The Challenge of Fitting In.

We are all a little different in our understanding and approach to life but we are all connected by the simple fact we are alive, in a human body having a human experience.

It is only when we start to diverge from main stream ’thinking’ that any difference appears to become an issue.

As an example, for those following this path of Clearing, the more you follow it and develop your understanding of clearing the more it changes you. At first, minor, subtle changes, nothing obvious. Depending upon the frequency of your practice you may go through significant jumps, from one way of being to another. Just new levels of understanding really.

Along with these changes in your understanding, one of the first things you notice is that others find it difficult to follow your conversations. With any new changes to the way you relate and understand your developing nature, while you are still, to some degree or other lost in the illusion of separation and judgment, you compare yourself to others.

It is common to judge others as being less than you, just because you have made some shifts win consciousness. Others, in turn tend to judge you as being a little strange, or just ‘different.’

While you are still integrating this new level of awareness it is hard, if not impossible to explain yourself to others and you, in turn, no longer have the same interest in their conversational topics. This can be a slow process, to the point that you do not even notice it at first, but change, for all things, is inevitable.

People appear to you to be stuck in the past, same conversations, same patterns of behaviour, you quickly forget that just a short time ago, you too were stuck in the past, same conversations, same patterns of behaviour. I have met people who believed they were superior to others as a result of the changes they went through.

This is just the ego, the attachment and identification with the body, thoughts and feelings speaking.

It can be hard for the traveller on the path of clearing, I limit myself to clearing in this article because that is what I know, surely there are many other paths that appear to lead into isolation. For, as we change ‘inside’ our reality seems to shift as well. Things that were once important become insignificant. Likes and dislikes lose some of their intensity. Those who were once friends fall away, often to make room for new friends to appear.

Interest change, not because we have sought out new interests, simply put, we see through our earlier interests and no longer find them, well, interesting. Almost as though we are in a department store, we become comfortable, familiar with the products on the first floor. This appears to be our reality. Yet, as a result of our actions thoughts and words we are drawn to the elevator and change floors. The new level contains many new possibilities, the layout is different, the products new and exciting.

It takes us time to become familiar with this new environment, at first we compare it to the lower level, this is better, this is worse, this is different, this is nice, etc.

But, with this, this new level becomes comfortable, familiar, we forget about the other level all all appears to go well, until we are. Inevitably drawn back to the elevator and step out onto yet another floor, and the process of familiarisation starts again.

Comparing, judging, accepting, denying, the usual process of familiarisation.

Until this level too becomes comfortable, familiar.

As will often happen, when we see how our life’s journey has brought us to this place, we spend a few moments in reflection, thinking back to when we were at a different level. We may wonder what happened to all those people on the other level, are they still there, going through the same motions? Living the same lives? We may judge them for their state of being, we may feel the need to help elevate them to our level so that they too may enjoy the benefits that appear to come with this change of level.

But, again on reflection, we see that we cannot ‘do’ anything, each of us, including this self, have their own path, many are happy with their path, or at least accepting their lot in life. If we are honest when we look back, we will see our lives were in that same groove that we now judge.

While we were happy, or at least content, in that groove we fitted in with everyone else who was in the same groove, We did not give much thought to the possibility of different grooves, that was out of the bounds of our imagination, content as we were in that groove.

But then, through same quirk of fate, or was it the inevitability of time passing or a product of how we managed life that we discovered, the elevator.

Riding the elevator we must, at some point, leave the past behind, the new level requires that you leave some of your past behind, the alternative is to go a little crazy. Leaving the past behind has incredible consequences, not just leaving old friends, old environments behind but letting go of aspect of the self that you. Had long associated with, that is were the real benefits of the elevator become obvious.

Yet, without the elevator this new understanding would not have been possible.

As you reflect on your journey and see that at some point you fitted in with past acquaintances then you can no longer judge them for who they are, were they are, what they do, what they say because you realise that was once you.

And then you become to wonder how high does the elevator go.