Recently I read a post on Facebook that was written by a friend of mine that I knew quite well when I lived in Seattle, WA. Here's what the post said . . .
"I remember long ago, I was taking a road trip to CA w/my friend K**** T***, and my grandma gave me this pristine, retro-looking map to use for our trip. I was the navigator, and K**** starting getting a little frustrated w/me that I couldn’t look at the map and figure out how to get back on I-5. I couldn’t find the interstate anywhere, so we pulled over. K**** took a look at the map, and said, “Oh wow, you’re right, there is no I-5 on this map.” We studied the map a little more carefully and realized it was from 1950. This, to me, is a metaphor for life. You are given a bit of a cute little picture of it, but the crucial things such as freeways, have been omitted. You don’t necessarily realize that until you’re right in the thick of things."
This Facebook post resonated with me; or shall I say, this resonated with where I am right now on my own life journey; the reason I think that this resonated so strongly with me is that, ironically, on this same day, I also happened to listen to a YouTube video, entirely unrelated to my friend's story and my biggest take-away from that video experience was this . . .
"What has been in your life experience BEFORE is irrelevant to you NOW because you know things differently NOW than you knew BEFORE."
I found myself, for some reason, correlating my friend's post on Facebook to the video on YouTube and then it hit me . . . and I experienced one of those moments in life that we often refer to as an "ah-ha" moment.
K**** knew things in the NOW of that 1999 moment that made the map and everything in it, from 1950, irrelevant at that point on their journey. That map, did not and could not serve them. They new things differently.
In simple terms, it was outdated. Expired. The purpose of that map was to assist people to get around the road system, in Seattle, in the 1950's. That map served that NOW period-in-time and it did not serve the NOW that was happening in 1999.
Maps, those now ancient archives we once used, were a system of guidance that was created to assist motorists. NOW, in 2019, 20 years later, paper maps aren't even created and printed the same way they were in 1950, if at all. Today, we use electronic maps, websites, ipads and apps to get us from A to B.
Guidance systems, like many things in life, go out of date and lose relevance.
As human beings, we are given something that guides us on this life journey every day and we all use it every day whether we realize it or not. It's our emotional guidance scale (EGS) and it never goes out of date. While it's not something that we physically pick up and use when we need to, like a map, it is something we call upon constantly. Here it is in a map-like format, for the purpose of this blog-post, to enhance the understanding of what we're speaking about.
This is our guidance system through life. We all have it, but, have we really harnessed our own EGS to get the most effective use out of it for our own life journey?
In a prior blog-post here - I spoke of my own morning ritual where I take time, every morning, to love, appreciate and align. I call this ritual, my meaningful morning moment. In a sense, this is me turning on my EGS so that I am in control of how I use it all day, every day.
This ritual, soon after waking in order to start a new day, allows me to move in the right direction on The Emotional Guidance Scale. For example, when we wake, humans are usually right there in the middle of the upward/downward spiral (shown above.) Most people (90%+) wake up in an emotional place of contentment. This is because when we sleep, the emotional guidance system shuts down and does not allow us to align. It essentially brings us to contentment, and sleeps us there.
Like a road map, the purpose of the EGS is to guide us each day into alignment and keep us there. Each day, when we wake at contentment, we then move upward or downward on the scale depending on our thoughts, patterns, behaviors, and emotions.
Our EGS is specifically designed to measure how connected we are to our Higher Self and how aligned we are in every moment.
When we're feeling great - love, appreciation, joy, gratitude - we're truly connected to the Divine within us. We're aligned.
In turn, when we're not feeling great - depressed, powerless, insecurity, fear - that is our EGS telling us that we're headed in the wrong direction on the journey and we're getting off-track and lost. We're disconnected from the Highest within us. For example, it's that moment that happens in your car, when you're using a GPS system and it starts to beep at you repeating the comment, "Re-routing."
Everyone doesn't use their GPS in the same way, and nor do we use our EGS in the same way. So, what do we do about it?
Do What Makes You Feel Most Connected To Your Higher Self
Dancing, walking, yoga, singing, reading, running, writing, music, hiking, sailing, manicure, pedicure, meditation, a walk in the park. It's even as simple as hug and kiss your dog, cuddle with that special someone, or make time to play with the kids.
By doing what makes you feel good, you're moving up the scale, and closer to Level One - where love and alignment reside. It's really that easy - do what makes you feel good.
"The Happiness In Our Life Depends On The Quality Of Our Thoughts."
Think about that statement for a moment. I don't recall where I first heard it or read it but I've lived by this for a while. Our own thoughts, drive our own emotions that move us (our own actions) on our own journey. Our behaviors and actions come from our thoughts.
So, to get started with this new daily management approach of your EGS, think about ways you can enhance your life journey daily - FOR YOU! Maybe it's a morning walk every day or a morning meditation. Maybe it's taking time to journal at lunch and write about things that will move you up the scale. Maybe it's sitting on the patio, after dinner and basking in nature or the song the birds are singing, maybe it's just laughing with wonderful people around a campfire. Whatever it is for you, do it, and do more of it, every day.
For me, exercise is a direct line to Level One on my EGS. You can learn more about this topic - here - if you're interested.
So, now back to that earlier quote: "What has been in your life experience BEFORE is irrelevant to you NOW because you know things differently NOW than you knew BEFORE."
People have been telling us this in so many different ways, but sometimes it takes an "ah-ha" moment to really hear it and comprehend. Some of those different ways have been:
Don't let what's right in front of you pass you by
Pay attention more
Live in the moment
Be present in the moment
Let go of the past
Let it go
Don't carry your baggage with you, leave it behind
Move on from that
It can be a hard pill to swallow, but we're often the one's in our own way.
Start to take on a mindset that you expect things to change because everything about you is constantly changing for the better. Expect things to change because you are in control of your own Emotional Guidance System and you constantly remind yourself how good things are, how blessed life is, how much better you're feeling about this topic, and this topic, and this topic and that topic. Just keep reminding yourself how much better you are feeling about this, and this, and this and you're well on your journey.
Remember, "wherever you go, there you are." Living in Seattle now, as the person I am today, would not yield the same results to me as it did when I lived there in 2000. Lots of change and creation happens over 19 years.
I'm here. NOW. Living in the moment and loving my experience in Eureka Springs. Every Single Day.