The Essential Shift (To The Blame-Free Zone)

In a recent post called Another Spilled Smoothie, we talked about an essential shift. And know up front that this shift is some of the most advanced stuff you can do as a human. Spiritually speaking, this is WAY more advanced than crazy health stuff yoga stuff, chakra stuff, energy stuff, or whatever else there is out there. And it’s so much more simple, too, so much less work. But it ain’t easy! So… what is this shift? It’s the shift from asking what is wrong (when you’re not happy with life) to asking what is right. It’s based on the fact that the universe is always moving us toward our highest growth, our highest evolution. And a great illustration of this is always the book The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer.

NOTE: As I said in the smoothie post, I do believe this to be a fact – that life is doing everything on purpose to facilitate our highest growth. But I definitely do not currently understand why super awful, traumatic things happen. That seems to be pretty extreme to me. I trust that this understanding will come in time, though. But the good news is that it’s possible to fully heal from the really bad stuff, and it’s my honor and privilege to be able to assist people in that healing. Once the healing has been done, they can turn their attention to what we’re talking about here and let life really unfold and thrive. Back to the story…

Say something happens that you don’t like. It could be that you’re mad at yourself, you’re mad at someone else, or you’re just unhappy with something that’s occurring in your life. You’re triggered. This shift moves us out of the old way, which asks, “What am I doing wrong?” or “What is someone (or something) else doing wrong?” And instead we ask, “How is life getting this right? What does the universe want me to get out of this?” Think about that for a moment. Can you see how different things might be if that’s how you approached life, all the time? And my understanding is that this is based on the fact – fact – about how life actually works. That things are always happening for you, not to you. And you don’t have to like it. After a while, though, you start to kind of like it; it’s wild how that works. And then it takes bigger and bigger stuff to really trigger you, until eventually anything in you that can be triggered has been burned away. Whoa.

Why is this shift so essential? Because it takes us from the ego’s point of view to the soul’s. Read that again. Breathe. Read again. Breathe. Let it sink in. This is big, folks!! Because the soul’s point of view is where you’ll start to find peace. FIND peace, not think about it or talk about it or want it. It’s actually your birthright! Amazing, but true…

This shift takes us out of blame, because thinking I did something wrong is blaming. Thinking someone else did something wrong is blaming. Thinking something else did something wrong is blaming. You’re not doing anything wrong if you’re in blame, but peace just isn’t going to be found there. It’s never about right or wrong, in fact; it’s just about what works for you, what leads you to more peace. So let’s try this on for size to see if it’s actually true. Instead of “get in the zone, AutoZone” from the AutoZone commercials, we’re getting in the zone, the blame-free zone. And we’re going to see how it feels over time. Try it for a month! I mean, do you really have anything to lose??

Another way to look at this is that it’s living in surrender. And that ain’t easy. Understanding surrender with the head is a snap, but owning it in the moment when your breakfast smoothie is dripping from your hair onto your favorite outfit, and you’re already in a rush with two kids in the car, is another matter entirely. It ain’t easy!

One thing that has helped me, and I think I’ve mentioned it before, is immediately saying the word “universe” and breathing deeply when something happens that I don’t like. The old way is to go right to the head when something bad happens, which only makes things worse. We bitch and blame, and it sure doesn’t make us feel any better. And it definitely doesn’t help us find a good solution. The voice in the head is basically trying to think and think until it figures out how to go back in time and not spill the smoothie. That’s. Not. Possible. By having a word to say right away, we can bypass that train wreck entirely. We give the voice in the head something to say: “universe.” And we breathe. And we might expound upon that one word if we feel to: “Apparently the universe thinks this is good for me.” Breathe. “And I don’t have to like it.” Breathe. “It’s okay to think this sucks.” Breathe. And now we’re in our wisdom and we can respond to the situation, if a response is appropriate at that time. Wow. Can you feel the difference, people??

Something to be aware of when you do this is “the burn.” I’ve talked about burning recently, like when Georgia lost to Alabama in the college football national championship game (A Football Game Helped Heal My Inner Child!). I wrote about how I surrendered to the fire, burning some old conditioning that I got as a very young child, before I even had a say in the matter. Conditioning that Alabama winning is the worst thing in the world. And I could feel it, so so so strong. That burn is nothing more than the unraveling of ego, the unraveling of what no longer serves you. And it makes room for more soul, more light, more love. So we’ve got that going for us…

The second you notice something happen that you don’t like and you stand strong and say “universe” (or “unraveling” or “burn” or whatever works for you), there’s a pretty good chance you’ll feel a burn. If so, let it burn. Breathe deeply and slowly say it again, and this new perspective will start to sink in. The burn will most likely last a fraction of the amount of time you think it will, and you’ll actually move through it and you’ll start to feel awesome. Why? Because it’s your body’s recognition that you’re onto something. You’re starting to see things through the soul’s eyes instead of through the ego’s, and the body is saying YES! Because it’s a big deal, a very big deal. This shift will totally change your relationship with the universe, as well as with yourself and with everyone and everything else. That’s why it’s so essential.

If living this way is hard or if it seems impossible, or if it feels like it’s taking forever, then just remember that’s fine and normal, because it ain’t easy. Living it ain’t easy. Seriously, this is the most advanced spiritual stuff on the planet; it’s not about doing lots of stuff that everybody thinks is super advanced. Those people usually have massive spiritual egos that need to burn. I know because I’ve been there and done that, and I’m mid-stream on the burning! So we have great respect for this shift. Also know that remembering is often the trickiest thing, so that’s why a tool like saying one simple word such as “universe” or “burn” can be a huge help. You can even write it down on a sticky note and have it in your car or somewhere at home. Or both. It’s amazing what a sticky note can do. After a while you won’t even need the help, because it’ll be second nature. And your life and your shifts will proceed at light speed from that point on. Life will be exciting rather than dangerous. And you’ll be living more and more in innocence, knowing that we’re all on this wild and crazy journey and nobody is really doing anything wrong. We’re all at some level developmentally (as a soul), and we’re doing our best here in this insane place. And life does certain things to us to help us grow. And as we learn the rules of the game, it starts to get smoother.

So there you go folks, the tale of The Essential Shift. This is cutting edge for me. Getting it in the head is nothing new, but living it more and more totally is. Because it ain’t easy! There’s a reason I keep saying it. So I invite you to get in the zone, the blame-free zone. See if more peace is found there. See if you feel that burn, but that you remind yourself that it’s ego unraveling, so it’s actually a very good thing. And your mind has nothing to do when it happens. It gets to relax! Which it’s absolutely terrible at doing… You just have to breathe deeply and love the one that’s afraid. Then ask, “How is life getting this right? What is life wanting me to shift?” And in an innocent way, too; we can go to guilt so quickly. But not anymore, that’s going the way of the dinosaur before long. So happy practicing, and as always, I’m here to help if I can.