There is a saying in the yogic sciences that “your habits define you”, so it follows that the problems in life come from our habits. And the biggest problem we often have in life is that we can fall into a pattern of viewing life as a series of problems that are happening TO us, that keep us stuck, versus seeing life as a series of opportunities that are FOR us, that allow us to grow and thrive. This is the definition of a victim versus creator mindset, and it can be the difference between suffering and happiness in life. But a creator mindset is difficult to maintain in a society that tends to encourage various forms of victimhood as an identity. And a creator’s mindset is unlikely to be something we just will ourselves into because it runs too much against the grain of our conditioning and patterns of behaviour. It takes patience, time, and discipline to transform our perceived “problems”, one by one, into growth opportunities. That discipline is some form of a daily practice or discipline. The yogic sciences suggest: 40 Days: Practice every day for 40 days straight and this will break the negative habit the blocks you from seeing the path to expansion. 90 Days: Practice every day for 90 days straight and this will establish a new habit in your consciousness that will change you in a very deep way. 120 Days: Practice every day for 120 days straight and this will confirm the new habit in you your consciousness and it will be permanently integrated into your psyche. I had a student that was struggling with a relationship issue. They were unable to communicate, or physically see a person they loved deeply, and it was starting to lead to feelings of hopelessness, frustration, and self-pity. They sensed the shadow of victimhood coming over them and they wanted to transform it into creative energy. They decided to wake up early, every day for 40 days and write in a journal for 30 minutes to the person whom they were missing. Writing in a conversational style like they were in the room with them. It was a practice of getting up earlier in the morning than they normally would, and making this writing the first thing they did upon rising. It was non-negotiable and they set the intention that this was the single most important thing they would do each day, and for this person, it was. What had started as a discipline, quickly became an act of unconditional love. It was a daily practice of unconditional love. After 40 days their perspective on the situation had changed. They felt much closer to the person they were separated from, and their heart was overflowing with love, compassion and understanding for the situation. I witnessed the miracle of transformation from this simple practice. This example serves to demonstrate that no matter what is blocking us we can transform the situation individually with our own daily practice. A daily practice is the getting into “action”, and action is what is needed to break our patterns of behavior whatever they are. Both the conscious, and more importantly the unconscious patterns of behavior. When we combine daily practice with community the effects are even more profound. The Way is part of a daily practice community (www.agatheringplace.ca) that meets online at 6:30 am PST every morning to engage in rolling 40-day transformative practice. We would love to have you join us in transformation. The Way
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