"Nothing exists that does not change”
If you have been following the first two ‘Life as a Project’ (Part #1 [1], Part #2 [2]) posts you should now have:-
- an overall statement of Intent for the year
- a Being statement and a Doing list for the 5 areas of Vision
- identified some key leverage points and are working on healthy habits
- a daily practice dedicated to YOU and ideally incorporating setting Intention in the morning
and directing your Focus in the evening.
Your key task now is to manage your 3 selves.
I know this sounds kind of weird as we all like to think that we are in fact an integrated being, however as the quote above points out – Nothing exists that does not change – we are not static beings we are ever changing and evolving.
The temporal nature of existence means that we are actually existing in three states – the Past, Present and Future.
In the Future is our Aspirational Being – this is who we aspire to be, it is where our Vision, Values and dreams live. In the Past is our Constructed Being – who we have decided we are based on the stories we, and others, tell about ourselves, our experiences and our understanding of how the world works and our place in it. In the Present is our Free Being – the part of us that, ideally, is free to choose what we want to DO in response to the life events that confront us in every moment.
In these three states there is work to do – see other posts on this including ‘Walking Between the Worlds’ [3].
If things are going ‘bad’ the three circles will interact like this diagram below.
So, you will feel negative about things and maybe ask the questions, ‘Why bother?’ ‘What’s the use?’ etc
Note that in the first two parts of ‘Life as a Project’ you should have already done some work in the Future circle and should now be clearer about your Vision and Values. You should have also started to do some work in the Present with your Daily Practice and healthy habits.
If things are going ‘Good’ the circles will look more like this diagram below.
Note that the critical thing in all of this in my experience is ‘Relaxed, self-assured and confident’ – in other words BELIEF.
You have clarity about what you aspire to create, you’re doing the work to let go of past blocks and you are nurturing yourself in the present with good healthy habits and a solid daily practice.
So, back to managing your 3 selves…
Once you know what you want to create and have clarity about who you aspire to BE then your task is to be PRESENT to every moment and manage the ALIGNMENT of your 3 selves. Put simply the success of your Project is dependent on how good you are at getting your 3 selves to work together in HARMONY :)
The first step in this is doing the ‘work’ in the Past and the Future so you have clarity. Once you have done this you can graduate to the Present and the challenge of embracing windows of opportunity.
“All of us, whether or not we are warriors, have a cubic centimetre of chance that pops out in front of our eyes from time to time. The difference between an average man and a warrior is that the warrior is aware of this, and one of his tasks is to be alert, deliberately waiting, so that when his cubic centimetre pops out he has the necessary speed, the prowess, to pick it up.”
Carlos Castaneda in ‘Journey to Ixtlan’
Note the significance of this quote is that if you don’t know what you are looking for or don’t even know that you should be looking then even if something jumps out and smacks you in the face you are not going to know what to do about it…
So, the task for this month is to lay these templates over your ‘Life Project’ and see where you have gaps that need some attention. Consider the whole notion of alignment and ask yourself where in your life you are unconsciously creating and perpetuating an old past non-supportive pattern. Ask yourself instead what it is that you really want and what you need to DO right now to be aligned to that.
And don’t forget to PLAY !
In peace and love always.
Links:
[1] http://www.acping.net/catalyser/2014-life-project-1
[2] http://www.acping.net/catalyser/life-project-2-little-things-accumulate
[3] http://www.acping.net/catalyser/walking-between-worlds