METAPHORS ARE IMPORTANT

METAPHORS ARE IMPORTANT!

I was talking with one of my friends on facebook about transformation and the process of unfoldment when we had the following exchange:

Her:  I feel like being tied to one end of a bungee rope that keeps me from taking off, and I keep wanting to turn around and just cut the darn thing off

Me:  why don't you

Her:  because it's a freakin metaphor and I have not found the freakin metaphorical scissors yet

I about fell out of my chair laughing.  It’s funny but it is also kind of how it can seem.  We really need these views in our lives.  We very much need to recognize when we are getting in our own way and, despite the frustration that that may bring, to at least realize that we have noticed the impediments.  That is a very important step in discovering the true self. 

What is the true self you may very well ask? 

The true self is, as Pir Vilayat would put it, “Who you would be if you could be who you should be.”  Wrap your head around that if you can.  We all tend to think that who we are is fairly fixed and, with the possibility of a few minor modifications, that’s it.  The reality is that we are all a work in progress and who we are in the present moment is the material we have to work with, not the final result.   We also tend to think that we are some kind of end product and though we intellectually know that the world is in motion and continually evolving, we don’t really believe it.  Nothing can possibly take place beyond what we now know.  

Do you notice the inconsistencies here?  Empirical evidence tells us that there is a constant flow of societal and physical evolution taking place but we don’t really believe it.  So, what to do?  

Maybe the first thing to do is to notice one’s assumptions; all of them.  Not in any negative or angry way, just notice.   Especially notice assumptions you have about yourself.  Some things are pretty fixed; male or female, genetic heritage, etc.  But all the rest are pretty flexible if you allow them to be.  The mystics say that knowledge of self is the path to knowledge of God, however you may see that idea known as God. 

My friend with the metaphorical bungee cord was realizing some of the assumptions that had at one time seemed so real but now were at best suspect and at worst holding her back.  The question then was how to let go of them.  What a mystic would advise is the constant awareness of these assumptions and the constant recognition that they are indeed assumptions and not who she really is.  Which is all very easy to say but in reality is pretty hard work.  This is where the comfort of spiritual practices, whatever they may be, come in.  Repetition of some kind of mantra or prayer is one of the best methods of changing one’s assumptions to eventually become who you would be if you could be who you should be.  The nature, style and cultural source of the prayer or mantra is not nearly as critical as one’s intent when repeating.  

There’s your main clue!  What is your intent?

Blessings, Musawwir

Resolution

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Res·o·lu·tion

[rez-uh-loo-shuhn]

noun

1.

a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.

2.

a decision or determination; a resolve: to make a firm resolution to do something. Her resolution to clear her parents' name allowed her no other focus in life.

3.

the act determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.; the act of resolving.

4.

firmness of purpose; the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute: She showed her resolution by not attending the meeting.

5.

the act or process of separating into constituent or elementary parts or resolving.

These are only some of the meanings one can find for this all purpose word.  There are others specific to the medical field, to optics and to computer monitors.  I did not want to list them all but, if you are curious, they are easy to find but they serve little purpose for the theme of this post.  What we are talking about here is the resolution one discovers when it is time to make a change in ones habit patterns and, by extension, in ones life. 

Every person who seeks out assistance in some form in changing a habit has come to a decision of sorts.  The next steps however are those that test one’s resolve.  The hypnotist provides the sub-conscious with the supporting programming that will aid you in making the desired changes, what the hypnotist cannot do is reach inside your brain and flip the appropriate switches to make sure that the changes are permanent.  That’s up to you.  And that is where your resolve comes in. 

As we explain to every client, with every suggestion you get to make a choice of whether to accept or reject the suggestion.  I think that is really important as it provides a safety valve for you.  There is then a very real conversation that takes place in which you decide whether or not to allow these changes to begin.  That is where a kind of passive resolve can come in so very handy.  Deciding from the outset, “I am going to do this and I trust this person to help me.” is the best attitude and will guarantee good results. 

This is the time of year when the common question is, “What resolution did you break already?”
 For the successful hypnosis client that question is very easily answered by, “I am becoming the person I have always been meant to be!”  

May the coming year be lived in the full knowledge that you are a being of beauty and joy.  

I intend to begin posting here after a two year hiatus. 

Sincere Regards,  Phillip Gowins