What a Difference ONE Change Can Make

Every change and choice we make, has the potential to create a new self.

When Mary quit smoking, she wasn’t giving up a habit as much as becoming a non-smoker. Shifting this habit changes how she invests her time. What she does now during breaks at work changes from smoking with a group of friends to utilizing that time in a different way. Now she checks in with her mother, says affirmations, takes a walk or updates her bank records. Being a non-smoker changes the way she breathes; ostensibly deeper. How she walks is different. She finds herself paying attention to her environment, moving her legs more quickly and not fiddling with her purse to grab a cigarette or walk on the outside as not to offend her non-smoking family. Mary has come face to face with the emotions that she used to “smoke away” and now feels more alive as she experiences them. She didn’t just quit smoking, she is NOW a non-smoker.

In July, I hosted a Facebook Live gathering every morning for the month. Each person chose one thing to focus on for the month. It could be a change; like increased exercise, a commitment like completing projects that are outstanding, or it could be a goal like writing two hours every day. Each person had one focus. As each day past and we kept our commitments to ourselves; it became clear that we were stepping into new selves. We were becoming new. Or, we were struggling with trying to hold the old life in check while creating a new; which just doesn’t work. This attempt only perpetuated distress until we were ready to release the old aspects of self to birth a new one.

The primary finding of the book The Power of a Habit, by Charles Duhigg, is that one keystone habit changed catapults an individual into a new self. The book begins with the story of 34 year old Lisa Allen whose life was falling apart. She smoked and drank excessively, she was overweight and unhappy and after hitting a rock bottom, she set a goal. She was going to walk across the Egyptian desert in one year. “It was a crazy idea, Lisa knew. She was out of shape, overweight, with no money in the bank. She didn’t know the name of the desert she was looking at or if such a trip was possible. None of that mattered, though. She needed something to focus on. Lisa decided that she would give herself one year to prepare. And to survive such an expedition, she was certain she would need to make sacrifices.”

Lisa Allen would shift her habits to match her goal of walking across the Egyptian desert. She was frugal with her finances as she had a vision for which she was saving. She began to move her body, then work out and the more she did the less attractive smoking and drinking became for her. This changed promoted weight loss. Within the year, she had become a new person who had self confidence and happiness — she had taken mastery of her life.

What I have come to appreciate is that nothing is truly linear. Each decision I make updates a collection of past understanding and creates pathways a for a new and different future. I will be offering the “Get ‘er Done” group again in October that I affectionately call Momentum and Miracles as together our actions create a shared momentum for forward movement and miracles because when awake we can see how much is done for us by The Force within and beyond us. This go-around I am going to chose to focus on creating a marketing plan for my ministry. By the end of 30 days, I will have a plan that I will be a flexible, breathing document that I will use for 2019. And, what I know, is since nothing is solely linear, I will have a marketing plan, AND, so much more. I will see where I have allowed myself to remain unseen and call myself into a visibility that didn’t previously exist. I will learn skills; particularly as it relates to on-line marketing. I will meet new people and in the process, I will become more of myself. In spiritual lingo, I will have a front row seat to my own Being and Becoming.

Do you have one thing you want to focus on? Would a daily (Monday through Friday) spiritual conversation about who you are with some practical strategies support you as you move forward? If so, then, join me and a group of others who have said YES to one thing for one month. It will be offered through Zoom, a free internet class platform, at 7:15 am for 15 to 25 minutes. I will pray us in, give a short lesson and assignment and pray us out. If you are unable to make the group, then you can watch the recording at your leisure later in the day. There will be an optional Facebook page you can go to and post comments to the group and use as a form of accountability for yourself.

To register go to www.bonniebarnard.com/classes. The value of the group far exceeds the $179 investment you’ll make.

Remember, Abundant Love is Always Present,

Join Reverend Bonnie this Wednesday night from 6:45 to 8:45 pm at Scottsdale Center for Spiritual Living. Half the time, or more, will be spent in the Spiritual Practice of meditation, contemplation, and inquiry of living a multi-dimensional life. The remaining time will include insight and conversation around the The Body as a Living, Breathing God.