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Are you someone who sets ambitious goals at the beginning of the year but then struggles to follow through on them? We’ve been there. It’s one of the reasons we created our Dreambook – to teach people how to set goals, how to break these goals down into simple actionable steps, and how to get them scheduled. But there’s one critical factor in the achievement of goals that’s a lot more difficult to teach or impart, and for most people it matters more than all the other skills.
That factor is a commitment to have personal integrity, specifically around keeping agreements. If you are driven to be utterly dependable – to always follow through on your agreements, both with yourself and with others – then tremendous power will be at your disposal.
It takes sustained energy to lift ourselves out of inertia. Physics tells us that inertia is “a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.” Or in Isaac Newton’s words, “a power of resisting by which every body … endeavours to preserve its present state."1 The first definition states that inertia must be changed by an external force, but when we’re talking about objects with volition (humans, for example) that force can be an internal one.
How can we strengthen the force to change our course? It can be fortified in multiple ways. One is the vision which inspires us. It’s important to make yourself remember why you want to make a change. What gifts do you have that yearn to be awakened and shared? How will you and the world benefit from this change? I recommend that you practice remembering your inspiration throughout the day in a multisensory way, ideally in a relaxed, meditative state. What is it going to feel like? What will it look like? What things will you hear people say? Take a breath, tune in, and embody the change. Each instance need not take more than a minute or so.
Because such inspiration can wax and wane – and inertia can be exceptionally strong, like the body’s resistance to changing its weight – it helps to have another power to sustain the impulse to change, and that’s what integrity can do. Sometimes it’s conflated with what we call “willpower,” but using willpower implies a fight. (Since time immemorial that struggle has been between human willpower and “temptation,” which is defined in the Bible as “one quarter-cubit [roughly a pint] of the Benjamin & Jeremiah brand of ice cream.”)
In contrast, aligning ourselves with virtue of integrity is simply strong and clear. It can help us through conflict, but it doesn’t imply conflict. Coming from a nature-based spirituality, I see the earth element as the ideal model of integrity.
In nature earth embodies integrity in that it holds its form with great consistency. The plates of the earth will barely move within our lifetimes. Neither will our mountain ranges change. Healthy land resists erosion, and strong riverbanks contain the rushing water in a path that hardly varies from century to century.
Integrity in earth and humans implies great stability and reliability – even predictability. We all trust in the solid ground beneath us. In the same way, a person with integrity is predictable in that they can be counted on to act in accordance with their word. Thus, the trustworthy, consistent feeling we have about the soil under our feet is something we embody when we cultivate integrity. Likewise, it’s how people feel about us when we embody integrity. The expression “you are my rock” speaks of this virtue. Imagine being that for your loved ones. Imagine being that for yourself.
If you’ve made commitments for change in the coming year, I recommend tuning in to the earth element to experience a felt sense of this integrity. There are many ways to connect to it. Here’s one.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Have a slight bend in your knees, as if you were sitting on the edge of a high stool (you’ll feel it in your thighs). Engage your inner thigh muscles to bring your knees out so they are aligned with your feet. Straighten your spine by slightly tucking your tailbone forward and drawing your chin slightly back. Imagine that your spine is a clear vessel between the earth and the sky.
Bring your arms out in front of you as if you were resting your palms on a giant round belly. Your palms face your body, and there should be a bit of lift in your elbows, an openness in your armpits. Let your chest and heart relax.
Imagine there’s a string attached to the very top of your head and it’s lifting you to the sky. Imagine there’s also a string attached to the tip of your tailbone and its pulling you to the ground, prompting you to remember to stay in a slight squat. These two opposing forces make you stretch in both directions.
Now bring your attention to your feet and your connection to the earth. See if you can feet each of the nine points of contact shown in the diagram above – the five pads of your toes, the two balls of your feet, the outer “blade” of your foot, and the pad of your heel. Try to distribute your weight evenly between these nine points of contact. As you do so, imagine that a strong root of energy is emerging from your sole and growing deep, deep, deep into the earth.
Relax in this posture, remembering to lengthen your spine, soften your chest, keep your knees and elbows open, and maintaining evenness on the nine points of contact. Meanwhile, imagine these roots from your soles are powerfully connecting you to the essence of the earth. Ask to be nourished. Ask to be taught about integrity. And see what happens.
You can hold this standing meditation for as long as you like. When you’re done, lay your palms on your lower belly and feel your strength consolidating there for a few moments. Try doing this on a regular basis. Over time, stand for longer and deepen your squat. Your legs and your focus will become stronger. Notice how this fortifies your commitment to integrity. And feel free to share about your experience with our community.
Be well,
Peter
- Andrew Motte's English translation: Newton, Isaac (1846), Newton's Principia : the mathematical principles of natural philosophy, New York: Daniel Adee, p. 72
[post_title] => Sustaining Your Resolutions: Inertia, Integrity, and the Power of the Earth Element
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Desire is a confusing idea. We’re taught that desire is what leads us astray, that it makes us materialistic and unsatisfied with our lot. To be free from desire implies that we’ve achieved a state of moral and/or spiritual perfection – plus deep inner peace. On the other hand, a lack of desire might mean we’re complacent, lacking ambition, or dimwitted. After all, the reputation of every revered historical figure was rooted in strong desire – to set slaves free, to achieve peace, to get women the right to vote – and it changed the world for the better.
We’re also taught that we deserve to have and enjoy desirable things. And everyone knows that it’s important to be desirable to whomever we might want to attract or impress. Marketers have long reminded us that we’ll be undesirable to a prospective lover, boss, or college admissions officer if we have dandruff on our shirt, ring around the collar, or yellow teeth.
Clearly there’s no single correct answer to the question of whether desire is good or bad. It all depends on what’s behind that desire and how we relate to it.
A tidbit I appreciate from the work of Neale Donald Walsch is the notion that our desires tend to be “sponsored” by either love or fear. Fear-based desire is exceedingly common. It’s part of why capitalism is such a massive force in the world. Because of fear, we desire security and protection, and we’re often motivated to pursue them at the expense of growth and healing. Moved by fear of inadequacy, we might desire a flashy car or a trophy partner – whatever we perceive as signaling our prowess to others. Gripped by fear of death we desire whatever we believe will tether us to life.
Love-sponsored desire is very different. Most importantly, the quality of the energy behind it is different. If you met two people intent on changing the world, one driven by love-sponsored desire, the other by fear-sponsored desire, you couldn’t assume that the fear-driven one wants to change it in bad ways. Or that the love-driven one is going to be more effective. But if you got to know these people, you’d feel the difference and it would be written all over how they relate to life.
Which would you prefer to be driven by? Regardless of your answer (I’m going to take a wild guess and say, “love-sponsored desire”) it’s worthwhile to discern your motivations. If you discover that you’re following a course that’s dictated by fear-sponsored thoughts and desires, there’s an opportunity for liberation – from both the fear and the lifeforce-draining remedies you’re pursuing. If your desires are sponsored by fear, you’ll find that when you challenge them your mind gets defensive. And if you ask, “What if I relinquish this desire?” the response is, “Something bad will happen.”
This isn’t the case with love-sponsored desires. There’s no feeling of, “I have to do this or else!” It’s more like, “My Highest Self is calling me to do this,” and you can feel that it’s coming from love. That said, there may occasionally be cases when some form of harm is occurring and you feel moved by love to help – like getting involved to stop human trafficking or animal abuse. But the difference is, your heart will feel open.
Whereas fear-sponsored desire is rooted in one’s own subconscious thoughts, love-sponsored desire is transpersonal. That is, both its source and its scope are beyond the personality.
It’s similar to concept of iccha shakti as defined in the ancient philosophy of Nondual Shaiva Tantra (NST). A Sanskit term, iccha shakti is used commonly to mean willpower or life drive, but the NST definition is more specific. In the words of author Christopher Wallis, it’s “a precognitive creative urge toward self-expression. It is the impulse behind the manifestation of a universe and behind all artistic expression that is done for its own sake.” Like the idea of love-sponsored desire, to be an expression of iccha shakti means to be moved not by the will of the personality but by divine will that seeks expression through us.
Wallis continues: “The more we access our real innate nature, the more we can draw on the unfailing power of the divine Will. The Will seeks self-expression for no reason other than the joy inherent in the act of self-expression. If you are tapping into iccha shakti in your pursuits in life, be they dancing or computer repair, you will have a vast reservoir of energy to draw on. This is because when you are pursuing an activity as a form of self-expression, it replenishes you instead of draining you.” And I would say the same goes for being led by love-sponsored desire.
I encourage you to ask yourself some questions. At any time you feel strongly moved, you can ask, “Is this a fear-sponsored or love-sponsored thought / feeling / action?” You can also ask, “What is love sponsoring in my life?” or “Where does love want to take me?” Does your work feel connected to iccha shakti? If not, can you change how you relate to it and let love and iccha shakti be sponsors? I always enjoy hearing how these articles land with you.
Be well,
Peter
[post_title] => Harnessing the Power of Love-Sponsored Desire
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The first of January has often felt to me like an arbitrary date to divide our lives by, since most of our projects and phases don’t conform to the calendar year. But I’ve decided it’s as good a time as any to make resolutions, and perhaps there’s some group momentum we can generate as a community by aligning ourselves around virtuous intentions together.
Are you familiar with the concept of “drafting” or “slipstreaming”? It’s what happens when you’re in the wake of air or water created behind a moving vehicle. You can move with less effort because the object in front of you blocks the wind resistance for you and sweeps you along with them. Cyclists and race car drivers do it all the time – drafting the bike or car in front of them by staying right behind them. The only one who doesn’t benefit much from it is the vehicle in the front.
I propose we join together in a slipstreaming experiment. We’ll all be drafting a guy named Rodney who lives in Hoboken and is really jazzed about his new diet. Our collective stream will usher in a new era for 2021.
Ok, to be fair it’s not really up to Rodney to carry us all along. In reality we’ll form something more like a massive armada of ships, all sailing in the same general direction and creating our own current. To be part of it, you just need to utilize your creative power – something we’re all born with often lose sight of.
I encourage you to take the opportunity to consider how you’d like 2021 to go. Your mind may be tempted to limit your vision to very modest changes, but the past year should show us how dramatically things can change in a short period of time. So dream big.
What kinds of things would you like to see in the coming year? People transcending sociopolitical schisms and coming together in a big way? The end of the pandemic? A revelation in the management of wildfires? A powerful way to reverse climate change? Economic prosperity for common people more than mega-corporations? A discovery that will make clean water available to all those who need it? True equality for women, people of color, and all minorities?
Write about your vision for yourself and the world at large, and then give it a name – as if it were a movie or story you’re entitling, a Theme for 2021. (If you have a Dreambook, there’s a page dedicated to his.) You may wish to create two themes – one for you personally and one for the world – though your personal theme should clearly fit in with the world’s theme.
The year has a magical way of unfolding in accordance with the theme we specify – especially if we’re intentional about it, meaning we make a ritual of it. You can choose the format for this ritual. Following are some ideas, but feel free to modify them.
- Establish a change of environment and consciousness using music, candles, scents, drumming, meditation, singing, chanting, dancing, walking, anointing yourself with oils, going to a special place, connecting with the elements, calling in your guides, or whatever works for you to access a feeling of peace, receptivity, and power. Make sure you’ll be undisturbed for a while, and have paper and pen nearby.
- Tune in. Close your eyes and invite your Source / Highest Self to express itself through you.
- Declare your intention for this ritual. You could say something like, “I open this ritual for the purpose of accessing clarity and power to establish the course of the coming year. I ask for insight to recognize how my path has served me thus far. I ask for guidance to know where to direct my focus and energies in order to live as an embodiment of my Authentic Self; to open my heart fully to love and healing; to effectively share my gifts with the world; and to release any blocks or patterns that aren’t serving me.” (Again, say this in whatever words feel good and right to you.)
- Connect with your creative power. You’ve always had this gift, even if it has seemed at times that the course of your life isn’t what you would have chosen. If this connection isn’t clear to you, you might try asking for help. You could say something like, “Dear [Highest Self / Spirit / God / Divine Mother, etc.], help me to understand my creative power. Let me feel it. Show me how I have used it in the past. Help me to recognize what is possible.”
- Feel, intuit, and visualize the coming year. Who will you BE this year? What will you bring to your community? How will you be a positive influence on your environment? What will you be a channel for? How will you speak intentionally? How will you grow? What will you let go of? How will the world respond to your love and light? Take plenty of time with this.
- Now, allow this picture to crystalize into a clear intention. Let words form. What is the emerging theme?
- For example: The Year of Loving Myself Completely. The Year of Living my Purpose. The Year of Learning to Trust. The Year of Shining my Light Upon the World. The Year of Owning My Power. The Year of Healing my Body. The Year of Playfulness. The Year of Lightheartedness.
- If you wish to set an intention for the world, be sure your own personal gain, approval, and control are out of the equation. What would you want for the world if you fully believed that it was an extension of yourself? What would you want for the world if you believed that the world’s healing and happiness was inextricable from your own healing and happiness? Again, let yourself be guided by your divine inner vision. Then allow the picture to crystalize into a clear intention and let words arise that express this intention.
- For example: The Year of Remembering We’re All Connected. The Year of Forgiving Each Other. The Year of Great Healing. The Year of Returning to Simplicity. The Year of Finding Our Hearts and Living Through Them. The Year of Being Gentle with One Another. The Year of Restoring Natural Balance. The Year of Peace.
- Write your personal and/or world intention(s) down. I like to use scratch paper to refine the words and then write my final statement on a special piece of paper with a special pen.
- Close the ritual in a way that works for you. Thank your guides / angels / Highest Self / Divine Source for guidance. Intend to honor this guidance by dedicating yourself to this theme for the year.
- Devote yourself to your theme(s). Doing this ritual and writing on the paper are a great first step. But now you must be a full-time advocate of the theme(s). This doesn’t necessarily mean physical work in support of the theme(s), though it may.
- Don’t get too attached or picky about the details of how exactly it should look. And abstain from the urge to evaluate short periods of time (i.e., mini-chapters in a much bigger story) as proof that it isn’t working.
- Most important is that you REMEMBER the theme(s), believe in the theme(s), honor the theme(s). Let your thoughts, words, and actions be aligned in service to the theme(s). Read your statement at least once a day. Talk about the theme(s) with your friends and family. Share about your theme(s) on social media. Be open to opportunities to advance and actualize your theme(s). The more you give yourself over to it, the more you will be amazed at how things unfold.
After the upheaval that was 2020, I know more people who are consciously engaging in a process like this than I’ve ever known before. I’m excited to see where we’ll be in another year. If you feel moved, please share the theme of your year in the comment area below!
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Use Your Power to Change the World in 2021
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Are you someone who sets ambitious goals at the beginning of the year but then struggles to follow through on them? We’ve been there. It’s one of the reasons we created our Dreambook – to teach people how to set goals, how to break these goals down into simple actionable steps, and how to get them scheduled. But there’s one critical factor in the achievement of goals that’s a lot more difficult to teach or impart, and for most people it matters more than all the other skills.
That factor is a commitment to have personal integrity, specifically around keeping agreements. If you are driven to be utterly dependable – to always follow through on your agreements, both with yourself and with others – then tremendous power will be at your disposal.
It takes sustained energy to lift ourselves out of inertia. Physics tells us that inertia is “a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force.” Or in Isaac Newton’s words, “a power of resisting by which every body … endeavours to preserve its present state."1 The first definition states that inertia must be changed by an external force, but when we’re talking about objects with volition (humans, for example) that force can be an internal one.
How can we strengthen the force to change our course? It can be fortified in multiple ways. One is the vision which inspires us. It’s important to make yourself remember why you want to make a change. What gifts do you have that yearn to be awakened and shared? How will you and the world benefit from this change? I recommend that you practice remembering your inspiration throughout the day in a multisensory way, ideally in a relaxed, meditative state. What is it going to feel like? What will it look like? What things will you hear people say? Take a breath, tune in, and embody the change. Each instance need not take more than a minute or so.
Because such inspiration can wax and wane – and inertia can be exceptionally strong, like the body’s resistance to changing its weight – it helps to have another power to sustain the impulse to change, and that’s what integrity can do. Sometimes it’s conflated with what we call “willpower,” but using willpower implies a fight. (Since time immemorial that struggle has been between human willpower and “temptation,” which is defined in the Bible as “one quarter-cubit [roughly a pint] of the Benjamin & Jeremiah brand of ice cream.”)
In contrast, aligning ourselves with virtue of integrity is simply strong and clear. It can help us through conflict, but it doesn’t imply conflict. Coming from a nature-based spirituality, I see the earth element as the ideal model of integrity.
In nature earth embodies integrity in that it holds its form with great consistency. The plates of the earth will barely move within our lifetimes. Neither will our mountain ranges change. Healthy land resists erosion, and strong riverbanks contain the rushing water in a path that hardly varies from century to century.
Integrity in earth and humans implies great stability and reliability – even predictability. We all trust in the solid ground beneath us. In the same way, a person with integrity is predictable in that they can be counted on to act in accordance with their word. Thus, the trustworthy, consistent feeling we have about the soil under our feet is something we embody when we cultivate integrity. Likewise, it’s how people feel about us when we embody integrity. The expression “you are my rock” speaks of this virtue. Imagine being that for your loved ones. Imagine being that for yourself.
If you’ve made commitments for change in the coming year, I recommend tuning in to the earth element to experience a felt sense of this integrity. There are many ways to connect to it. Here’s one.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Have a slight bend in your knees, as if you were sitting on the edge of a high stool (you’ll feel it in your thighs). Engage your inner thigh muscles to bring your knees out so they are aligned with your feet. Straighten your spine by slightly tucking your tailbone forward and drawing your chin slightly back. Imagine that your spine is a clear vessel between the earth and the sky.
Bring your arms out in front of you as if you were resting your palms on a giant round belly. Your palms face your body, and there should be a bit of lift in your elbows, an openness in your armpits. Let your chest and heart relax.
Imagine there’s a string attached to the very top of your head and it’s lifting you to the sky. Imagine there’s also a string attached to the tip of your tailbone and its pulling you to the ground, prompting you to remember to stay in a slight squat. These two opposing forces make you stretch in both directions.
Now bring your attention to your feet and your connection to the earth. See if you can feet each of the nine points of contact shown in the diagram above – the five pads of your toes, the two balls of your feet, the outer “blade” of your foot, and the pad of your heel. Try to distribute your weight evenly between these nine points of contact. As you do so, imagine that a strong root of energy is emerging from your sole and growing deep, deep, deep into the earth.
Relax in this posture, remembering to lengthen your spine, soften your chest, keep your knees and elbows open, and maintaining evenness on the nine points of contact. Meanwhile, imagine these roots from your soles are powerfully connecting you to the essence of the earth. Ask to be nourished. Ask to be taught about integrity. And see what happens.
You can hold this standing meditation for as long as you like. When you’re done, lay your palms on your lower belly and feel your strength consolidating there for a few moments. Try doing this on a regular basis. Over time, stand for longer and deepen your squat. Your legs and your focus will become stronger. Notice how this fortifies your commitment to integrity. And feel free to share about your experience with our community.
Be well,
Peter
- Andrew Motte's English translation: Newton, Isaac (1846), Newton's Principia : the mathematical principles of natural philosophy, New York: Daniel Adee, p. 72
[post_title] => Sustaining Your Resolutions: Inertia, Integrity, and the Power of the Earth Element
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