Finding Lasting Contentment and Fulfillment in a World of
Change
By Open
The pace of change is hotting up across our planet day by
day. If it’s not the system constantly introducing new ways to occupy oneself,
new distractions to entertain or enslave, new gadgets and widgets that we
simply must have, then there’s The Shift itself, which is pulling at the very
bedrock of our reality. To add to the complexity, the soul is constantly
looking for new expression and evolved ways of being. So in this cauldron of
profound change, how might we find lasting contentment and fulfillment? It’s a
tricky balancing act, but there is certainly a way, providing we focus on some
key essentials…
The Matrix is Founded on Ancient Light
As many people awaken, there’s the thoroughly understandable
desire to abandon the matrix, to pull away from the enslavement of society and
its nose-to-the-grindstone compulsion. But the path is not as simple as that.
As we awaken we may castigate the matrix, but it only exists at all, and is so
successful, because it is founded on some form of truth — an ancient light — a
reality construct designed for people to explore karmic attachment based on
some form of distortion of truth. Even in the matrix itself, you can still find
light. Music and entertainment for example, that encourage people to unleash
more of themselves; the internet and social media, that connect people on a
platform of technology. Crucially, the soul itself is continually looking for
ways to express The One, and to deny this, would be to suppress our authentic
expression, leading ultimately to frustration and lack of fulfillment. So in
the complex dynamic of the matrix, how do you find true contentment?
Exploring the Sense of Satisfaction
Firstly, lasting contentment doesn’t arise from something we
consume or acquire. Although you can gain temporary fulfillment. Take food for
example, often people in society eat even though they’re not necessarily
hungry. What often fuels the ‘hunger’, is a craving for some sense of
satisfaction, or else there’s emotional eating to deaden discomfort with life
itself. Think about it, in any given 24 hours, most people don’t actually eat
for that long, yet the satisfaction comes from consuming and feeling filled
afterwards. Essentially, we’re placating the Pain of Existence. (Here’s more on
breaking through that pain). But this is not true fulfillment, because it
depends on the need for something physical to make one feel whole. And mostly,
it’s not allowing the soul itself to be fully expressed, rather it is mostly
dampened by the effect (the exception would be when we’re consciously eating
aligned foods that unleash soul). Fasting is a highly illuminating way to
explore this, because you confront the craving that makes you want to consume,
and what happens when you don’t. The craving binds people in emotionally,
mentally and physically. But with commitment and persistence, you can
relatively straightforwardly break down the cravings — it happens by
penetrating deep into the feelings with awareness, challenging the very myth
that somehow these feelings must be placated. Essentially you transform the
feeling into something more aligned. Emptiness becomes the magic of potential
for example, or a sense of lightness and aliveness.
The Illusion of Physical/Emotional Fulfillment
A good way to challenge the way we enslave ourselves through
emotional/physical/mental neediness, is through ongoing intermittent fasting,
where you fast for up to 18 hours every day. It gives the body time to
regenerate internally, but essentially, it also gives you the chance to
confront cravings and break them down by bringing full awareness into them.
Remember, these cravings are not just about the idea of needing physical
sustenance, but also simply being fulfilled and satisfied emotionally,
physically and mentally — they are illusions! This kind of physical/emotional
‘fulfillment’ is only a fleeting shadow of the real thing, because it depends
on some physical condition, and the One in you, requires no such condition for it
to be fulfilled. How can The One in you never be completely fulfilled, when all
things happen and transpire within it? Here is a major clue then to true and
lasting fulfillment: it doesn’t happen by feeding craving, but it most
certainly does when we strip away all that gets in the way of the pure presence
of The One. In fact any need of craving become powerful doorways to the One —
you just have to confront and soften into them, rather than placating them.
What you start to find, is that as you burst the myth of what you thought you
needed, the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction starts to build of its own
accord.
Full Attentiveness to the Moment
Take boredom for example. People constantly do things so as
to avoid boredom. But boredom is only lack of full attentiveness to the moment.
The condition of boredom depends on ones unconscious adherence to a falsehood —
that of existence of linear time, and then an enslavement by it. How can you be
truly bored, if you’re fully engaged in the one moment of now, where all time
ceases? I do a great deal of travelling with the Openhand work, which means a
lot of long haul flights. But rather than trying to distract myself through the
flights with movies and entertainment, most of the time I’ll meditate through
them, exploring deep into my feelings, breaking down time itself, and
constantly penetrating into the one moment of now. 13 hour flights disappear in
a flash! So for me, fulfillment comes not by what I consume into my
consciousness, but actually by taking things out. In fact what I find, is that
the more I empty out, the more fulfilled I become. Crucially what happens, is
you tend to find joy and fulfillment in the simple things of life, because
you’re intimately engaged in the moment…
The Soul is Yearning to Express
But that’s not the end of the story. The complication is
that the soul yearns to express. And especially where the soul is strongly
expressive, if there’s some kind of denial or suppression of it, then you’ll
struggle to find true contentment. The soul is creative, passionate, loving and
caring. And these kinds of qualities will simply arise from the condition of
the One within you. Take a look at the Universe, and nature all around you: is
it not constantly expressing itself? And to deny the incredible Shift that is
taking place all around us, would be to deny the essential story of life
itself. The soul brings into being the manifestation of the One’s creative
expression. Put simply, you are here to create and express on behalf of the
One. So you’ll naturally be drawn into creative expressions — hence the kind of
work you find yourself drawn to. Thus the matrix is built on creating ever new
adaptations and evolutions. The problem comes, when the soul gets owned by what
it is trying to create — in other words, where ego crystallises around what
we’re creating.
Essential Balance
Here’s where we need to find an essential balance: to be
engaged in creative action, yes; to be deeply passionate about what we do in
life, yes; to commit, with persistence and perseverance, but crucially, to be
soft and open enough not to be attached to any particular outcome. This in
itself is a highly illuminating and enlightening practice — it’s constantly
walking the blade edge of life: in it, but not of it. If you practice this
level of Enlightenment, what you ultimately find, is that it becomes not about
the result or outcome of the expressive act, but rather the expression itself.
You create, write, paint, sing, dance, write blogs and vlogs, but you do it
simply for the sake of it, not for the outcome. It does require a great deal of
inner attentiveness, to unpack and unravel the tightness of attachment. But as
you work at it, you discover another essential truth…That contentment and
fulfillment in the flowing action of the soul, becomes about the growth and
emergence of soul itself. The reason this becomes so fulfilling, is because
there’s constantly the possibility to express soul, and to constantly align
soul — to evolve it.
Change of self then is another crucial aspect to
fulfillment. Yes, it’s a paradox: accepting the perfection of yourself as you
are right now, but from that, accepting the challenge that you can find an even
more evolved way of being and expressing. The key to this balancing act, is
recognising that you don’t evolve the soul by efforting, but rather through
attentiveness and alertness. As you bring increasing awareness to your creative
expression, you will naturally find ways of unleashing more aligned soul. So,
to put it succinctly then, true contentment arises by surrendering into the
One, which tends to happen not when you fill up, but empty out. From that
place, lasting fulfillment happens by constantly bringing attentiveness and
alertness to your creative expression in life and allowing that to evolve
naturally.
In conclusion, here are five key considerations that lead to
a content yet fulfilled life…
Find true
contentment more by what you confront inwardly and take away
Allow yourself to
fully express
Commit to
creativity, but constantly let go of the need for an outcome
Bring full
attentiveness and alertness to the moment
Accept the
perfection of who you are, yet constantly evolve more aligned expression
You find yourself in a constant state of being filled up!
In loving support, Open
About the author:
Openhand is a unique approach to spiritual evolution:
integrating enlightened wisdom of spiritual masters through the ages, it is a
way of tapping into the Benevolent Guiding Consciousness of the Universe and
aligning with it in your life. It helps you unveil your True Self, remove
karmic blockages and unfold your Divine Destiny. It leads to authentic,
resilient and truly successful living.
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