Happy Springtime! I’ve never been one for this spring cleaning thing. And yet, yesterday I remembered spring cleaning often begins in our external world and yet may find its true realization within.
I needed to get to my car battery the other day which meant that I had to pull out the empty boxes I’ve been storing in my car’s back area since I moved here almost five years go. Some of the boxes have been through three moves since I left Los Angeles in 2009! They seemed damp and musty but I had other things on my mind so I just left them outside.
After walking past them for a week, I decided to do something with them – but what to do? I brought them inside where they sat for another day. Two days ago I actually looked at them (they were packed like the Matryoshka dolls in Russian culture, one nested within another). Other than one damp box, they were all dry, good sizes, with some bubble wrap. All ready for my next move whenever that happens.
I folded up the offending damp box and put it out for recycling. I ‘renested’ the rest and put them in my bedroom (my living space has limited storage). I probably ‘should have’ realized they would still smell musty, but then, I’ve mostly stopped ‘shoulding’ on myself. Getting ready for bed, it was quite apparent that keeping the boxes there was not going to work. Too late to do anything about it then.
As I was waking up yesterday morning, I became aware of some thoughts behind my original choice. They were perfectly good and usable again, great size for the kitchen stuff I have, no need to spend money for more boxes. Then some emotional attachments underneath all these great reasons started showing up from my Soul Self. I was holding onto the familiar rather than letting go and allowing new to come to me. I was still thinking from an old place of lack, there is never enough – in this case, money to buy more boxes. The old boxes are now collapsed, tied together and waiting for the recycling day.
We all have Boxes in our lives, empty or full, that can trigger a memory, emotion, or insight. For me, they were an invitation to look at thoughts and patterns that are so old or tucked away they were no longer in my immediate awareness. While I may not be enthralled with spring cleaning in my external world, I choose to be aware of those Boxes within me when they show up. Our Soul Self brings them to us as an invitation, an insight into behaviours and thoughts that are ready to be released – that no longer serve us.
Discovering your Soul Self is a gradual process. The Cycle of Expansion is a nonlinear path with signposts to help your human self understand what’s happening within. It can begin and deepen with your conscious choice to slow down, breathe slowly and deeply, let go of your mind’s familiar pattern of trying to figure things out, and open to new
insights in your life. Your Soul Self has been with you from the beginning, waiting for the moment when your mind is willing to accept the possibility that it is real…that the Divine, your Soul Self, awaits your conscious choice to connect.
Your Soul Self knows why you are here, the Divine plan for your life. It knows all that you desire and require in this lifetime to achieve your Soul’s mission. The situations, people, thoughts, and behaviours are already there, waiting for you to choose them in the flow of the universe (along your life’s path). The human self thinks we have to figure it out and work hard for it…our Soul Self knows that we create everything in connection with the Divine.
The Boxes offer a simple metaphor for what is possible in every moment. There might be a new home waiting for me in perfect timing as was the case with my current home. There might be funds coming in from an unexpected source that will provide everything I need for a move. Someone might offer to move me and bring boxes. Or I might just stay where I am for the next twenty years. There’s no need to stress over anything!
My mind, my human self, only knows what has happened in the past – my Soul Self holds all the possibilities for my future. Our Soul Self has created situations for us to let go of what might be familiar to the human self, so we can welcome new, higher consciousness ways of knowing and being. And the joy and gratitude from the surprises I (my human self) have experienced along this path…they just expand and help me remember to choose to let go and allow my Soul Self to lead the way when I encounter ‘Boxes’.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this…whether you’ve had similar experiences, have no idea what I’m talking about, or are just interested in discovering more. Join me and others on Saturday, May 11, at 11 am for an hour of Expanding Conversations. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link and other information. Or sign up here for a free 30 minute 1-on-1 conversation with me. Or…just leave a comment below.
From my heart to yours,
Eloecea
4 Comments
Dennis Gregg
Thank you, Eloecea, for those beautiful insights into the soul of us. Boxes…yes…I am taking the time to realize these boxes and to ask for guidance to handle them. I appreciate the simple and eloquent way you teach about such things. You make it all look easy. I love my soul and my soul’s guidance. I can’t imagine living without it in charge now. As you say…it’s been a process getting here at this level of trust. I’ll take more of the Bigger Picture please.
Eloecea
Thank you, Denny – it’s not always easy to let go of the familiar and yet it sounds like you know it’s totally worth it, too!
Dan Meylink
Reading your most recent offering is like a opening a “gift box”. So soothing to contemplate my Soul Self. Thank you.
Eloecea
Yes, the peace I feel knowing my Soul Self is more and more in charge is higher and deeper. When I realized that, on linear terms, those descriptive words didn’t match, I knew it was a good definition of expansion :). Happy to know you’re experiencing it, too, in your own words. Thank you, Dan.