Dissatisfaction Invariably Causes Change

The above statement is a quote from a book that I wrote 4 years ago, “Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey.” However, this morning as I began to stretch into my first yoga posture, those words from the past floated through my awareness again. Perhaps it was because this was the first time in 3 weeks that I had made any effort to practice yoga. I was making time today because of pain.

The influences of our culture seldom teach us to move toward pleasure. Since change is inevitable, unplanned alterations are bound to occur which clash with our personal desires. The resulting conflict creates pain. In my situation, preoccupation with an upcoming trip and the resulting hours of restriction in planes and airports kept me uninterested in the usual practices that offer me pleasure. Things like quiet stretching and focused breathing. 

I could have set aside time during my travels for those practices but I chose to surrender to the week. It was a week of eating for fun and living within the lifestyles of others. The sciatica and joint pain that returned due to those choices now leaves me faced with another decision. I can move from pain with shots and pills, or recommit myself to the personal practices that restore balance and bring about the pleasure of good health.

I once heard, “Nobody likes change except a baby.” Yet I have listened to plenty of babies cry while their diapers are changed. That leads me to believe that it is probably not the course of change but the feeling that we have no choice in the matter. When change comes from our admitted intent, we feel empowered. When ‘fate’ hands us change we feel victimized. Was I a victim of air travel and family practices or was I paying the consequences for placing my needs second? In not practicing the personal habits that make me feel good, I had surrendered my ability to cause positive change; the continued healing of my body.

To change your circumstances ...

To change your circumstances you must see beyond your present condition. That statement affects every aspect of our lives; the physical, emotional, and mental. It means that conditions of health, career, finances even relationships can be improved once we decide they should be different.

Two men looked out of prison bars;
one saw mud, the other saw stars. -MaryKayAsh-

Manifestation techniques such as the Law of Attraction, Positive Thinking, Treasure Mapping and others are rooted in this simple understanding; that what you think about, you bring about.

Creating a mental picture of what you desire has to become a priority. Once our minds give fertile space for this picture to grow, we, then, need to experience it. Allow yourself to sense how wonderful and satisfying it feels to have it. Store those feelings away in your memory bank so they are easy to experience over and over again.

Be cautious about reading all the negativity in the papers, listening to news media reports or the woes of compadres around the water cooler or you might find their perceptions influencing yours. Erase any negative images that try to over-ride your positive new image. Guard the created image as though it were a sacred object, because it is…it is your future. Nothing can change without that new imagine.

The next part is the “walk in faith.” Believe in yourself and know that you are part of a bigger picture than you understand. Hold the new image but do the daily things needed to ALLOW your new future to be born.

I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.- W. Clement Stone –

What will you change? Tell me.