Starting a consistent meditation practice is one of the hardest things I have ever done. When I began my spiritual path, I tried several types of meditation. The meditation I settled on to try was simple. I read it in a book and was happy it did not require the mental disciple of some esoteric traditions. Instead, it was a guided journey into the heart. The heart is the seat of all the wisdom of the universe and the center of you. I was very interested in getting all the insight there. So, I made a sacred space in my home with an altar, incense, sacred items, and representations of the elements, and I sat before my altar to settle and breathe.
That would not last long.
The phone would ring, the husband would need to find something, and the baby would cry. And on and on. Everything got in the way. My frustration grew to the point of almost giving up. Almost. But before I admitted defeat and looked forward to quieter times in my elder years, I made one last desperate attempt. I made a vow, aloud, to the universe, myself, Spirit, and whoever was listening: “I am going to do this no matter what.” And I meant it.
I mentally reviewed all the worst-case scenarios of what could happen while I did my few minutes of meditation. And I thought I would not stop even if there were an emergency. I would not stop even if someone were bleeding on the floor. I would not stop even if I got a call about the demise of a loved one. I would not stop even if my home were in flames. I would continue my meditation. I would complete it to the end, no matter what.
Then the next time I sat down to meditate, there were no interruptions. No calls, no husband interrupting, no baby crying. Nothing. I could sit in silence and seek out the universe’s wisdom hiding within my soul. It was like magic. I have not been interrupted during meditation since, and that was over 20 years ago.
Wow.
I have thought about this a lot. Why did this work? I work with so many people that are changing their lives. With each change comes a barrier to cross.
Two common energetic barriers can get in our way when we try to make a change of personal habits or more significant changes like career and relationship changes.
With non-spiritually based changes, it usually is the universe barring the way. With everything we do, every place we put our energy and attention, we are conversing with the universe. So, if we give our attention to something we do not want, then that thing will keep coming into our lives. If we change it up and start giving our attention to what we want, we can make that positive change.
For example, you may want to eliminate coffee from your daily habit but previously have given coffee a lot of attention. You may find after eliminating all coffee from your house, people will offer you coffee, send you coffee as a gift, and so on. Coffee becomes in your face and on your mind constantly, just when you are trying to stop the habit. You must be strong enough to think of something else and consistently divert your attention from it to tell the universe you are no longer interested in coffee.
The above is a simple example, but there may be something you can think of you tried to change, and it felt like the universe was conspiring against your change.
It is not a ‘test.’ It is simply the universe’s response to the previous conversation that you loved coffee, and the universe always provides. However, it takes a while for the universe to catch up to the change we are making. Therefore, when you change to not wanting coffee, please do not give it any attention; keep focusing on your new daily habit of tea or your replacement beverage. The universe will eventually get the memo, and you will no longer constantly have your past desire for coffee in your face.
The power of the universe is fascinating and extraordinary and is more than just the Law of Attraction. Universal laws influence our lives, and we can work within the laws to create a different life once we understand what they are and how they work. But for now, know that making mundane changes is a matter of giving attention to the things you desire and not the things you do not.
Mundane changes like career and relationships are small potatoes compared to shifting consciousness. Or consciousness is made up of many aspects, but the one typically in charge is the ego. The ego has controlled us for our adult lifetime. Many of us have made our life choices to support what the ego wants. If the ego wants status, we will go for a career that will give us status. If our ego thrives on low self-esteem, even if we want a status job, it convinces us we are not worthy of it. The ego can call the shots, from what kind of car we drive to who we marry. When the ego is in charge, it controls us and stops us from following Spirit.
Meditation is often the first step to being guided by Spirit. Unfortunately, this shift upsets the ego. When we start a meditation practice, it is not just the universe we need to convince, but we must negotiate with our ego to ensure that our lives will accommodate it.
The desire to follow Spirit usually happens before we have dealt with our wounded selves. Our childhood traumas, abuse, or neglect, are held in the ego, making it extremely hard to negotiate with an ego hanging on to control. The ego holds on to wounds and uses them to stay in power.
I did not know any of this when I started my spiritual practice. I just wanted to find the wisdom to heal my sorrows.
My wounded ego was not having it. My ego was none too pleased to be ignored while I sought to pay attention to Spirit, my intuition, or my soul in meditation. So, it created barriers, external and internal. The interruptions and distractions were an attempt to keep me from listening to a voice other than it.
Not knowing what was going on, I took the hard line and let my ego know I was serious. I convinced myself it did not matter what my ego did to stop me; I would not stop. Therefore, I got to meditate in peace.
After meditation, the ego still showed up to negate everything I did with plenty of snarky comments and examples of how foolish I was, but the teaching on how to deal with that is a chapter for another time.
For now, ask yourself: Are you willing to shift into the power of spiritual guidance, or do you want your wounded ego to continue running your life?
If you want Spirit to be your guide, are you willing to make this change no matter what?
by Janet Kadow, @janetkadow, janet.substack.com, janet@janetkadow.com, 6198664405, http://www.janetkadow.com
Janet Kadow 