Following the Rules

I'm really good at following the rules. And goodness knows that people are fond of coming up with rules; we have everything from multiple levels of government laws, to basic social rules, rules for every type of game, sport or gathering, and even our own personal unspoken rules. Rules give us a sense of safety and control over our environment and our relationships. We even categorize people by their reactions and relationships with rules: criminals, rebels, goody two-shoes', and, of course, lawyers. Can we really even hope to follow all the rules we come across?

Everyone, based on their personality, their up-bringing, and their experiences chooses which rules they will follow and which they won't. Some might argue that government laws are the most important to follow, but I think that social rules are where people are under the most pressure to conform (laws and social rules often match-up, but not always). Of course, social rules are not uniform, but vary across age, gender, family, culture, race and social setting, just to name a few. But enough dry social studies - what happens when your spirit, your intuition, your life tells you to break the rules?

Now, if you choose to consciously follow a spiritual path, I'm pretty certain this is going to happen to you, if it hasn't already. At some point, you may be called to break a social rule or ten. Oh, and please don't get me wrong here, if you're getting the feeling you should rob a bank or abandon your children, chances are it's not your spirit that you're talking to. But if you're getting the call to parent differently than the rest your family, to change your diet or clothes in a way that might make you stand out from your friends, or to start to be openly honest about what (or who) you love even though it makes others uncomfortable, it's a feeling you should really pay attention to.

You see, part of the whole reason for being on Earth at all is to discover yourself: what you like, what you're good at, what you love, what is easy for you, and equally, what you don't like and what's a challenge for you. Now as nice as it would be, if you grew up surrounded with people who think and feel exactly the way you do (which is really impossible anyway), how would you really discover who you are? In that sort of case, there would be no real discovery, no drive for you to embrace and cherish who you are as an individual. So you see, you're very likely meant to find yourself in at least one situation in your life where you need to be different from those around you.

As I said before, I'm good at following the rules. I did that really well for a long time. I studied engineering in university for over four years and I was a computer programmer for six more years. And then I heard the call to be different - to be me. Seemingly out-of-nowhere, I quit my job and the entire social world that came with it in order to study holistic health and shortly thereafter become a stay-at-home mother. These decisions were not logical and sensible as engineers are supposed to be, nor did they fit my image of an intelligent and modern career woman. It was a hard decision but the pain of not following my heart had finally exceeded the pain of not following the social rules I was exposed to.

Anyone I've talked to who has made this kind of change in their life describe some things in common. The decision to break the rules and be true to themselves was difficult or even agonizing, but once the change was made, they never regretted the decision. When you are following the rules, who are you being true to? Are they your rules or something you picked up from those around you? You don't have to wait until the pain of not being you catches up with you. You are being given every opportunity to be yourself - when will you choose to accept?

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© Amelie Rossignol and Heart Answers, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Amelie Rossignol and Heart Answers with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Good Intentions

When I first started studying BodyTalk, I was intrigued by the idea that a BodyTalk practitioner was asked not to set any sort of intention for the session, but simply pay attention. It was emphasized that "[w]hen you proceed with intent, you are proceeding toward a goal with bias and expectations derived from past training and experiences."^[1] This was in such contrast to much of the alternative healing world, where intentions are constantly set, clarified, and focused-on. So, naturally, it got me thinking...

Let's start with the premise that everything that happens is in one's best interest. (If you don't follow me on that one, it's a whole other blog post). In that case, why would you ever need to set an intention at all? If everything is all in God's perfect order, then there is absolutely no reason to set intention - at least, no reason to set intention about outcome.

I think we have to come down to a bit of a redefinition of intention, and it's different varieties. First of all, there's the kind of intention that describes an outcome.

• I intend to make a million dollars.
• I intend to have healthy lungs.
• I intend to start my own business.

These intentions aren't really intentions, they're goals. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with goals, but whether or not you achieve them is not ultimately under your full control, even though it can seem like it is. These outcomes are all wonderful things, but you will only experience the outcomes if they are truly in your highest and best interest. If you are strongly attached to the possible outcomes, you might find it rather painful if you don't get what you want.

What other kind of intentions are there? I suppose you could intend to have "better" emotions or thoughts.

• I intend to feel happy.
• I intend to feel enthusiastic about my diet.
• I intend to think positive thoughts about my job.

Now, I'll certainly admit that we appear to have a great deal more "control" over our emotions, and even more over our thoughts, than we do over physical outcomes. And while working to "improve" our thoughts and feelings is a wonderful leap in consciousness from just plainly being miserable about everything that happens in our lives, what happens when we look even deeper? What if even our thoughts and emotions are just Divinely perfect as they are? What if, in intending to change our thoughts and feelings, we are missing the opportunity to accept them as they are? At that level, you might say that these mental/emotional intentions are also outcome intentions.

This is where I was left wondering if intention had any true purpose at all? If you take away outcomes, whether physical, emotional or mental, what do you have left? Well, I think what's left are qualities of the soul or spirit. I'm talking about things like love, patience, kindness, attentiveness, hope, strength, faith, and peace, among many others. These are things that you do not do or feel, but things that you are. I mean that you already naturally carry all of these qualities, so the intention is not necessarily to become these things, but to bring them into practice in your life. If you're wondering about the difference between a soul quality and a feeling, try pairing the thing in question with what you know to be an "opposite" feeling and see if what you get is mixed feelings or independent things. Can I be angry and happy? I would call that having mixed feelings. Can you be angry and patient? It may not be easy, but it's absolutely possible. It isn't an exact test, but it might be helpful.

I'm not saying that intending to embody these soul qualities will instantly turn you into a different person. Intentions just give an indication to your unconscious mind as to what you would like, and the unconscious weighs that with it's previous requests to choose your reactions. In other words, it takes some practice. But if you focus your intentions on these soul qualities, you're focusing on the things you actually have some influence over and helping the process of you becoming your true self. By setting good intentions, you're opening the door for your true self to come through.

[1] Dr. John Veltheim and Sylvia Muiznieks, BodyTalk Fundamentals. 8th ed. Sarasota, FL: PaRama LLC, 2011, 51

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© Amelie Rossignol and Heart Answers, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Amelie Rossignol and Heart Answers with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.