Video Summary:

We're taught from a young age about how to accomplish something. It's often an intellectual, memorization-based approach that gets indoctrinated in school. You learn about something and take a test to prove that you've learned it.

Then when we get into the work world, we have projects we're working on, and we build upon things to accomplish them. You do A, which leads to B, and there's a step-by-step linear process. If you're building a house, you build the foundation, and then the frame, etc. There's a process that you learn.

And for some situations, this may be the best way to proceed. However, when you get into the spiritual and emotional realms, I've learned is this approach doesn't work as well there. These realms are in different dimensions and paradigms and accordingly have a different set of processes that work there.

What does seem to work in these spiritual and emotional realms is building awareness about something. We learn about it by experiencing something and noticing how we interact with it.

For example, say I want to change a karmic pattern. Perhaps I push people away who are trying to get close to me because I’m afraid of getting hurt, or I believe if they see how I really am, they'll run away. So I unconsciously push people away. This is an emotional pattern that I have. So what do I do?

This approach suggests that I just build awareness about it and notice it. I notice when I push someone away, and when I don't. Instead of taking notes and memorizing the concepts of a teacher, book, or workshop, I just listen and allow in the information and trust it will be there when I need it.

You could think of it as absorbing the information. Noticing and absorbing information builds awareness. It’s trusting that if I build awareness and consciousness about this issue, the transition will happen when the time is right. The old pattern just falls away and the new one awakens on its own. 

Letting something go is a great example. Have you ever heard, “You need to let go of that old pattern?” I've even facilitated letting-go ceremonies. The coach or facilitator says, “Now let it go.” Have you ever tried to do that? It doesn't seem to work that way. At least it doesn't work right on cue like that perhaps.

I still do letting-go ceremonies, but they have a different intention these days. When I say, “I release away my pattern of pushing people away who are trying to love me,” I'm creating an intention. I'm committing to letting this go and to making this change.

Now that has value because it's energetic. However, there's no how-to-do-it procedure. By committing to it, I'm building awareness and consciousness. I'm creating an intention that energetically initiates the process of allowing me to let go of the old pattern.

And then we need to trust that if we build awareness, it will get us to the point where we cross over and accomplish what we're trying to do. We're just taking a different route to get there.

I'm noticing this pattern and say “Okay, I did it again. Well, I was better at this part this time.” I’m just paying attention and gathering information. That's building my awareness. My awareness needs experience, and I’m figuring it out, but not in an intellectual way. It's more like getting a feel for it.

Perhaps after we notice it about twenty times, then we start understanding it. We may realize, “It seems like when I push people away, it's always when I'm threatened by something.” We just notice this and allow our awareness to build around it.

Ultimately, when we build enough awareness and consciousness, the change naturally happens. It's trusting that we're organically wired to make change. We don't have to do anything other than notice and build awareness. Once we align ourselves with it and get out of our own way, the change happens.

Then one day we realize, “You know what? It doesn't seem like I push people away anymore. I wonder when that happened. I'm not sure when it happened, but it seems like I haven't done it for a month or two. It may not come with this big crescendo and catharsis of letting go. Often it's far more subtle.