“Hello-o,” I sang into the phone.
“Uh, umm, hmm…who is this? Is this the person in charge?” the caller asked, perhaps flummoxed to reach a human breathing rather than a recording.
“I’m Pamela,” I said, “and yes, I am in charge of Pamela.”
We laughed.
Putting yourself in charge
That simple truth was funny at the time, but it’s no joke.
Daily spiritual practice puts you in charge of yourself. Any spiritual practice will do. Practicing consistently — every day — makes the difference.
Consistent spiritual practice opens the moment so you can see the choices you can make right now. You know, those choices, the ones that make it more likely what you want will actually come to pass.
Those choices are how we co-create our lives, how we build our happiness and health. When we don’t make those choices, we default to whatever is already in motion, whether we’re aware of it, or not.
Response-ability
No, we’re not in charge of the universe. I for one am grateful for that.
Being in charge of myself is a good fit, something I can actually do. It’s inspiring, empowering and enlivening, a responsibility I can live up to.
Thank you, Pamela. This is so true. I recently read that 95% of what we do is based on subconscious thoughts, and only 5% is based on conscious thoughts. With regular, ongoing practice, I think we “work with” the subconscious inner stories and conditionings so that we can, as you point out, be truly respons-able.
Thank you for your comment, Elise.
I am interested in your source for 95% vs. 5%. My guess is that it wasn’t based on people who have consistent spiritual practice. I think daily practice expands our conscious awareness so we are awake enough to make conscious choices more of the time, and the 5% grows accordingly.
Quite right, it is the average Joe and Jane without a practice. The author, Lissa Rankin, is makig the point you are making, and that I was trying to make!’
I love this post!
It’s a theme I have discussed many times with clients. Choice as opposed to reaction.
An absolute game changer that spills into every area of ones life.
This was a great reminder to me of the importance and benefit of daily Spiritual practice. It was also a great reminder that the only one I am to be in “charge” of is myself. I realize this will only come with increased awareness and being present to what is arising in the moment and choosing consciously from the place of depth within cultivated in my practice. If I don’t cultivate that dimension, it is easier to choose from conditioned thinking, limitation, and habit. That is a state of being which I no longer want to create from.
Thank you for this post. Blessings. 🙂
Thank you Pamela, I loved this, so funny and so true. I have spent years giving my power away & running round in circles “giving” and exhausting myself in the process. I’m now learning to take personal responsibility & put me in the mix too and boy do I have to stop & think to do this regularly! I’m practising on myself daily now & turning the TV off much more, with love, jan x