the 1 thing you need to change anything
"I think books are like people, in the sense that they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them."
– Emma Thompson
18 years ago was my last winter in Chicago. I was living in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. My neighborhood was “up and coming” which also meant on-the-edge-of-safety. But my landlord was cool, rent was cheap, and I had a ball-and-claw-foot bathtub. (that’s what really sold me).
On a dark and cold day (which was most days) I peeked through my blinds and realized I hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. I had to go.
8 months later, I landed on Maui. Sight unseen. And life was wildly different. I was practicing yoga on the beach. Jumping off waterfalls. Swimming with dolphins. Meeting teachers, healers, and seekers.
The environment was beautiful and transformative. But so were the people. Soon, a new friend gave me a copy of Ekhart Tolle’s A New Earth. A phrase from that book has been with me ever since: “awareness is the change”.
It immediately struck me as true. But I didn’t have a lot of proof. And I didn’t understand why. Even more strange, I felt a pressing urgency to know how awareness could change something.
In hindsight, my hunger for the how and the why makes sense. At that point in my life I was desperate for change. Clawing my way out of depression. Riddled with anxiety. Wrestling with an eating disorder. Plagued by self-doubt. Something about awareness glimmered with promise.
And the promise came through. It took a handful of years but awareness did change everything. First my mind/emotions. Then my body. Eventually mending and expanding my heart. Finally putting me in touch with Spirit.
As I applied awareness to different situations, parts, layers, and relationships, the how and the why emerged. This was thrilling. Because once you understand the mechanism, change is faster, more efficient, and can be chosen.
Here’s how I see awareness catalyze change: awareness creates space. Like you’re looking at the snow globe, rather than being in the snow globe. With a little bit of space, you gain the milliseconds necessary to respond rather than react. Just enough time for your brain to use the prefrontal cortex rather than run off with whatever the amygdala says.
But space alone is not enough. To change, you must DO something different, take another path, see another way, and rewire your brain. More choices and options emerge with new information. In other words, for different output, you need different input. New information is the raw material for transformation.
Here’s a body example: your back goes out. You get new information about your body (like learning anatomy, going to a PT, developing a therapeutic practice) to create new movement patterns that keep you out of pain.
A being example: you want a more fulfilling relationship. You study with experts, take a course, read a book or two, and the new information creates more understanding and deeper connection.
For centuries, books have been gold mines for new information. which makes them instruments of transformation. They’ve changed humans and history. (hence the book burnings)
Even with all the modern technology, paper books are still beloved and beneficial. Studies show you retain more with paper books because your senses are involved. You crack open the binding, feel the texture of the paper, hear the whisper of the turning page.
To catalyze growth and transformation this year, the School has a reading syllabus. Each book was chosen to explore body, breath, or being. Discoveries and questions will be unpacked during Office Hours each week.
If this does not get you giddy with excitement, enjoy the Cliff’s notes and quotes that will pop up from this learning journey. If you love to study, consider joining us.
You can do independent study with the syllabus, participate in the chat on the 20 Minute Miracles App, or become a Member for Office Hours and the private podcast. Check out the syllabus with the button below.
Maui was magical but the community fed my transformation. With direction, support and momentum. That’s what Membership is designed to do. Provide a clear path of study, build momentum through community, and have access to a teacher who welcomes your questions.
May your practice be transformative,
Alison
