By Celeste Smucker
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. – Lao Tzu
Life transitions are inevitable as is the stress that almost always comes with them.
Their causes are many.
One is personal decisions.
Career changes, choosing a life partner, moving, or changing your daily routine (like starting a meditation practice) are examples.
Other transitions like illness, the death of a loved one, or a shift in the economy may be beyond your control.
And of course, naturally occurring transitions are inevitable as you move from childhood to old age.
Regardless of their cause, transitions may be the source of great joy or deep pain.
At the same time, they can also be opportunities for personal growth, expanded self-awareness and the enhancement of your spiritual journey.
Let's review the how and why.
A Gateway to Expanded Awareness
It's easy to get caught up in the fear and stress that can accompany transitions, even ones you may view as "positive."
The best way to manage them is to step back and become an objective witness to your transition experiences instead of actively participating in them.
Admittedly this approach is challenging, but it has many benefits.
For example, imagine you've decided to sell your house and move to a different city to take what you believe is the job of your dreams.
Usually though (even when you're excited about the change and can't wait to arrive at your new place), moving itself is difficult.
Maybe you lose or break something essential, even though you packed it carefully and stored it where you told yourself you could definitely find it again.
Or the closing on your next house is delayed because someone forgot to prepare an essential document.
Now you have to spend an extra night or two in a hotel, giving you less time to settle into your new home before your first day of work.
Eventually, though, with a sigh of relief you start your new job.
And when you do, you find it is more challenging than you expected.
While your new colleagues are great to work with, your boss seems unexpectedly critical. He (or she) is not at all the cheerful, fun person who interviewed you and offered you the job.
Of course, the stress of the transition may trigger health problems that contribute to anxiety, negative thoughts and (if it goes on too long) disease.
These kinds of experiences are typical of the downsides associated with transitions.
Yet, in spite of frustrations like these, transitions can also be the source of joy and expanded self-awareness accelerating your spiritual journey.
For example, they can be:
- An opportunity to step back and witness (from a distance) your response to stress rather than reactively jumping into the thick of things.
As a witness it's as though you are in the audience watching a play about a big transition that features a well known actor.
You laugh and cry as the story evolves, but never forget that you are an observer.
At any time, you can walk away from the accompanying physical, emotional and mental stress.
- A chance to experience a spiritual awakening that expands your self awareness.
Transitions shake you up letting you view yourself differently.
You may discover inspiring new options for your life that surprise and energize you, opening the door to the possibility of profound personal change.
- A source of increased resilience.
You find you more easily manage life's ups and downs. You even see humor in incidents that were once painful. You recognize you can reduce the stress associated with past transitions that once ruined your day, week, month or even years.
Instead, you develop the ability to release these incidents and move on to your next experience with a cleaner emotional and mental slate and renewed energy.
- The beginning of a deeper understanding of your authentic self, the real you deep down.The self you may have kept hidden from the light of day for a long time.
Now you can begin to make life choices that bring more joy, boost your energy and give you a sense of purpose.
- An opportunity to make personal changes that align you more closely with what you value most.
As your self awareness expands, your personal spiritual power builds and you are better able to make decisions that support a new vision of yourself.
- The reason you start to experience a big reduction in your stress level, impacting every aspect of your life.
How do you get on the path to understanding and enjoying these transition benefits?
Transitions & Your Spiritual Journey
The only true journey is the one within. – Rainer Maria Rilke
For centuries saints and sages have taught that the suffering we experience in life always comes from identifying with events, people and circumstances that will eventually change or let you down in some way.
The key to avoiding suffering is to stay aligned with your authentic self.
To do that, though, you must shift from putting faith in what always changes to that which always stays the same.
You may call this non-changing entity Consciousness, the Self, God, Shiva or Source to name a few possibilities.
Regardless of what you may call it, Consciousness is the source of everything and the only available solid and dependable anchor for our lives.
You don't have to live or work in a spiritual center like an ashram, a church, a temple or other similar communities to experience it. This unchanging energy is always there for you, wherever you are.
To align with it, start by balancing your physical, emotional and mental dimensions. When you do so you are less reactive to transition related stress.
How to Boost Your Spiritual Journey with Balance & The Holistic Lifestyle®
While achieving balance is a lifelong pursuit, it is often transitions that awaken and motivate you to begin the journey.
When you adopt the principles of The Holistic Lifestyle® you choose a proven way to correct imbalances and ease transition stress.
Depending on your constitution and personality, imbalances could show up as symptoms such as anger, impatience, frustration, overwhelm or anxiety.
On the other hand, withdrawal or depression may be the imbalance of choice for those eager to avoid the conflict that can be triggered by a big transition like a move.
Catching a cold, the flu, experiencing nausea or just feeling overly fatigued can be physical signs.
Some solutions to imbalances that help ease the pain of transitions include:
- Meditation, which shifts your focus inward and gives you a reminder of what it feels like to be aligned with Consciousness.
Bringing your attention inward balances the frustration, anger and overwhelm experiences of the outside world and reminds you to focus on that which never changes even in the midst of life's inevitable transitions.
- Conscious breathing (breathwork), calms and energizes you so you can release some stress and experience your transition with greater clarity.
- Eat a balancing diet, which will vary with each individual.
For example:
- If you tend to overheat, get angry or lash out when stressed, avoid spicy hot foods, red meat and stimulating drinks such as caffeinated beverages all of which increase heat and promote anger making transitions more difficult.
- If stress makes you lethargic or depressed, stimulating food may be just what you need to make the difficult decisions that often arise as your life changes.
- If stress causes fatigue or an increase in dry or itchy skin and hair, avoid crunchy snacks, hot spices and tea or coffee. All of these promote more dryness, which in turn promotes experiences such as difficult digestion or insomnia
- Exercise in a way that supports your body.
If you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated, try a gentle walk in the woods taking time to observe and enjoy the plants and trees. You'll be amazed at how much calmer you feel.
If you feel lethargic, choose something more energetic to balance your tendency to withdraw and become a couch potato when stressed.
- As much as possible stick to a daily routine that includes regular mealtimes, bedtime and waking times.
Your body loves routine and will help you stay balanced in all of your dimensions if you honor it in this way.
It's Up to You
Each time you sit to meditate, you are nurturing and loving yourself. In meditation, we become the object of our own devotion. —MC Cannon
Transitions are inevitable.
However, how you react to them is up to you. You always have a choice.
You can identify with the stress and negativity aggravating transition related stress and maybe even avoid or lash out at future changes, even the good ones.
Or, you can choose to step back and adopt a diet, exercise, meditation or daily routine that helps you stay balanced even when facing life's most significant transitions.