Remember to be yourself!

Remember to be YOURSELF!

So maybe you have been into spirituality for a while. You came across the Law of Attraction and learnt that where your focus goes, the thing grows; that thoughts become things and all that stuff about raising your vibration and avoiding negativity.

Your logical conclusion was 'oh, so in order to improve the quality of my life I must do lots of high vibrational things and avoid the low vibrational. Hmm, I should make a lifestyle-adjustment'!'

Great! And since you are very committed, you went the whole holistic way: changed your diet and only eat healthy food and lots of greens and fruit and little or no meat. Started some form of exercise. A meditation routine and a regular, spiritual practice. Stopped watching the news to avoid negativity. Read inspiring books, watch inspiring films and listen to mellow or upbeat positive music. Say your affirmations regularly.

Yet, not a lot of things seem to shift, you life did not miraculously get better. Not that you would ever admit that to yourself since you choose to only see the good in everything!

Maybe it's time to ask yourself: is all of that actually ME? Are you enjoying the changes you have made? Are they making you feel better? Or are there things that you are missing? Clean living does not have to be sterile. You can allow yourself once in a while a few 'privileges'. The important thing is to enjoy them consciously. That's why I call them 'privileges' rather than 'guilty pleasures' or 'slip-ups'. 

Maybe you used to love pizza or junk food or sweets, and decided to clean up your act and switch to a healthy diet. The odds are, once your body is detoxed and used to healthy food the thought of junk food will make your skin crawl, but what if you are secretly dreaming of burgers and fries? Should you deprive yourself and brave on with the salad? My take is that you don't have to. You don't need to be militant, but conscious. Enjoy it while you're eating it, and observe how you feel afterwards. If you notice yourself feeling sluggish after gulping down that fatty or sugary food, that might automatically stop your cravings, otherwise just be aware of you general diet choices and avoid going for the unhealthy stuff by default or out of comfort.

Or maybe it's films, books and music. In general, my taste is quite eclectic, but I adore watching horror movies since I discovered Freddy Kruger at the age of 13 and  and I have started devouring Stephen King books when I was twelve. And since those early years I loved horror movies and books,  and thrillers. My late teens coincided with grunge which got me into harder music like metal as well. 

When I got into the Law of Attraction and heard that all those things are low-vibrational and actually toxic for your subconscious, as it doesn't know the difference between fiction and reality and might absorb the messages from the books or song lyrics, I decided to cut those things out. 

Luckily, as I  said, my taste is very eclectic, I had plenty of other music to keep me amused, read books that are inspiring and even some romance novels. I watched more funny and less violent movies (though I could rarely bring myself to watch romantic comedies unless forced by peer pressure, I never liked those!). I was genuinely OK with all of this, and didn't feel I was missing anything.

Until I went around a friend's house and he put on a Slipknot live DVD. Within minutes I was buzzing. The sheer energy and drama and spectacle of it, the absurdity (they all wear masks and behave like berserks on stage)! I was mesmerized. And I felt more alive than I had in months. When I looked past the lyrics that were often violent or desperate, the noise, the act with the masks and the liberal use of the f word, I could see that they, the band, were passionate about being of service ( putting on a good show without holding back in any way) and were treating their fans in a very respectful and appreciative manner, more so than some 'serious' style musician I had seen. Even if I had to filter through a lot of bad language...

I was on a high after that and it got myself thinking. It's only you who knows what you resonate most with. And maybe your preferred art/entertainment form is your way to deal with your shadow side and letting off steam rather than the expression of who and what you are. I feel bad about killing insects, but I enjoy watching Tarantino movies. I don't believe violent music makes you go out and kill people. Charles Manson claimed he got the message for the killings from The Beatles' 'Helter Skelter'. To my knowledge it's not considered to be a violent song.  Blaming Marilyn Manson for high school massacres is a bit like blaming the Dollar for the bad economy. It may be part of it but not the cause of it. 

The time I spent only with positive music, books and films was fine, but I was feeling a little like I was drifting. When I started listening to harder music again and watching and reading more intense books and films I felt like my senses had sharpened and I could push forward more. I had wind in my sails again. I felt like myself again. And good things began to happen, I manifested several positive things and events. I'm not saying that violent music, films and books bring you good luck, what raises my vibration might not be the same that raises yours, and vice versa; or at least not in the same measure.

The trick is finding a balance and being conscious about our choices. You don't have turn into the equivalent of a Tibetan monk to attract good things into your life. You can indulge into your favourite foods, music, books and films. But be aware of toxic language, negative messages or low nutritional value. Make sure the last thing you watch, read or listen to before going to bed has a positive message, after all, you will be stewing approximately eight hours in your subconscious! Have fruit or salad with your junk food. It's not all or nothing.

Raising your vibrations is not necessarily about depriving yourself of something, but of being aware of your choices. Choose from love, not from fear.

Just to make sure: the indulgences I am talking about here are not involving drug or alcohol abuse or anything illegal; if you managed to get off an addiction, whatever you were addicted to, it is better to stay away from it!

My indulgence for today is a little clip from the Slipknot concert! Enjoy!

Feel free to comment and share!

Love, Light and Healing,

Anya