Breaking down the Walls
There are many inspirational, motivational and spiritual teachers out there that are available to all of us, all the time. They help us through their teachings, insight and universal wisdom and it’s as easy as picking up a book or surfing the internet but in order to absorb this wisdom you need to be open to receive it. I believe that depending on where we are at within our lives whether that is age, awareness or state of mind, it can determine how willing or open we are. For example, when I was in my 20’s I wasn’t aware of anything related to personal growth or life’s lessons, not because I was close minded but because the thoughts never even occurred. My life revolved around playing sports, having fun with friends and shopping, I didn’t start to develop awareness until my 30’s and from that awareness came a desire to discover who I was, what I wanted, where I was going and what it all meant.
I discovered that my connections with some of the people in my life began to transition to a deeper level and that I was drawn to certain individuals because they had a brighter and positive perspective, outlook and attitude. The transition to my new awareness was seamless and flowed naturally because I was more than willing to embrace it and in turn it enabled me to develop a heightened sense of intuition. I didn’t struggle with not understanding what was going on within or feeling like I was in some sort of limbo so it was hard for me to relate to those that did but somewhere in between I began to realize that none of us do anything the exact same way as the other. That is our individual and unique quality, it defines and differenciates us from one another and is to be respected.
We don’t develop, learn or find our path in the same time frame and shouldn’t be expected to or be judged for it one way or the other. No matter what stage you are at with starting to develop your awareness or just desiring it, it doesn’t matter because at least you’re aware and that’s the beginning.
The road to self-discovery isn’t always easy, everyone has an off day every now and then but if you are having more than one of these days for longer periods of time, then there may be something more going on beneath the surface that would be beneficial for you to learn what the root is. Downtime that goes on for too long is an indication that there is something deeper affecting you and chances are if you are experiencing this then you are also frustrated, may have a deep sense of sadness and/or feel alone. This is your inner voice signaling to you and letting you know that your current process needs to change because you don’t need or deserve to feel this way. It’s important that you listen to your inner voice, it is in alignment with your inner spirit and knows when something is off even if you aren’t fully aware of it yet. I didn’t always listen to mine when I should have and found that some areas of this process took me longer to reach enlightenment than necessary and because of that I was very hard on myself. That’s a natural response but of course knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to take although it did help me to lighten the blame I sometimes placed on myself.
If there is something you’re having a difficult time with, don’t judge yourself too harshly, allow yourself the time you need to learn and the time you need to heal when you experience a setback. If something has you down for too long do what is necessary to prevent yourself from staying in a perpetual state of unhappiness. We are all here for a reason and I believe it is to live the best life we can.
My favorite and most inspiring teacher/mentor is Dr. Wayne Dyer, I have learned so many new ways of thought process from him and just the other day his PBS Special “Wishes Fulfilled” was on and even though I have seen it, I watched it again. One of the many things that he spoke of during this special was something that everyone can try tonight and every night before you go to sleep that will improve your quality of life going forward. I have quoted some dialogue from his special below:
Job 33-15-16
“In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men while slumbering in their beds, then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction.”
Your subconscious mind is most comfortable when you are unconscious. You are unconscious when you are in your sleep state and in your sleep state your subconscious state is busy at work and it’s the last 5 minutes of your day that are so important. When you are in that state between being awake and getting drowsy and going to sleep and you are going to marinate for the next 8 hours in your unconscious subconscious mind. When you’re preparing your marinade, the question is “how do you want to prepare yourself for having your instructions sealed?” Most people use the last 5 minutes of their day to review all the things that they don’t like, and all of the things that didn’t work, and all of the people that hurt their feelings, and all of the stuff that is going on in their life that they wish weren’t happening, this is their worry time. This is the time when you fill your mind with all of the stuff and then you go off into sleep and he opens your ears and seals your instructions while you are slumbering. What you want to do is reverse this practice because your subconscious mind is listening to how you are asking the universe to provide for you what it is that you would like to attract or manifest into your life and if you fill your subconscious mind with all the things you don’t want, don’t like, that make you unhappy, that make you depressed, that make you worry. Then your subconscious mind, which is impersonal, and can’t make a distinction between what it is that you are feeling as a result of what you place into your mind or what is actually happening in your life. It doesn’t distinguish one from the other, it is just open to suggestion, and here you are suggesting to your subconscious mind all the things you don’t want. What would you rather have sealed before you drift off to sleep “I am unhappy” or “I am happy”?
It was amazing to me the first time I saw this special and this particular piece was such an eye-opener to me. I’ve done this before falling asleep, reviewed my day, thought about the things that bothered me in depth and then fallen asleep with those thoughts. I hadn’t realized that one little adjustment to that could make such a huge difference in aligning me with a happier and healthier state of mind and being.
So tonight when you are in those moments before you are drifting off to sleep, let your imagination of hopes and dreams have the chance to run free. Think about all the beautiful and positive things you dreamed of as a child for what you wished for in your life and let that marinate overnight. I think you will have a different sense of self-direction and state of mind the next morning.
Shelley Hallmark 
