Choosing The Change

Building on our developing insight into subconscious thought patterns, this session is structured to empower insight and motivate genuine change.

In this guided meditation session, Eshu will support your subconscious mind to explore new options and opportunities to make the changes that you want to see in your life.

Transcript

Okay,

Now,

Before we begin,

Please take some time to find yourself a place to sit or recline quietly and comfortably so you can offer your full attention to this session.

You can set yourself up in a way that you can completely relax.

Great.

Now you're ready to begin.

You can fine-tune your position so that it's comfortable for you,

Making any subtle adjustments you need to.

And then you can just let your eyes close.

And now we'll just begin by taking in a few deep,

Relaxing breaths.

That's right.

And I wonder if you might begin to gently orient yourself now to the idea,

Just to the idea,

Of having some quiet time,

All for you,

Some focused relaxation time where you can be with yourself in a way that's accepting,

Nurturing,

And you can allow your whole body to enjoy the comfort of having the freedom to just be.

You've set this time aside for this session,

So right now,

There's nowhere else you need to be.

There's nothing else you need to be doing.

This is your time.

So what makes sense right now is to just give yourself whatever permission you need to use this time fully,

Deeply,

Completely,

And you're utterly relaxed.

Because as you're probably beginning to realize as right here and right now,

You have the opportunity to experience yourself differently.

And when I say experience yourself differently,

I mean you can set aside your usual way of thinking,

Your usual way of feeling,

Set aside your usual way of looking at things,

Long enough to discover some very important things about yourself.

And the very first thing that I'd want you to begin to become aware of is that the way that you think about things,

The way you perceive things in your life,

Is often very different than the way things actually are.

And that's true for you,

It's true for me,

You know,

It's true for everyone.

After all,

No one person has cornered the market on truth,

About themselves,

Or about their lives,

Or about the world we share.

Each of us grows up in a particular physical place,

An environment,

In a particular family,

A particular community,

A particular culture,

And from each of these,

We learn.

We absorb and create our views about everything,

Culture,

Gender,

Spirituality,

Relationship,

Sexuality,

Education,

Money,

Work,

Politics,

Art,

About the world we live in.

And I find it amazing that for each of us,

Whatever that looks like,

Whatever it is that we experience as we grow up,

Automatically,

Almost mechanically,

Becomes our primary understanding of what being a person,

A human being,

Is.

And little by little,

As you mature and explore outside of your own early experience,

What you start to discover,

When you take the experiences you have and you consider them deeply enough,

Is that in truth,

There are so many different ways of going through life.

As a personal example,

I know people who live happy,

Successful lives,

Who are in committed long-term relationships.

And I also know people who find deep satisfaction and joy through living a single life.

I even know people who thrive in a completely celibate,

Monastic lifestyle.

And I imagine that you probably know some people who get a whole lot of pleasure through their tangible accomplishments,

Or by winning awards,

Or collecting material treasures.

And there are also those who find their deepest contentment through serving others,

Or even just simply being who they are,

Without any need or even desire for recognition or reward.

For myself,

One thing I really enjoy is being able to meet and coming to know all kinds of different people,

In and from diverse places that are new and different to me.

Now,

I'm not sure if you've had the opportunity to meet people from different places and cultures or not,

If you've done much traveling in your life or welcomed travelers into your own home.

But even if you've never actually visited other cultures in person,

I imagine that you've heard about plenty,

Or read about them.

You've probably learned about them through documentaries or through your own curiosity and research.

Other cultures that range from very individualist,

Materialist,

And modernist cultures that communicate primarily through technology and human-made devices,

To more traditional cultures that continue to live in close and intimate relationship with each other and the land where they are,

With the plants and animals and spirits,

And with the natural elements of the world.

Really,

The variety of possibilities is amazing,

Is it not?

And when I engage with someone who's from a different culture,

Whether I'm acting as a host or a guest,

I'm always very aware that in the context of their own culture,

They share a common history,

They have a distinct identity,

Often they share their own language,

And they know their land,

They know their people,

They know their customs far better than I,

As an outsider,

Ever will.

Now I wonder,

When I engage with someone who's coming from another culture,

Can I really use my own European,

Colonial,

Settler-descended,

White upbringing as a basis to assess or even judge them or their culture?

Is my first language,

English,

Objectively a better language than their language?

Or are they equally or maybe even more capable of expressing ideas and sharing information?

Are the values that I'm familiar with better in some way than theirs?

Or are they equally or even more capable of creating deep,

Nourishing family and community bonds,

Of encouraging loving relationships,

And cultivating important skills to live well?

And someone who's coming from another culture may do things differently,

Very differently,

And at the same time display absolute genius in their own unique ways,

Utterly worthy of my great respect,

Even my admiration.

But if,

Whether I'm the host or a guest of someone from a culture that isn't my own,

And I don't have the capacity to adapt my language or the way that I communicate in order to connect with those who don't speak my language,

If I don't adjust my customs or my behavior out of respect for their way of life,

Then what am I doing,

Really?

Well,

Simply put,

I'm only repeating the same old thing I've always done,

Because that's what I learned.

It's what I absorbed as I grew up.

It's what I already know how to do.

It's what I'm most comfortable and familiar with.

And yet,

I think you can understand that,

Clearly,

It isn't wise or skillful,

And I might even cause harm if I just assume that the whole world sees and does things the same way that I do.

Really,

It makes much more sense for me to learn how to relate harmoniously with a different culture,

Whether I'm a guest or a host.

And so,

For me to be respectful in relationship,

I might observe and learn and respect their way and customs.

I could try and learn to speak a little bit of their language.

I can choose to acknowledge and affirm the value of their ways of being in the world,

Even if,

Personally,

I prefer a different way for myself in my own life.

And it means stretching myself to adapt to a culture that's different from my own in order to express respect and to create harmony,

And in order for me to learn and practice and internalize this principle,

There are so many more diverse ways to go through life than only my way.

And so,

Any time you find yourself sitting quietly the way that you are right now,

I'm sure you can easily absorb the much deeper message about connecting with others,

About doing things differently,

And adapting yourself to changing situations and circumstances.

Because the reality is,

Every single person you'll ever meet is coming from a totally different culture,

From a different family,

With different experiences,

With their own customs,

Even their own language,

Even when,

On the surface,

It might seem to be the same as yours.

It's a fact that every situation,

Every environment,

Every moment you encounter in your life is new and different.

And for you to respond the same way now as you did before,

As if there are no differences at all,

Well,

That isn't a response at all.

It's more like a program,

Is it not?

It's a mechanical reaction,

A patterned one,

Not a creative response,

Not an adaptive one,

Not one that's truly alive.

And you're wise enough to know that when you choose to do the same old thing,

You're most likely going to get the same old reaction,

The same old result.

And you might feel as if you're right to do it that old way,

Or that it absolutely should work,

And yet still manage to get results that you really don't want.

And you may feel completely justified in doing it the same old way,

But if that method doesn't get the results that you actually want,

Then just how effective is it as a strategy,

Really?

And it's obvious that you already have within you the innate capacity to notice and skillfully adapt to shifting circumstances,

Because if you didn't,

Well,

Let's face it,

You wouldn't still be here today.

Our ability to adapt is critical to survival,

And it definitely impacts the quality and enjoyment of your life in many ways.

So I can probably safely assume that you're aware that the whole world is constantly changing.

Society is changing,

Cultures are changing.

It's incredible.

In my parents' generation,

In the culture I was raised in,

A person could reasonably expect to go directly from high school right into a job or career where they might continue for 40 years until they retired.

And today,

A person might change their work every few years,

Or even months,

Often into a field that's totally unrelated to their previous experience.

When I was a kid,

I had a pen pal I'd write to,

And I'd be waiting weeks,

Sometimes even months before a letter would arrive in the mailbox at my house.

And today,

I text my friends and family all over the world,

All the time.

I mean,

Instant messaging was still pure science fiction when I was 20.

Now it's just the use.

From eating tropical fruit in Canada,

In the winter,

To super niche online communities,

To dating apps,

The world has really changed,

And keeps on changing.

And some folks really enjoy many of the changes that are happening in the world.

And there are others that really don't like some of the ways that things have changed.

Some might try really hard to prevent or delay change.

And of course,

There are those that even shout about trying to bring back the so-called good old days,

Whatever that means for them.

But I'm quite sure that by now,

You've already figured out that you just can't live in the past.

The past is like toothpaste already squeezed out of the tube.

It can't be put back in.

Times change.

People can grow up.

Economies change.

Technology advances.

Societies transform.

Cultural values shift,

And it's your ability to adapt,

To interpret situations clearly and accurately,

And to be able to connect deep inside yourself,

And access the internal resources that are most relevant,

That will best support you in handling the new and unfolding situation skillfully.

And it's this innate capacity to adapt that you can now nurture and develop.

And it means coming to deeply know yourself,

Knowing your range of capabilities as they are right now,

And learning to develop new skills,

Growing,

Adapting,

Evolving,

Transforming as the world transforms,

Changing with changing times.

And there's a particular kind of satisfaction that arises inside when you discover within yourself the ability to change with changing times.

So when it's time to do something different,

You can choose to be observant about what works,

And you can choose to be well-informed about what makes good sense,

But most of all,

You can challenge yourself to adapt,

To stretch,

To extend yourself by experimenting with new behaviors,

New ways of doing things.

Not just thinking things,

Not just feeling things,

But actually doing things.

Different things.

Doing things that can bring about a different and more satisfying result.

And in those moments when you're not sure what to do,

You'll save yourself a whole lot of disappointment and frustration by going outside of yourself to learn from others what's actually possible and what's effective.

So much of what I learn,

I don't have to try to fumble through or figure out on my own,

Because I've learned to learn from people who I admire,

People I respect,

Who already know how to do the things that I'm striving to do,

And do them brilliantly.

You know,

Nobody really expects me to know absolutely everything,

But I do know how to ask,

And I know how to observe,

And I know how to listen,

And when I do,

I really learn a lot about what I don't know how to do,

And you already know how to do that too.

Now,

I wonder,

Throughout this session,

As you've been deeply relaxing,

Deeply listening,

And deeply learning,

You may have perceived an energy just bubbling up from inside you.

Perhaps you can already sense a powerful,

Positive motivation blossoming,

And that's because you realize that it's true.

There isn't anything fundamentally flawed or innately wrong with you.

In fact,

It isn't about you at all.

It is something about your strategy that needs to shift,

And you can make the changes you need to,

Because it's truly liberating to realize,

In your very core,

That when you change how you respond,

What you actually do,

You can and you will get a different result,

A much better result.

You'll discover that,

As you continue to experiment,

Responding in new ways,

You can stop slipping back into despair or shame,

And you can start learning.

You can stop feeling like a victim of circumstances and events that are out of your control,

And you can start feeling strong and empowered as you realize you have new choices now.

You step outside what has been in the past,

And you do something different now.

And you can be aware of those fantastic feelings of optimism,

And your willingness to learn and keep learning.

And the very best part is that now,

You're able to bring everything that you've learned in this session,

All of your new insights and new perspectives,

Back with you,

In just the moment when it's time to reorient yourself.

But before you do,

Please,

Take whatever time feels needed to process,

To absorb the ideas we've been exploring in this session.

Integrate what you've learned into the depths of your very core,

And allow the words,

Do something different,

To naturally arise in your awareness.

Allow them to surface.

Hear them in those moments when,

In the past,

You might have reacted ineffectively,

And the words,

Do something different,

Will remind you that there are other possibilities,

In each and every situation,

Where it really matters to you what actually happens.

And so,

Once you've deeply digested what you've gained in this session,

And when you're good and ready to,

You can choose to bring this experience to a comfortable close,

And you can begin the process of gently reorienting yourself.

There's no need to rush.

You can allow your awareness to rise slowly,

Like a bubble of air rising from the depths of the ocean.

And when you're good and ready to,

You can gradually begin to bring some movement into your body.

You might begin by wiggling your fingers or toes,

And at your own pace,

When it feels good for you,

You can open your eyes,

Reorienting fully to the place you're in,

Feeling awake,

Alert,

And fully refreshed,

Ready to respond to whatever comes.