Paradise Perspective

Any path toward anything must, by association, be beset with challenges. In order to accomplish any type of growth or progress, whether physical, intellectual, or spiritual, challenges to be met are inherent in it’s nature.

While in town for provisions yesterday, my Rosie (who has avidly participated in my ten-day diet for the first four days) was mortified to discover that we would NOT be getting fast food or Mexican for lunch. Insisted that she can’t keep up eating like this without some “real food”. After an afternoon of serious discomfort, I was able to ease her into the idea that she not give up. She really has done so well–even taking the specified meals to work and resisting on her own the temptations of candy and soda. She has lost 5 pounds and knows (on some level) how proud and great she will feel after we reach our 20 pound goal. She conceded to not give up, but we had pesto for dinner (w/ww pasta), and she might be thinking that the days of fruit and vegs are over. We will see later today.

Facing challenges of my own on a different front. In the process of understanding the power of the energy we generate through our thoughts and emotions, my goal is, of course, to be not only conscious of what they are in any given moment, but to also consciously generate certain positive energy as a rule. My challenge seems to be getting any energy up at all.

However, observing that I am pretty much at peace all the time, remembering to relax into it in times of heat (“crap, I f’d that up and must pull out several rows to change it!”), is much less of a challenge than it used to be. It could be that peace itself is the best of all energies, which is, sort of, the absence of any energy at all. I suspect, though, that at some point, I will be able to identify an ideal energy for whatever the circumstance, and generate it spontaneously as opposed to having to change from one energy to another.

Saving myself a step, as it were.

The toothache started a snowball of painful things.  Migraine headache for a couple of days, etc.

Integrating physical pain is probably the most difficult thing for me.  I can get that whatever is hurting is a result of choices I have made.  For what purpose is where it gets murky.  I think we cause ourselves specific physical sensations to point out something NOT physical.  But the symbolism sometimes escapes me altogether.  A headache can go so many different ways symbolically.

Now, when my ears get plugged up, I believe I’m trying to tell myself to “listen” better to something or someone.  Same if my eyes itch or burn or whatever, I say “What am I not seeing?”  And whether it makes any sense or not, I can usually find something to change my mind about and grow from it.  This perspective also serves as a way to integrate whatever the discomfort is.  Accepting that a “teacher” is present (and the acceptance of the possibility of a lesson) usually  results in the pain subsiding considerably.  This is because of the change in generated energy:  going from “poor me, I hurt” to “ok, why have I brought myself here?”  There is a relaxation that happens when I stop resisting the pain and try getting to “know” it.

Once there, I can either open myself up to possibilities, or wallow in self-pity.  I’m getting better at paying attention to what I feel and why, and even sometimes being able to change how I feel to something  at least more productive.

But serious pain still kicks my ass.   Give me emotional shit any day.