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One life experience we can all predict concerns change. In this wondrous world, nothing remains static; everything is in flux. The happiest, most productive people are those who see the need for adaptation as a given. These folks are the most curious, and, consequently, the most willing to embrace change. We may rebel at change, especially sudden, forced change brought on by sudden death, business failures, and relationship betrayals, but our rebellion prolongs our state of distress. Tapping can help us to shift our attitude to change, no matter how dire; more than this, tapping can help us to positively reframe our view of ourselves and our world.
Science Fiction and the Delights of Change
One of the genres of literature that helps us to accept the inevitability of change is Science Fiction. In the fantasy worlds created by masters like Ursula Le Guin, our resistance to change is quieted as we readily embrace the possibilities of imagined realities. After such imaginative adventures, we may find our earthly reality constraining, at least until we discover that our powers of curiosity will transform our everyday experiences into adventures every bit as exciting as those found in books.
Playing the “What If?” Game
One of the techniques I’ve developed in my EFT practice is to ask ‘what if . . . ?’ when I catch myself or a client moving into, or reacting in fear regarding inevitable change. When we give ourselves permission to ask ‘what if’ regarding both positive and negative possibilities, we are making room in our psyche for a graceful transition from one set of circumstances to another. A tree in the forest does not resist the storm. And, should it lose a limb, or indeed its whole, magnificent self, it sets to work providing nourishment for a variety of living organisms while contributing to the richness of the earth around it into the bargain. ‘What if I lived my life remembering the lesson of trees?’ It is a question that brings a remarkably energized set of possibilities to light.
The Wisdom of Uncertainty
Pema Chodron’s remarkable meditation on uncertainty and its gifts offers our inner, perennial learner a supporting scaffold on which to grow. When we review all the situations in nature human beings have considered fixed, her thesis is fixed. Our sea levels are rising. Global temperatures are warming. Men are discovering they are self identifying as women, women as men. Endless wars are ending, Finite beliefs regarding how the world was created are altering as we learn more and more about the new physics. What we believed was separate from ourselves is turning out to have great influence over our hearts and our lives.
Learning to Love What Is
When we embrace change, resistance seeps away and our perpetual joy in learning has a chance to surface and to thrive. We are born curious, with a penchant for staring off into space with wide, wondering eyes. The promptings to rush may begin very early in our lives, but our Inner Learner continues to stop to smell the flowers, to see the sun set, to recognize the beauty and harmony of the world, regardless of our hectic schedules.
Instead of closing down this wonder-filled part of ourselves, we can consciously nourish our Inner Learner by cultivating our curiosity and accepting the ever-changing rules of the ‘what if’ game. Nothing is lost by opening to our learning joys, and so much is to be gained, including a sense of peace and privilege at being alive on this beautiful, ever changing planet. And should we resist this opportunity to embrace change, we can always tap – on our fears, on our hopes, on our rages, on our resistance to change. The changes will come, no matter our desire to fight them off. Opening to them with curiosity feeds our Inner Learner the finest of foods: acceptance of what is. Happy tapping.
Until next week
Jane
Jane Buchan, MA, AAMET Advanced Practitioner, jane@winterblooms.net, 802-533-9277
Jane is a Learning Coach specializing in neutralizing cultural age, gender, and race constructs to support learners of every age. To engage her coaching services, please contact Jane by phone (802) 533-9277 or email, jane@winterblooms.net. Be sure to put Coaching Query in the subject line.