with an old behavioural pattern. Four different and conditioned responses from the past reared their heads for viewing, reviewing, recognition, appreciation and letting go.

Abraham talks frequently about beliefs – how we use them, their benefits and their drawbacks in all aspects of our lives. Rather than paraphrasing the wisdom of Abraham, I’ve included various quotes on the subject here for you:

“Oh, my, I am chronically offering a vibration, thinking the same thought, developing beliefs (a belief’s just a thought you keep thinking) so, I’ve set up a vibrational habit within myself, a point of attraction, that is different from what I’ve been wanting…”

“… establish) vibrational patterns that serve you well. A belief is just a thought that you keep thinking, and you have many beliefs that serve you well, and you have many beliefs that do not serve you well. And the emotions within you will help you sort that out.”

“… a belief is just a thought that you keep thinking. So, anything that causes you to bridge your beliefs, or anything that causes your beliefs to be more in vibrational alignment with your desire, helps you to get closer to where you want to be.”

“The question is, how much have you picked up along your physical trail, in the form of contradictory beliefs that now resist, rather than allow, the Energy that would flow otherwise?”

“Some other beliefs are more hindering in nature. For example, if you think physical human bodies decline before they die… it doesn’t serve you. Beliefs like that are extremely hindering in nature, because they are so vibrationally different from the Source Energy that knows you purely…”

Regarding our topic choice here, where did all this begin? Something that popped into mind just as I was about to head into the dreamtime last evening, had me out of bed and jotting notes with no light on. (Mike’s used to this odd behaviour of mine, bless him!)  What I wrote out in brief  – and in darkness – was about one sequence in the very first of the Harry Potter movies – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – that we watched (for the umpteenth time) last week. Harry is newly arrived at Hogwart’s School and is ceremoniously seated on a stool up in front of everyone in the school. All first year students go through this ritual. A talking hat is placed on the student’s head and, because it reads minds, the hat advises them which of the four houses they are to call ‘home’ while attending Hogwarts. Of the four houses, the hat apparently has two options from which to choose for Harry. One is with the good guys – Gryffindor – the other option is with the bad guys – Slytherin. Harry apparently has the natural ability to go either way with great success.

Where this is leading is that while the hat is propped on his head, Harry mumbles to himself, “Not Slytherin! Not Slytherin! NOT SLYTHERIN!” And the hat says: “Hmmmm … not Slytherin, eh? Then … (pause for effect, naturally) Gryffindor!” And everyone, especially Harry, breathes a sigh of relief.

Why did that jump out at me last night? Simply put, it was not Harry’s desire to be part of the  Gryffindor Family as much as his determination NOT to be placed in the Slytherin House that ignited his passion.

So, back to the origin of this topic: Beliefs: old & new. I, like millions of others, sat and watched the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics last night – and as a Canadian, I watched with great pride in the accomplishment of the team that pulled that spectacle together. Overall a dramatic day beginning with the young man from the country of Georgia who died on one of the luge tracks during practice. Then there were apparently thousands of anti-Olympic protesters rallying on the streets of Vancouver near the stadium. Then Wayne Gretsky – our beloved hockey icon – was standing in the back of an open truck carrying the Olympic Torch from the BC Place Stadium to light the permanent cauldron at the waterfront.

Keep in mind that I very seldom watch the news. I never read the paper. So the sensationalism that occurs as a natural part of the typical persons day is NOT a natural part of my chosen reality. I think, eat, talk, and experience uplifting and inspirational expressions in all ways throughout my days.

So, exposed to the unfolding of yesterday’s events as seen through the eyes of the news media I was watching,  by the time Wayne was riding through the streets of Vancouver, I was sitting in my chair and doing a Harry Potter … “Please let Wayne get there safely! Please don’t let any crazed protester pull out a gun or throw a rock or something equally harmful. Please let Wayne be safe and the world remain at ease with these upcoming games and our role in them …”

I was not only appalled at my easy return to old patterns of behaviour, I was shocked when I recognized the tension that had my body in a vise grip of rigidity! What a very uncomfortable feeling it was to realize just what it was I was allowing to unfold within me.

What was I doing? I was reverting back to a conditioned belief and the responding body memory of fear and doubt and uncertainty. The only method I had learned through a lifetime of that type of negative reinforcement and practice – the only thing that I could do to give myself a sense of peace through the fear – was to pray.

Here I thought I had come such a long way since the days when fear was commonplace for me. A daily occurrence in my ‘old’ life, last night proved to me that there was a glimmer of the old conditioned behaviour still hiding within me. It took a deep passionate moment like my prayer for Wayne’s safety that brought all of the old patterns back into action – in a heartbeat.

WoW! An old belief resurfaced. I didn’t like the feeling of wanting to have, and yet not having any, control. Today my life is one where control is not an issue. I trust my life experiences to unfold in magical and synchronistically amazing ways! Who needs control – to know the HOW of things? Wanting to know the HOW’s merely adds stress and obligation and demands on my life that I no longer require. Living a life of synchronistic awe frees me up to savour every moment, every experience, every joy, every individual with whom I am blessed to interact.

Yet, as I mention here on occasion, I am not perfect. The ideal is not a given. It is not 100% of my existence. Not by a long shot. I am, however, getting better and better at living within the loving flow of Source energy. Yesterday’s full day of one challenge after another guided me to a few realizations that there’s still a way to go. That’s good. When there’s no growth left for us, our time here is done. I should still be around for a long time yet  😮

Back to topic: My ‘old’ beliefs were most often instinct driven based on feelings of fear &/or lack of control. When I have no control I revert to prayer. Prayer, for me, was never religion based. It was more the cry of desperation to whatever power was out there to rectify a situation that, to me, was intolerable in the moment. Sad on hindsight.

Today, however, the ‘new’ beliefs that have found their way into my life thrive in the rich environment of allowing all good things to come my way; the trust to know that beauty and safety abound at all times; and the pleasure that I have gained in learning to know, and to love and like, myself! I share these newly established beliefs with my husband. We discuss them – his and mine – on a regular basis. Daily. I nourish my soul with inspired and inspiring authors and books. I share with others of like mind through Twitter. There is such a rich community of amazing, uplifting and joyous individuals out there looking to find others with whom to share this unique experience we call life.

We are all travelling on a journey of dynamic proportions. Some of us are walking together for a block or two, a day or two, maybe even a lifetime or two. There is magic in every step. Marvel at every turn.

The occasional hiccup happens on days like I had yesterday, where it seems as though the ‘old’ has reared its ugly head to frighten me once more – to tell me I am not as confident and self-assured as I thought myself to have become. And that is when I go back to the basic principles that were once ‘new’ ways of being for me. I mentioned them in the first section of this post. Let me recap for you what I do with ‘old’ and no longer needed beliefs:

1. View: I openly and honestly look at all aspects of the belief – what triggered it; how it feels in my body; where it locates itself; why I might be susceptible to its return; who may trigger it routinely; when it tends to recur.

2. Review: Looking back, I search out any patterns that may have set this response into action. Might I have been in a place of vulnerability? Was I feeling less than happy about a decision I had made? Was I angry or fearful or resentful? Was I merely tired and unplugged from Source?

3. Recognize: If there are apparent patterns, then recognizing what the triggering factors are for me leaves me more prepared to recognize the signs within me that might set off the alarm bells.

4. Appreciate/Express Gratitude: For me it is important to be grateful for these occasional times of return to ‘old’ patterns of behaviour and belief. They restore the knowing that I am on the right path for me. They allow me to see the contrast between the me I used to be – or thought I had to be to survive in my chosen reality at that time – and the person that I truly am within my very soul and who I now allow to shine out to the world. And so I am able to offer appreciations to these ‘old’ beliefs.

5. Let go: Once I can successfully complete step #4, then I am free to love that part of me that I used to be, that is no longer a part of who I have been blessed to become … and I can let it go. It no longer needs to be part of me. I am no longer afraid. It has no fuel from within me to feed it any longer and I can lovingly let it go.

Do know that not all ‘old’ beliefs are bad beliefs. Some beliefs are wonderful! If they work for us and nourish us at the soul level, well, they are worthy of holding on to. It is important, though, when we choose to let go of  ‘old’ beliefs that we have ‘new’ beliefs available to us to fill us up with all that we now hold near and dear to us – ‘new’ beliefs and ways of being that nurture and sustain us and inspire us to be the best we can be.

What nurtures me today, what sustains me now, may no longer be enough in the years ahead. Should any of today’s beliefs become ‘old’ beliefs one day, why then, I know that there shall be ‘new’ beliefs that will provide a stronger connection between my Self and that of the Source from which I come – All That Is of which I also am. As are we all.

Blessings be to you on your own journey into self and Self discovery.

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia

Follow this link to read Mike’s View.