Slippage

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK: So now and then we experience “slippage”; old problems/habits we have worked on rise again. It is not surprising, they have been highly-rehearsed and nurtured for years. It’s annoying tho’? you recognized an unwanted habit and then did “all the right things” to get rid of it and “fix” yourself and now here it is again! Maybe we lose our rag, allow ourselves to get depressed, the ugly ego rears up, we get a hang up thinking we lost approval of someone we love, we crave a cigarette, drink, sugar, compulsive computer usage, an old limiting belief asserts itself again (e.g. I can’t do that, I’ll never be able to do that), get frustrated because of falling out of a posture after having held it steadily before. We are creatures of habit, and the physical, mental, and emotional places we gravitate toward are often the well-trod plains of negative experiences. Better the devil you know right? We tend to prefer the familiar to the unknown.

FAILURE ISN’T FATAL: When it crops up we think: I failed, I should know better after all I have been there before, I should/can do better, Why is this ‘happening to’ me? Perhaps the bad habit is the real me and even tho’ I don’t like it I can’t get rid of it? And so the self-denigration becomes a bigger problem than the problem itself. Brow beating and putting self down, we fall so easily into the groove of these negative mental and emotional patterns that underlie low self-esteem and self-destruct mode, reinforcing them and thus hindering our positive evolution. Don’t despair, take courage; you have a choice here; but changing is not an accidental process.

YOU HAVE PROOF: The initial problem got established through habit; bad habits are formed exactly the same way is good habits, repetition: creating a habit requires practice (conscious or otherwise), honed, nurtured, cultivated for years, they are bound to resist your new way of thinking/your new habit. To disrupt a bad habit requires effort/practice too. Don’t forget, you have previous proof that you can break old habits and transform yourself. You had insight enough to recognize something that needed change. But here’s another thing that crops up; “I havn’t got time to think about how I might change!” “I can’t deal with right now” “more important things”, yada yada yada… and it gets ‘put on hold’.

YOGA SCHMOGA AGAIN :): Why not get more use out of your 90 minutes Yoga practice. This might be a good starting block. You’re halfway there already; the positive mental attitude you are honing in class has already crept into your other world. Just add in a few extras: Bring an intention for your practice. e.g. awareness of breath or something more personal (habit breaking). Setting it consciously before class will galvanize your inner resources.

SLOW DOWN: cultivating intention, perseverance, awareness, greater sensitivity: you will begin to look inward, develop insight and intuit where more important change is required (insight, seeing clearly can translate into change). This will ignite the process and help sustain the discipline required for change and growth. Sometimes you feel ready to change and are teetering on the edge between where you are now and where you want to be and yet are paralyzed by an unseen force: Fearlessness is required; this helps you face the unknown; to tolerate the unpleasant sensations that often accompany change. You’re not loosing yourself in the process you are getting one step closer to your true nature, refining and cultivating your true shiny self 🙂 The ability to change patterns once done is self-generating, self-sustaining, and self-renewing, change will flow. And this is the reward of all this hard work come to fruition.

“GO OUT ON A LIMB THAT IS WHERE THE FRUIT IS” Mark Twain
Namaste ~ Trisha