Do You Survive Or Thrive Through Change?

Life Brings Many Changes

‘The only constant in life is change.’ Heraclitus

Life is unpredictable, and that’s part of its beauty. Change is the only constant in life, and nothing is permanent. We all experience major changes in life, such as the death of a loved one, marriage, setting up home, having children, relationship issues, career moves, changes in circumstances and conditions of employment, illness and injury. These are all are examples of major life events. Unfortunately, for most people, change means uncertainty, causing high levels of anxiety and stress.

Handling Change

‘A memory without the emotional charge is called wisdom.’ Dr. Joe Dispenza, neuroscientist

Change affects us all differently, and we all handle change differently. While we can’t control the changes going on around us, we can, however, control how we feel about change. Some people merely survive through change while others thrive, and it’s all down to their approach to change.

There’s a huge difference between surviving and thriving. To survive means to ‘continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.’ While to thrive means to ‘prosper, be fortunate or successful, to grow or develop vigorously; to flourish’.

According to Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor, neuroanatomist, ‘It takes 90 seconds to process an emotion’. She suggests that when we’re faced with any stressful event or experience in life, we should learn to observe the surrounding emotions for a full 90–seconds. She recommends we do this regardless of how stressful the situation is.

Clear Perception

‘The moment you change your perception is the moment you rewrite the chemistry of your body.’ Dr. Bruce Lipton

Perception is more than ‘incoming information’. Psychology recognises perception as the process of collecting, selecting, organising and interpreting our sensory information and the interpretation made by the brain. For change to be effective, we must recognise and deal with the emotions and feelings change triggers in us. To do this, we need to be present in the moment, our health and our future hinges on our ability to do so.

Being present enables us to:

Have clear perceptions
Be aware of what change triggers in us
Embrace change
Grow through change
Heed our inner voice and guidance
Accept life’s opportunities and lessons with greater ease
Live our life harmoniously
Experience life as simply ‘being’ as opposed to ‘doing’
Be the true expression of our soul.

Moving Through Life

‘In the cycle of nature, there is no such thing as victory or defeat; there is only movement.’ Paulo Coelho

We are cyclic by nature. When these cycles are interrupted, and movement is impeded, it leads to disharmony. Disharmony leads to illness and possibly even disease. Whether it’s disharmony in the body, the mind, or even in the home, the workplace, relationships, friendships, society, or between nations, it leads to unhealthy outcomes with unnecessary pain and suffering for all concerned. When left unaddressed these become blocks in our energy centres.

When cycles are allowed to happen unhindered, that’s when we can live in harmony. When we live harmoniously within ourselves, we ‘go with the flow’ in life, and as a result, life takes on a complete and consistent wholeness to it. As within, so without – it is only when we can live harmoniously within ourselves that we can live harmoniously with others.

The Cycles Of Life

‘If you study the rhythm of life on this planet, you will find that everything moves in perfect symphony with everything else — by grand divine design.’ Suzy Kassem, Author and Philosopher

We experience numerous rhythms and cycles of change as we go through life and these impact hugely on our sense of self. Here are a few examples:

Planetary: As humans, we emerge from the earth. The earth is part of the solar system. As such, we’ are influenced by the rhythms and routines that occur in the universe. From the ocean tides to the seasonal changes, we are significantly influenced by these cycles of nature. We are also influenced by the astrological cycles of growth, change and transformation.
Generational: Each generation (every 20-22 years) unleashes a new era and is unique in what it offers humanity, serving a specific purpose at the appropriate time in history. These cycles influence the cycles that follow.
Biological: Our biological processes work on a 24-hour cycle. Known as Circadian rhythms, this is where our physical, mental, and behavioural changes follow a daily cycle — for example, sleep-wake cycle, body temperatures, hormonal release and growth and development.
Cycles of life and death: We have cycles of developmental growth. These are known as seven-year cycles, taking us from birth through growth and maturity, leading up to our demise.
Spiritual: Our spiritual cycles run parallel to the seven-year physical growth cycle, as we grow, we evolve our state of consciousness. Many people experience numerous cycles of death and rebirth as they grow and develop through life.

Adapting To Change

‘What was scattered gathers. What was gathered blows away.’ Heraclitus

We are in a constant state of flux and flow. We are naturally designed to shed and renew. We shed 150,000 to 300,000 cells per second. Yes, per second! We are naturally designed to adapt to change in our environment. Everything in life is built on change; therefore, change is inevitable. It’s pointless fighting it as it’s an intrinsic part of who we are – cyclic by nature.

As we can see, life has many cycles; some may seem to be in our favour, others not so. We judge these cycles as either successful – where we fully embrace life; or failures – where we feel challenged and victimised. But for the awakened soul, these cycles are merely cycles of transformation. The old ways of being that no longer serve us wither and die – out with the old and in with the new.

When we learn to embrace these cycles and look at them as opportunities for growth and expansion, as an individual and as a soul, suddenly life takes on new meaning, we find it easier to move through the lessons and reap the rewards. This can be easily achieved when we’re willing to go inwards and connect in with our inner body, our true core self. It’s through this stillness within that we get to experience life in the present moment – free from everything.

Benefits of Going Within

In his book, The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes, ‘When you become identified more with the timeless inner body than with the outer body, when presence becomes your normal mode of consciousness and past and future no longer dominate your attention, you do not accumulate time anymore in your psyche and in the cells of the body. The accumulation of time as the psychological burden of past and future greatly impairs the cells’ capacity for self-renewal. So, if you inhabit the inner body, the outer body will grow old at a much slower rate, and even when it does, your timeless essence will shine through the outer form, and you will not give the appearance of an old person.’

Other benefits mentioned in his book are:

The more consciousness you bring into the body, the stronger your immune system becomes.
When you fully occupy your body, you’re less prone to hosting ‘unwanted guests’.
Being fully present helps raise your energy vibration so that any negative emotions such as fear, anger, depression, etc., no longer resonates with your energy. If they do come up for you, it’s easier for you to process them in a healthier way.

Being Present

‘This is the real secret of life – to be completely engaged in what you are doing in the here and now.’ Alan Watts, Philosopher

The present moment is all we’re ever able to experience. The past has gone, and the future hasn’t happened yet. Life unfolds in the present moment, therefore ruminating on the past or catastrophising the future prevents us from truly experiencing life.

There are some very simple ways to help retrain and reprogramme yourself to remain more present in the now. These are:

Commit to being more present. Let being present be your intention for the day. When you find your mind wandering, bring your focus back to the present moment in time. It takes repetition and practice to develop this new habit of being more present in the moment.
Breathing: Taking your focus to your breathing and follow the breath as it moves in and out of your body. Whenever you feel anxious about your future or your past remember to breathe, this will help redirect your focus and attention inwards to the stillness within.
Relish the moment, savour what it is you’re doing. The more you involve your senses in your experience, the more you’ll be able to appreciate it fully. Being aware of your bodily sensations helps keep you focused on the present moment.
Focus on the task at hand; this helps direct your thoughts. I like to talk myself through what I’m doing as it helps keep me focused on the task at hand. Doing so keeps me focused on the present moment.

When you’re in the present moment, you’re more mindful, and with less ego involvement, you’re likely to be calmer and more peaceful, more harmonious in your sense of self. As a result, you’re more likely to be harmonious with the world around you. You’re also more likely to develop that sense of ‘oneness’ with the universe and as such be more compassionate towards others and respond thoughtfully rather than automatically. This is what the world needs right now, thoughtful exchanges with each other.

Meditations To Help You Thrive In Life

In order to thrive through change, we need to learn how to switch off stress, adapt to change and rewire our brains in order to build a brighter future. You may find the following free meditations helpful. Just click on the links below:

These meditations are more of a healing process rather than meditation, as they take you on an inner journey where you bypass your ego and work from your heart centre. From this place of heart coherence, where your brain is in alignment with your heart, you work with the power of intention to direct your subconscious mind to bring about changes on a cellular level. Genuinely transformational and empowering. I refer to this process as ‘Stepping Into Your Light’, and it forms the basis of a technique I call Soul Therapy – Infusion Techniques If you’d like to understand more about this process, click HERE for the blog post.