May the Force be With You

“Evolution isn’t just a theory but a force that has been working in you since you were born.” ~ Deepak Chopra 

As a child, before you began to identify with the collective beliefs of society, nature was at work and you naturally evolved. When you reach adulthood and become trapped in the Collective Dream, much of that evolutionary force is siphoned off, as you lose focus of your self.

Personal evolution becomes a choice. Rationality, self-judgement and emotion often cloud your perception, when it comes time to make life choices. Staying in tune with the evolutionary force means making the best choice for you, not someone else.

 “I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change. I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.” ~ Erica Jong

Change is inevitable and the key to personal evolution. Sometimes it’s forced upon you whether you like it or not and resistance is futile. Most of the time however it’s a choice; a step into the unknown to pursue something beyond your current comfort zone. The four phases are: Decision, Fear, Transformation, New Awareness.

The decision is usually filled with excitement and enthusiasm, until you begin to understand how much energy and effort it will take to manifest change. Then the fear creeps in, as you realize the steepness of the path to attainment. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of how others will judge you. How you face that fear is the most critical point in the process of personal evolution. The point where most folks give up their dream, before they ever get started.

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” ~ Jim Morrison 

The Great Wide World is full of drama, violence, fear and injustice. Fear and false beliefs rule; enslaving you in the collective nightmare. The beliefs you’ve stored in your mind through societal conditioning, (domestication) keep you from seeing the truth; that you can have beauty, joy and freedom. It lives inside of you now! The Toltecs have a word for this “fog of perception” that creates an inability to see the truth of your self.

“Mitote,” the chaos in your mind that leads to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. You simply don’t perceive things the way they truly are. Mitote is the self-perpetuating dream of society. From the time your mind crystallized into a little thinking machine at around 5 or 6 years old, you’ve been constantly bombarded with laws, rules, values, beliefs and narratives. 

You’ve been ruled over by parents, siblings, teachers, preachers, bosses, politicians and media. Trained and domesticated through a system of punishment and reward, you’ve spent your life looking for external solutions. A better job, a more satisfying partner, the ideal house or the perfect beach body. Courtesy of domestication, you’ve created an idea in your mind of who you think you should be. You spend all your vital energy in a bid to measure up to this illusory image of perfection.

Few things and no person is perfect. Measuring yourself against perfection, precipitates in a downward spiral of negative thinking, self-criticism and emotional distress. Accept human imperfection in yourself and all the others in your life, who are imperfect. Aim for excellence, not perfection. Examine the beliefs that are the strongest; the ones you cling to, even at the cost of your wellbeing.

“The way I see it, you want to cling to your arguments, despite the fact that they bring nothing to you; you want to remain the same even at the cost of your wellbeing.” ~ Don Juan Matus

Just because you believe something is true doesn’t make it so. Beliefs cloud your perception making you think they’re true when they’re not. Awareness cleans perception, like Windex on a hazy mirror. Allowing you to see the truth. The self-perpetuating, collective dream manifests these beliefs in each of us, shutting down awareness and our ability to perceive the truth.

Our collective evolution relies upon your personal evolution. Everything’s connected. It’s not about changing the world. It’s about changing yourself; evolving yourself towards your destiny. Personal evolution drives collective evolution. You can’t manifest change in the world, you can only manifest change in yourself. When we free ourselves, the world will be free.