One thing that is continually becoming more clear to me over the years, and again just recently, is the lack of need to fit into any paradigm. I mean this in the context of how I am continually learning how to hone my practices to hopefully be more effective/helpful. Of course, many systems work with many of the same concepts under different names. We also have different people engaging with these methods, so inevitably the way the work happens and “resolves” (or makes its’ mark, per se) is unique.

We have the opportunity to discover and work what is natural. I do not mean Natural as habitual or our personality’s preferences. What is beyond our ego, that is here in the world, and what is it here to do? A short way of describing what this looks like: Living authentically.

I am intentional at working within established paradigms from time to time. In occasionally working with established systems I acquire experiences of how things work and what methods I work well with. I can implement this into what I already know. Another benefit of committing to an established system for some time is that it can offer others an idea of the work I do and maybe one kind of credibility. In a culture obsessed with how things “seem”, we have the opportunity to understand through experience what actually works and what they tells us about how we work. Ultimately, if it works it works. This is true credibility. A lot of things are capitalized on, but I don’t think our well-being is something that should be commercialized, especially under glamor and promises. I encourage all of us to look beyond the instagram profile/exterior of things and try to understand who it is we’re actually dealing with, and then believe ourselves. Most importantly, never give away your spiritual compass/gut to be tuned by anyone else.

We are responsible for ourselves. We may find other people attractive for a time, but we’re the only ones who walk us all the way to where we’re going. Other people aren’t holding us back. We do that to ourselves by staying how we really don’t belong.

Good work happens when trust exists. Real trust in anything else requires a certain amount of trust in ourselves. Walking one’s path deepens our trust.

Getting to work with what we know narrows our focus. Sometimes we need to narrow our focus so we can get to work. Both work. There is a line from a movie that says “Aim small. Miss small”. This has been on my mind recently.

We’re not all the same. We can’t help everyone, but everyone can try to help themselves.