Transformation

It proposed that we make it a point to seek out, lean into, push forward into new experiences of every imaginable kind, because it would transform us, slowly but surely, in the same way that sunlight causes the transformation in a plant.

I was in a recent conversation with someone about the notion of paying it forward. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, that idea that when benevolence has come to us that we take it forward into the world rather than paying it back.

Having a constant battle with those we perceive to be our “enemies” comes at a massive psychic cost, to say nothing of the very real social costs of the great divide we experience. In the end, the problem is our relationship to those externalities where the problem lies.

Here’s the truth about our experiences: Whatever we believe, and however we perceive, it is through our translation of reality that we have the experience we have.

One of the things that keeps occurring in a number of my professional coaching sessions is the question: “When is it ever going to be enough?”

Ron Chapman returns to Unity Renaissance of Chesapeake with his latest insights and messages from an inner pilgrimage that began a few years ago. He will reconnect with some of the themes he shared during past visits and introduce us to what he now calls Experiential Spirituality.

The Greek word, "metanoia" literally means "beyond the mind." However, we often define it as a “profound change of heart.” Given the centrality of Seeing True’s™ explorations and explanations for transformation, what do these ideas tell us, and where might they take us?

Why is it so difficult to accept that each of us is the architect of our own experience? It was in a conversation with a long-time professional client that a truth appeared.

What if, in order to find a new way, the old ways must be shattered forever?

Have you ever noticed that people don't really want to talk about their failings and their failures? The irony though, is if you look at the research around what we might call success, it's littered with failings that lead up to the supposed success.

Let’s cut to the chase. The reason for acceptance is simple: Nothing we do can be effective when our starting point is a lack of acceptance.  

Most of what we experience comes through our experience ... we translate the world. It means that everyone - everyone is having some kind of experience based on their own experience, which doesn't make ours wrong. It means that theirs too is right.

There are some things about us that just are the way they are. And of course, that's true of everyone else. So if we're gonna give ourselves some slack, because we are who we are, and we have the tendencies we have, then that's true of others.

I read a really great article recently about the measure of happiness in most cultures around the world. What if the secret is not in pursuit, but in a shift or our expectations? What happens when we alter our thoughts about the purpose of life and living?

Regardless of how we may decide to navigate matters in our lives and world, there is great power in the ability to accept or allow the terms that life and living offer. That does not for a moment mean we don’t act.

Let's talk about speedbumps. It's not easy to decide to be different, often prompted by things that have gone awry, but instituting a speed bump, as simple as taking a breath when agitation arises, can make a significant difference.

How might our lives transform if we dared to explore and fulfill the purpose that our wild and precious journey calls us toward?

In the face of life's challenges, the common question arises: "How can I be okay with this?" Explored throughout the ages by philosophers, it touches on a universal struggle often concealed by coping mechanisms.

If there is a single factor which underlies my practices across time and across fields of play, it is the realization of potential. As long as I can remember, ideas about our ability to learn and grow have captivated me. I imagine the best description is that it is a “calling.”

Seeing differently changes our relationship to something. I don't know if we can change the world, but we absolutely can change our perspective and relationship to the world, and that changes everything.

Anytime we make something special or distinctive, we set into motion a whole cascade of events that negates others, and can turn the world in some disturbing directions.

It was one of the moments of being gobsmacked into awareness. However, it was preceded by a series of heartbreaking experiences.

This idea of emotional sobriety is so easily misunderstood. While it emerged from the twelve-step recovery community, it’s gained much wider adoption in our culture, which includes the misunderstandings.

There is a great phrase in the recovery communities and they call it the “language of the heart. " It is when we set aside a lot of the superficial things that many of us spend our time in: the small talk and all those things.

Ron returned to Unity Renaissance, his sometimes spiritual community, to carry the message of The Dark Side of Grace. While it is the title of his latest novel and the second in the Chronicles of Grace Series, it is also a most powerful part of his own spiritual experience and practice.

In the past few years, I've been writing an online saga of Ron Quixote. Yes. And his sidekick, Sancho pug. Yes, a pug on a donkey. It's really humanizing and right-sizing, as it allows me to get on with the business of navigating this world.

What if it's all normal? What if it's all just perfect based on time, place and circumstances that might cause us to be a little bent? What if we could see everyone and everything through that eye, through the lens of non-judgement?

After we can imagine, or even see, that we are swept up in things often beyond our awareness or control, even when we are being victimized, or when it is biological or physiological, that we somehow have a part in things, then we can turn to healing.

While these stories are not biography, they are much informed by my own lived experience, in this case and in the exploration of Post Traumatic Growth. Yes! The same tragedies that can wreck people lives can transform them. Yet, there is so very much darkness and ugliness to explore. 

It is both difficult and important to navigate conversations in an attentive environment like a live stage. This requires the speaker to be aware that something one may say could unintentionally offend those present. Therefore, it pays to remain conscious and reflective about the potential for such offenses.