Growth, Progression, Evolution, Expansion
From the moment of conception, growth begins. We each develop into a unique human being, born into the world under different circumstances. Although we all experience life in different ways, one day, often after what we believe is a long wait, we find ourselves to be adults. Growth can be described in different ways and for the sake of this article the focus is on the expansion of our mind. First, we are meant for expansion, we are here for a reason and that reason aligns with our purpose. A long time ago, 1910, Wallace D. Wattles wrote a book titled ‘The Science of Getting Rich’ and in that book he wrote:
“The desire for increase is inherent in all nature. It is the fundamental impulse of the universe. All human activities are based on the desire for increase. People are always seeking more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty, increased knowledge, more pleasure, more peace – more life. Every living thing is under the necessity for continuous advancement. Where increase of life ceases, dissolution and death set in at once. People instinctively know this, and hence they are forever seeking more.”
This tells me that growth is not only part of our lives, but is essential to our life force.
It is true that we desire more and when we are aligned with learning, we are curious and we are creative. What does change is the pace at which we learn and the method of how we learn. Influencing factors are environmental, and what we deem as societal norms, simply put, those routines we find ourselves in as we lock into “adulthood”. Before age seven our minds our creative super sponges, this is when our brains are mostly in theta. Theta brainwaves are when we are in a dreamlike state, and this is typically a very positive mental state. However, as our world changes, it takes our brain with it. More often than before, we become fully engaged in conversations, tasks and conscious learning, our brains are operating in Beta. This is when the brain is aroused and actively engaged in mental activities. For example, when we enter the education system, we are basically told what to learn and how to conduct ourselves, here our brains spend a great deal of its time in beta. Beta waves tend to dominate much of the time in our day. Once we leave formal education, there is a whole new world where the pace of learning changes and then over time there is a sort of settling. Often it is at the settling stage where we can find ourselves pigeonholed or at minimum our learning narrows and new skills are unilaterally related to our labels such as being a parent, having a set job or career and sometimes include other activities such as hobbies, sports and so on. A key point here is that our learning revolves around our day-to-day activities.
“We look at the world once in childhood, the rest is memory”. ~ Louise Glück
The creative pieces and curiosities of life become minimized or at best tucked away waiting for the right time. Clearly, this is a generalization and may not apply to you, however if it does, how can you awaken the creative and curious child that lies within you? You may be thinking to yourself ‘Yes, but who has time? I am busy raising my family, building my career or some such thing’, and rightly so. However, I am inviting you to free yourself for a moment and to consider possibility. Why don’t we dream, you know daydream like we used to, what if we choose to believe in possibility? Possibility is exciting, it is to have, to give, to grow, to expand, simply…it is to be, in a way that keeps us living vibrantly.
“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow”. ~ Anthony J D’Angelo
I treasure learning although I have not always appreciated it. Personally, my experience in school was less than enjoyable and in fact contributed to some low self-esteem, I just didn’t click with it and therefore felt inadequate in the face of many opportunities. So, for many years I learned through observing, rather than deliberately studying new things. I had some remarkable successes and naturally some dismal failures. It’s important to add here that I consciously do not carry regrets because if I did, I would be denying my life experiences, my very self. Now here I am in the 60s, and I don’t mean that fun decade from so long ago, exploring, considering and loving possibility. Increasing my awareness about what and how I think, changing those un-serving thoughts and replacing them with refreshing beliefs of possibility and curiosity.
So how does anyone start dreaming again and more importantly fulfilling those dreams? Start with this, tap into your imagination, have fun and play with it. One great way is to start by asking yourself ‘what if questions’…not the ‘what if I had done my life differently’ kind, but the ‘what if I book that skydiving experience?’ kind. Here is something to really reflect on, ‘What if the way I think is holding me back?’ It is really the gateway to expansion. Now, let’s flip it from a negative to a positive: What if I begin thinking in a different way?
Are you set in your ways? Most of us are and with that comes a feeling of safety and security; we have become used to our daily routine and rituals and we have let them guide us. I mean it has worked for us, it’s got us to where we are, right? Certainly, it provides us structure but take a few minutes to consider that it also limits us and is responsible for our beliefs, judgements and often our stagnation. I’m not proposing anything radical like selling your prized possessions and moving to another part of the world, although some people do just that. I am however suggesting that you put some thought into what is serving you and what is not. Does your regular routine contribute to your expansion?
We often choose to play it safe because of fear, and although this is probably not new news, it needs to be considered as a significant contributor to why we may not be living our life fully. We have long passed the ice age; we engage our fear erroneously all the time. We have begun to fear the bunny rather than the sabre tooth tiger. Because of this, when we play the “what if…” activity, there will be a natural response to reject possibility because of these unfounded fears.
Most of us have been told to think in black and white; we have been told such things as “stop daydreaming” or “get real” or to have our ideas rejected the moment we share them. However, consider this, absolutely everything that has ever been created, invented, or built started with imagination.
Definition of Imagination: The faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images, or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.
Although I used the term dream, what I am really referring to is imagination. We often hear people say things like “I am not creative, or I have no imagination” so by using the word ‘dream’ you may have less limiting feelings.
Give yourself permission to free up your thoughts to possibility. Cut out some time within your busy schedule for self-care and include a dream, see that dream in your minds’ eye and then feel that dream in your heart. Really feel it. Then do it again tomorrow, the day after that and then the next day. Throw in what you are grateful for as well, gratitude is powerful for expansion.
Here are a few questions to consider when analyzing whether you have a growth mindset:
Do I have a bucket list that I am excited about?
Do I feel excited about my life?
Am I excited about learning more?
Am I curious enough to learn more and do more?
Does the thought of failure stop me from trying things?
How about these?
Do I have the energy to be excited?
Do I feel joy?
Do I see the good in life?
Do I feel there is momentum in my life?
These are questions and thoughts for your consideration, if you are feeling guilt, fear, embarrassment or any other of the many unproductive emotions please do whatever you can to release those. This is not intended to evoke any of those feelings, it is about growth, and you get to decide if you are content in your life…full stop. It is about potential, it is about joy, it is about possibility. Possibility is always here, available to us whenever we want; it is our personal coach, mentor or cheerleader. Every one of us has access to it. We can dream just as we did when we were young and therein is where the excitement lies. Dreams do not have limits and fulfilling them can start with one small step which is consideration. Following the dreams comes the awakening, the growth, the change.
Wishing you great wellness, love, joy and expansion within all of your intentions.