Once you’ve developed the ‘Yes I can’ mindset as I explain here, it is now time to start moving forward.
One of the biggest misconceptions about moving forward is trying to skip steps and move forward ‘faster’ than what is possible or feasible.
Let me give you an example.
According to teacher Drunvalo Melchizedek, there are 144 dimension or levels of consciousness. We live in the 3rd dimension and can barely begin to envision what the 4th dimension might be like, let alone the 144th. Yet, I hear people speak of the 5th dimension and higher. I wonder if they realize what they’re saying.
The trouble today is that people want to skip levels with barely any consideration for the process involved in incremental growth. Living in an industrialized society, we’re used to things happening quickly and have little tolerance or patience for psychological processes that are deep and take time.
This is why steps are important and going step-by-step is vital to moving to the next level, whether it pertains to vocational aspirations, personal growth or raising consciousnesses.
We are no higher than the level we’re currently on
One of my mentor’s told me, ‘Some people will be more advanced than you spiritually, some less. That’s how it is on The Path. You’re at where you’re at while you’re at it.’ This was a lesson that stuck with me.
As Lisa McDonald of ‘Living Fearlessly’ with Lisa McDonald explains in one of her newsletters, you should not waste time focussing on where other people are at (‘rubbernecking’) because this will distract and take you away from the moment. You should only focus on yourself, your performance and where you’re at now. I agree with this.
You can’t bypass steps
A good metaphor for moving up levels is a staircase. We move up a staircase step-by-step. You cannot get to the next step without forward momentum, concentration and expended energy. We can propel ourselves and jump over steps, but this is a bad practice. A staircase is meant to help us go up gradually. We shouldn’t be so much in a hurry as to need to skip steps. As the late Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939-1987) said, ‘A warrior is never in a hurry.’
What I noticed about the society in which I live (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), is that people are always in a rush. Are you like that? Or do you like to smell the roses?
I traveled to Niagara-on-the-Lake recently. The highway speed limit clearly states 90 kilometers per hour, but people were driving between 110 and 120 kilometers per hour. No one seemed to pay attention to the huge sign that reads $10,000 fine if you exceed the speed limit by 50 kilometers per hour.
The end result of such a scenario is that if you don’t drive with the flow, you put your life in danger.
I asked myself, ‘Why do people feel the need to exceed the allowable?’ and ‘Would people like to reach their destination at the push of a button if this were possible?’ I’m afraid that many would answer yes to the latter question.
Spiritual warriors, however, are never in a hurry because they know that the journey needs to be relished.
Back in Toronto, as I walked around the University of St. Michael’s College today, I saw this beauty:
Had I been in a rush, I would have missed it. Had I wanted to push a button to reach my destination, I would have missed it. I wouldn’t have been able to capture this beautiful tulip and share it with you.
Move forward at the right speed
It is appropriate to move fast on a highway, but it’s not appropriate to move inordinately fast. What I say in Take it to the Next Level is that we are exactly where we’re meant to be, but that life doesn’t stop propelling us forward to the next level. We don’t have to speed through a level, nor should we try to falsely skip levels.
Appreciate the level you’re on
One of the best things we can do is appreciate the level we’re on. The more grateful we are, the sooner we can ‘graduate’ and move forward to the next level.
Let’s Take it to the NEXT LEVEL, Luba
Images: LUBARASCHEFFPHOTOGRAPHY