As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?
Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.
Expand Self-Awareness
Beliefs are the truths people hold on to and guide their lives by. The power of belief can trap you, as in the belief that you deserve only a limited amount of happiness. Or belief can free you, as in the belief that you are safe and protected in the cosmic plan.
When you open your awareness to your strongest beliefs, which are known as core beliefs, two things happen. First, you find out who you are and why you behave in the ways you do. Second, new energies become available when you pursue the core beliefs that are life-supporting, fulfilling, and spiritually transforming.
Your core beliefs are activated in the now, every day. They can only be changed in the now, also. Here’s how:
Look upon what’s happening now as a reflection of your core beliefs.
If the reflection is negative, pause and ask yourself why it fits the storyline your beliefs create. If you experience any kind of abusive treatment, for example, this reflects a victimhood story supported by a core belief that keeps you in the story. If you experience unexpected kindness, on the other hand, this reflects a storyline that includes compassion and reflects a core belief in how much you deserve love.
Whenever you get any hint of the story you are living, tell yourself that you don’t need stories. You only need to live in the present moment.
In the present moment, your true self is trying to bring you closer to an improved level of love, self-worth, trust, and wholeness. Keep that in mind as your daily vision, and remind yourself that you are always moving in this direction.
Using self-awareness is the key to changing your core beliefs, and as you know, self-awareness expands through your meditation practice. By experiencing the silence, peace, and wholeness at the core of your being, you automatically begin to melt away self-defeating beliefs, opening the door to core beliefs that reflect the perfection of pure consciousness.
Learning from the story The Elephant Rope: Expand Self-Awareness
Experience Learning
There’s a level of awareness available to you that you are probably unfamiliar with. It extends upward and transcends the ordinary level of consciousness that you’re most accustomed to. At this higher plane of existence, which you and every human being who has ever lived can access at will, the fulfillment of wishes is not only probable—it is guaranteed. By entering into that realm you have much more say over what comes into your life than you might have envisioned.
Self-awareness is more than just being self-conscious. These are not interchangeable terms. Self-awareness is being aware of your own presence, inside and out. Self-consciousness tends to lend itself toward self-judgment and assessment, all too often based on someone else’s perceptions. Self-consciousness doesn’t necessarily have to be negative, but it does not often lead to self-acceptance.
Self-awareness leads to acceptance as well as a deeper understanding of yourself. While self-consciousness is analyzing, self-awareness is witnessing. Higher self-awareness is possible once you cultivate an attitude of love, acceptance, and appreciation for yourself. This is not easy to do, but well worth the effort.
If you want to change your life, you have to change your self-concept. If you want to move to a higher place, you need to change your belief about what is possible for you and elevate your beliefs about yourself.
Of all the beliefs that each one of us own, none is more important than the ones we have about ourselves. Our beliefs about ourselves are the single most telling factors in determining our success and happiness in life.
Not only do you become what you think about, but the world also becomes what you think about. Those who think that the world is a dark place are blind to the light that might illuminate their lives. Those who see the light of the worldview the dark spots as merely potential light.
Recall that your concept of yourself is everything that you believe to be true about your inner and outer self. Those beliefs have created the life you’re now living—at an ordinary level of awareness. To move into the extraordinary space that requires you to change what you believe is true. A higher concept of yourself involves taking on new truths and shedding your old views of what you can achieve. This is the only way you can achieve your desires. You must begin by replacing your old set of truths with a belief in the existence of a higher self within you. This is akin to doing a somersault and landing in a new reality—a reality in which all things are possible.
