Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Shifting Perspectives: Are you living in love or fear?

It is my belief that we primarily have two choices in life: to think and act in accordance with fear or to be in alignment with love.  This week I experienced a lesson in shifting my perspective along this continuum. 

On my way home from chi gong, I stopped at the CVS by my house to pick up some lavender Epsom salts.   As I waited in line, there was an older couple, perhaps in their late sixties, at the register in front of me.  In my mind, which was focused in a mode of impatience, they were slow and sluggish.  As the man struggled with the credit card machine, my annoyance grew.  Silently, I criticized this man’s observable senility.  Once I recognized my insensitivity, I took a moment to analyze it.  What was manifesting as agitation, was actually fear in disguise; fear of myself getting older and becoming feeble-minded. At this point, I was able to shift from a place of fear and judgment to one of love and compassion, my restless impatience instantly lifting.
          
        Though the choice to be in a state of unconditional love for myself and others is not always such a simple task, the more I practice this shift, the more habitual it becomes.

So how do we apply this new strategy?  The first step is recognizing when your emotions are being expressed as fear. Then, once this understanding is established, you must take the time to investigate what the fear is really about.  If the fear is based on a firmly held belief, we may need to begin to dispute this belief. Some questions you may want to ask yourself:  Is there evidence to support this thought? Does this thought help me or hurt me? What thoughts can we use to replace this thought that are more realistic and loving?  The result is we consciously shift our perception from one of fear to one of love.  And so it is. 

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