One thing I’ve learned about intuitive growth— it requires constant interruption of old patterns. Growth, in my experience, is about constant change and your intuition will keep pushing you to uncomfortable places to challenge your relationship with fear.
It takes a serious commitment to self-awareness to stay on the path of personal evolution. Questioning your decisions and aligning constantly with inner-wisdom is a lifestyle reserved for the brave. You simply cannot grow and play it safe simultaneously— it just isn’t possible.
To expand and evolve means to continuously question your old beliefs and behavior patterns in order to make room for new experiences and a renewed mindset.
In the garden, this process is the physical pruning of leaves and branches. In order to produce the best fruit, many plants require pruning in order to produce high yields. Many times, cutting a branch from a tree or removing a forming fruit from a young plant will give energy to the growth process.
Growth is always happening, but sometimes growth can be destructive. Just like ignoring new weeds in the garden after a good rain, things can get out of control very quickly.
If you are not paying close attention, you may be growing in a direction you did not intend- you must be careful about what your are cultivating. It is just as easy to nurture and adopt a fear-based thought pattern as a healthy one.
As humans, our minds are quite feeble. We take in more information than we could possible fathom. Without constant pruning and questioning, our brains become passively overgrown making it difficult to figure out what’s real and what’s external programming.
If you go too long without pulling weeds or pruning the branches of your mind, you are in danger of becoming inadvertently self-destructive. When you sabotage yourself, it just means that you engage in behavior or believe thought patterns that hurt you either physically or emotionally, all while limiting your growth.
As humans, we often subscribe to mindsets or relationships that have worked for us in the past, but are no longer contributing to a healthy outcome. We cling to that which makes us feel in control not realizing that everything has its season. It takes a very experienced gardener to realize which plants need pruning and when to get the clippers out.
The best way to determine what aspects of your life need pruning, start by reminding yourself what growth is being asked of you (phase one) and see which self-sabotaging behaviors come to the surface:
Do you have any fear that makes you cling to old patterns or relationships?
Are you pulling the weeds (unhealthy mindsets) as they show up?
You need not feel shame around your self-destructive behavior; most of it is not conscious. Especially when feeling frightened or overwhelmed, you will go into survival mode—neither behaving rationally nor healthfully. Be kind to yourself when you slip into survival mode, it’s a very human thing to do.
As humans, we have yet to evolve to a space of complete self-awareness which is why pruning is such a valuable habit to incorporate into your growth process. In time, you will get better at noticing your behavior patterns before you go and sabotage your growth.
With TONS of practice and a willingness to face your own patterns of destruction, you can learn to nip them in the bud—evolving and returning to your true nature.
To Growth-
Ashley