Although I have worked with people for many years, listening to their personal stories and exploring with them ways to address their life dramas, I remain fascinated by the endless variety of ways that each individual's life reflects their particular core beliefs about themselves and life. I mean our lives reflect our beliefs perfectly!
I see this simple truth every day in my work with the clients I serve. For instance, I find it beyond coincidence that a parent who has trouble defining appropriate boundaries with family members, ends up having very similar “bully and attack” issues with her animals that's she's experiencing at home with her children. Her animals, in this case, serve as perfect mirrors for her, revealing her tolerance of boundary violations with family members who, much like her dogs do with one another, harass her until she turns on them in rage and viciously attacks – just like her animals do with one another.
We recreate in our lives that which we believe. This is always true. Our personal life is a direct reflection of our current state of relationship with ourselves and Source. These reflections of ourselves that show up in our external life in the form of situations, circumstances, or relationships, are not designed to make us suffer. They are simply reflecting our inner state for the purpose of helping us to see where it is we are out of alignement with ourselves.
For instance, it may well be that the mother with the out-of-control pets mentioned above is being shown in technicolor the way she turns vicious on herself when she is disapproving or self-critical towards herself. Perhaps, and it's highly likely, that she treats herself similarly. Maybe she picks on herself mercilessly, and then tries to muzzle herself, just like she does her animals, in a vain attempt to control herself, or to stop the self-attack … muzzling herself with alcohol, perhaps, or shopping, or even by seeking some external cause she can fight for in an effort to make up for her own inner bully. However, just the mere fact that she has difficulty setting boundaries with her animals is a tell-tale sign that she has the same sort of boundary issues going on within her as well.
I heard a young man complaining recently about his in-law's constant accusations about being taken advantage of. He was highly insulted by his in-law's accusations, and yet, not an hour later, he was telling me about several people he felt had taken advantage of him! Seeing himself as a victim led him to blaming others, and brought into his life someone who saw themselves as his victim. The world is a mirror – only always.
However, the world not only reflects the constricting beliefs, our higher frequency thoughts are reflected to us as well. When we question and reframe, rather than blindly believe, our unhappy story of the moment, the world reflects that shift too!
When we change our mind by aligning with Reality, then peace, which is the resin of Reality, is the reward.
Here's an example:
it is not unusual for a client to report, as one lady recently did, that her family had been treating her so much better since she had been working with me. She had come to the conclusion, and was convinced, that I had called her family and had a talk with them about how they needed to treat her better! (Anyone who knows me, knows that will most likely never happen 😉 )
She was skeptical at first, when I assured her that I had NOT spoken with any of her family members, but finally she began to realize that the real answer to her family's sudden and new interest in her life was HER own mental shift. She had taken seriously the principles of relating that I'd shared with her, and applied them in her relationship with her family, which allowed her to let go of her own demand that her family make her happy.
She said, “I let them off the hook of needing to take care of me, and they started coming around more often – doing for me, without my asking, the very things that I had spent endless amounts of time and energy trying to get them to do for me before.”
My client had discovered that befriending Reality is a faster way of getting us to where we want to go!
Rather than ranting against Reality, complaining about how things are not what they should be, and protesting and fighting against the way things are, she had come to accept things for what they are, and to look for ways to work with Reality. Suddenly resistance melted and life became a friend that facilitates and supports growth, rather than blocks us.
May you too, make this discovery,
Blessings,
One Response
Thanks for this Lynne. My mirror also has two big dogs that occasionally fight in it. I managed to get badly bitten “accidentally” (as in there are no accidents) in the midst of one of their battles years ago but as easy as it is to blame my husband (it is his dog you know) ;-), it was MY hand that got bit! I saw it as them showing me how I was biting the hand that feeds me. Not always easy to see in what way we attack ourselves but important to make the effort to find out. I love when you say. . .the world is a mirror ONLY ALWAYS!
Thanks for your wonderful work and if you have additional comments on finding this “inner bully”, I’m all eyes !
Blessings,
Ahleyah