By Arline Rowden

Being thoughtful, aware and observing ourselves and the energy in and around us in the moment is important. Then we can realize how we feel so we can make more constructive choices for ourselves. We need to be conscious and reach an understanding of experiences on a deeper level. Have you looked back at a situation in your life and have you found yourself wondering, what was I thinking? And in attempting to answer that question, did you realize, I was not thinking, I was reacting.

Humanity has been around for awhile now on this planet. The first skill that primitive humans had to acquire was the ability to survive on the physical level. If they could not survive, they were out of the game. Survival is very self focused and connected to the root chakra. The first thing that is considered is to learn how to gain control of our environment so we can be safe in the moment. Once that is accomplished, then we shift to wanting control in order to be able to influence the environment in the future. Having control issues can be a root chakra survival issue. We are afraid we are not safe.

The accumulation of stuff can come under survival issues, too. We tend to feel that more, especially certain, material things make us safer. It started out as the pursuit of enough food, some shelter from the elements, and protection from dangers. In modern times, especially here in the US, the accumulation of stuff for many people has actually become a drain on our energy, and other resources, rather than providing for our basic survival needs. Perhaps we have gone to an extreme around survival issues and created new issues for us to deal with in modern life. Would we be able to work fewer hours and not work at jobs we don’t enjoy if we had less “stuff” to “support”? There’s nothing wrong with having material things that we enjoy but it’s all about finding the right balance for each person.

Even though we aren’t completely safe in modern life, we have to admit we are far ahead of most humans in the past when it comes to survival on the physical level. We’ve made a lot of progress, this is true. But our instinctual nature is still alive and alert within us just as it has been for so very long. And our instinctual nature has one objective – it’s to keep us safe so we can survive. Before humanity began to develop mentally and the world was so extremely unsafe, most instinctual programs were quite useful. Now many of these same ancient programs tend to create difficulties in our relationships with others.

Let’s talk about what we call the concrete mind briefly. It’s the part of our mental equipment that we use when we are acquiring information but perhaps not really thinking about the information. From the concrete mind perspective, it’s really all about remembering, not contemplating. If an individual has not experienced being a flexible and/or creative thinker, they probably won’t be able to be open to new information that does not agree with their current beliefs about themselves and their world. Have you ever experienced sharing something with someone and they wouldn’t even consider what you had to say? If an individual hasn’t opened up to their higher mind, they can usually only accept one side of an issue. They are unable to be a flexible thinker and consider the opposite of what they currently believe.

When we begin to meditate, contemplate and open to new spiritual ideas, we gradually become a flexible and creative thinker. This happens because the Light of our Higher Self/Divine Soul begins to flow into us and we are able to connect with the higher mind. So, it’s important for us to be patient with others and to realize that they are just in a different place in their growth and that they will become a flexible, creative thinker when it’s the right time for them. Realizing this has made such a difference in my interactions with others. I used to think that if I just thought of the right way to present a new idea to someone and made a logical presentation that they would certainly be open to what I was talking about. Now I just let go when I realize the person isn’t ready to be open to considering a new idea at this time and that they have other work that they are focusing on now. It’s also being respectful of that person.