Side Effects

I've noticed several side effects since I got really serious about doing the dismantling work. Things I used to really dislike doing are no longer issues for me. I used to hate going to Costco and actually didn't go for many years. Over the past year we renewed our membership and I go whenever the mood strikes me and actually enjoy the experience. That is amazing for me because I am not a shopper, never have been but since my resistance level toward life in general has dropped it's become a none issue.

Another thing I used to really struggle with was networking. I remember going to networking events in the 90's and feeling really uncomfortable, disliking the whole experience. Now, it's a truly fun and enlightening activity. Go figure.

The reason I see this kind of phenomena as side effects is that I haven't worked directly with my resistance to these kinds of activities; whatever the beliefs were behind the resistance were obviously the same as in other areas in my life where I did do some liberating work.

The first time I had a dramatic realization of benefits to doing deep inner work was very early on the journey. The second intense workshop I participated in back in the late 80's was when I had my first breakthrough to some very deeply buried pain. It was an awesome experience in and of itself but soon after that I realized I no longer had the life-long phobia of birds that had been so limiting for me. I intuitively knew it was done and I have not had it since. Who knew?

The point is, everything is related. You pull on one string and it affects the whole tapestry. All we need to do is start where we are and deal with what's in front of us. The key is to keep doing the work, even if you don't see the kind of results you thought you would get right away or in the specific area you thought you were working on. Life is looking after the details.

Tapestry of Life