Transformation and Practice: Growing New Neural Pathways Day By Day
Greetings!
"By transforming our consciousness, we
participate in the transformation of the
world. Each of us has the capacity to shift
from a dominator world-view to one in which
we realize life is a precious gift; we
understand what a privilege it is to be
alive." --Robert Thurman
It is an hour before sunset, the hour of
power. The mountain is calm. Hum of insects
in the forest-emerging cicadas, flies,
solitary bees-is broken only by Acorn
Woodpeckers calling to each other, Wild
Turkeys chatting as they feed. Golden light
suffuses the oaks. The world is alive with
more creatures than I can name.
I am happy to sink, finally, into this
beauty. The last few months have been an
uneasy time, as I tried to address
dysfunctional family patterns, experienced
emotions I thought I had put to rest, and
struggled to shift my responses. Such unease
can be necessary, transformative, and
eventually rewarding; and it's not my idea of
a good time!
Transformation
In the midst of this time of change, I
attended a lecture, "The Art and Science of
Transformation in Everyday Life," and began
reading a book of the same name. The authors
(Schlitz, Vieten, and Amorok), interested in
exploring catalysts for and barriers to the
ways people change, spent a decade at the
Institute for Noetic Sciences researching and
interviewing spiritual teachers about
transformation. I want to share a bit of
their synthesis with you, as I have found it
useful in this challenging process of
shifting consciousness.
There are many gateways or portals (often
painful) to personal transformation. What
makes the exceptional experience (the "Aha!"
moment) become transformational-changing our
perception of what is possible-are four
elements, the authors found. Creativity,
curiosity, silence, and
contemplative
practice are the elements that help us turn
an epiphany, or peak experience, into an
essential part of our everyday lives.
Every time we engage one of these elements,
we make a brief, small shift in habit. We
expose our bodies, brains, and hearts to a
different way of perceiving; we give them
respite from what have often become
burdensome thoughts; and we reassure them
that it is OK to change. In other words, we
feed our intentions for transformation by
being creative, curious, silent, and
contemplative.
Creativity
Think of creativity as stepping outside the
box. Say someone in your family is acting
out. Instead of your usual reaction (yelling?
anger? criticism?) lie down on the floor and
do the "lama roll:" shake your arms and legs
in the air, scratch your back on the floor
like a llama/dog/horse/zebra, and you can bet
mouths will drop and the energy will change.
Or say you have a solar installation
business. Instead of fretting during the
recession, propose leasing solar panels to
families to make it more affordable (no, I
didn't think this up, SolarCity does it).
Curiosity
It may have "killed the cat," but it keeps us
vital and connected-the most interesting
elders I know are the ones who have remained
curious. For me, identifying the Blue Skinks
that live under logs, or watching the
vultures that soar overhead until I recognize
a particular individual, feed my connection
to the "living energy" of the universe. And
in this disconnected, fragmented, alienated
world we live in, every second of awareness
that "I am not alone" or "everything is
connected" is transformative beyond compare.
Silence
Entering into silence, or creating the space
for it to enter you, doesn't have to be a big
project. Lie in the spring grass looking up
at the sky, or put your back next to a tree
for ten minutes, really feeling the energy
around you. I suspect that your worries will
drop away and you'll become fully present to
the sparrow hopping nearby or the pattern of
green leaves on blue sky! Daydreaming gives
our brains space to sort through experience
and reach new understanding; silence creates
the container for that to happen.
Practice
Maintaining a contemplative practice seems
quite challenging for most people I know. We
sit at the computer rather than on the
meditation pillow. We find excuses. We take
workshop after workshop, trying to discover
something new while failing to spend the time
integrating what we have already learned into
our lives.
It is the practice, the repetition--whether a
form of breathing or movement to change
energy, a mantra to shift mind focus, a goal
of altering the way we listen to our kids--it
is the practice and the repetition that
embeds transformation in our bodies, psyches,
and habits. As Vivekananda said, "An ounce of
practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big
talk."
A particular form of contemplative
practice
is not important. Rather, the authors
identify four qualities a practice
needs to
have so it helps us transform:
� Intention-a choice to make it
positive.
� Attention to what we are perceiving,
where we are looking and focusing (what
works, what does not), and what we talk
about. This replaces a cultural tendency
towards repeating dysfunctional behavior and
negative stories over and over and over
(witness the Presidential candidates; witness
the complaints of your friends).
� Repetition. We are capable of laying
down new neural pathways, no matter what our
ages, reconditioning our bodies and minds,
and creating the possibility of transformed
behaviors.
� Guidance. We need help either from a
teacher or from noetic/direct understanding
(such as we get from shamanic practice). We
can't do it alone! Surrender to our guidance
and the capacity to hold paradox are also
essential.
Setting ourselves on a path of shifting
consciousness and making change can be
challenging, difficult, and rich. By
incorporating intention, attention,
repetition, and guidance in our process, we
can make our transformations easier and deeper.
May we love the earth with every step we take!
