The brain loves novelty and the new; we are also enamored of growth. Yet growth without integration is fruitless. In nature there is the inhale and exhale, Being and Doing, growth and integration. If you learn something new without practicing, it becomes an interesting experience… memorable, perhaps insightful, but nothing in your life fundamentally changes. In order to embody a new awareness and start living it, we need to practice. So commit to learning AND practicing to truly move forward.
I always have my students practice new techniques to achieve fluency. Otherwise, they won't be able to remember a technique and use it because they don't know it "by heart". Another aspect of integration for all of us is to approach health holistically. This means addressing our spiritual nature, psychological and emotional patterning, energy structures (like chakras and energy bodies) and the PHYSICAL BODY. What we consider our physical body is merely our densest energy body. It’s all intimately connected; in my healing work I get to see that up close and in specific, definable ways.
Some people like to hang out in the spiritual and energetic realms and don’t give much importance, or attention, to the physical. Some focus on the body to the exclusion of everything else. We inhabit all these arenas! When an illness or dis-ease shows up in the physical body, it’s a ”red flag” that can alert us to an imbalance on many levels. While we are here, in a body, we need to take care of our whole being.
If we're not on a path of awareness, growth and integration, long-established patterns emerge and become predominant. It could be the way we favor one side of our body, how we process emotions, or our energetic defenses that overlay a misguided belief. The personal work never ends, but thankfully it gets more subtle. There is always another aspect, or a deeper exploration of this mysterious experience of life.
I’m also a proponent of being engaged - integrated - with consensus reality. Although guidance calls it the “lowest common denominator” we are social animals. Some are surprised that I am politically active, as if my “spiritual” identity would preclude me from getting into the muddy brawl! After all, many churches and denominations are engaged in social activism. I believe it’s important to participate in all areas of life. Everyone contributes to the greater reality, whether consciously or not.
What kind of influence do you exert in this world? How will you shape and evolve your life - or our shared experience? That underlying trend towards growth will ultimately call us to live it, to embody it. To integrate what we have learned and lean into our aspirations and the previously unknown.
We can support healing on ALL levels — personal, in the body politic, and in the larger field of consciousness on this planet. Your intentions and efforts make a difference!
Peace, love and healing -
Bear
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