When the Dirt Comes Up - Christine Kane

One of my mentors says that when you plant a seed, the first thing that comes up isn’t the perfectly formed sprout. The first thing that comes up is dirt. Same thing with setting intent. Same thing with shifting your thoughts to create a better reality. Same thing with new habits and patterns.

In other words, when you embark on a new path, the resistance comes up first so you can push through it and get stronger in that process.

This past weekend, I facilitated another women’s retreat. On the first night of the retreat, I led a series of exercises designed to create a powerful intent. And eventually the whole question of creating reality came up. One of the women expressed frustration with the movie The Secret. It seems that she has been working with the whole idea of thoughts and positive thinking. And she has been dealing with old patterns, old thoughts, and old beliefs coming up regularly. She wanted to know what to do when all that resistance comes up. What do you do about all that dirt?

I’m not sure if it’s a “girl thing” or if it’s an authenticity thing or if it’s an artist thing, but I’ve heard this same thought expressed over and over again. I’ve actually been the one to express it in other settings. There are times when, no matter how much you try, walking around proclaiming, “I feel GREAT! I feel GREAT!” isn’t going to cut it. To some, that feels like suppression. Like they are pushing down something that might really need to be examined.

The notion of positive thinking has been likened to spreading pink icing on top of a whole big pile of poop. It is considered phony and deceptive. (Not to mention smelly.) On the other hand, you might be starting to understand that what you focus on grows. So, you don’t want to focus on the poop, but you don’t want to be in denial either.

And there’s the proverbial fine line.

I no longer dismiss the idea of creating reality with your thoughts as inauthentic or “being in denial.” I do, however, believe that much of the teaching around this truth neglects to include the process of this truth. For instance, I remember being on tour and listening to Deepak Chopra‘s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success One of the directives he gives is “Release the need for approval from others.” As if it was as easy as, “Oh! Okay! Well, since you put it that way!” (I think I might have even flipped the bird at my stereo.) Stating something so simply might make it hard for some people to grok. The concept is a simple one. In fact, most of these concepts are simple. But, an entire how-to book could be written on that one idea alone!

I now know many people who have walked on this path, and are consciously aware of the power of their thoughts and words, as well as being aware of the poop. And the poop is there to be dealt with, but not necessarily dwelt upon. They challenge themselves to simply “not go there.”

I used believe every single last one of my emotions. I was very into the poop side of the equation. Now, I’ve learned much from recognizing that my emotions are not the truth. That the truth is so much deeper and better than feelings. In other words, I’ve gained a lot of wisdom by working through this practice and by being in the process with my eyes open.

So, in the spirit of poop and dirt and sprouts and icing, tomorrow I will post a list of 10 Things to Do when The Dirt Comes Up.

12 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • Alvin

    You hit the nail right on the head Christine!

    As an artist, I used to give complete weight to all my emotions too, thinking it was important I felt all of them fully…I used to snub at ‘normal’ people who only wanted to feel the good ones.

    You’re right, I believed there was truth in that.

    But now I’ve come to understand that truth is deeper than feelings, and we are more than just our emotions.

    Good writing 🙂

  • christine

    Hi Al, Great idea. And you’re right! It works!

    Hi Steve, Great examples! Thanks for adding your own experiences here. I hit a turning point in my stage performance years ago when, in the face of nervousness and stage fright, I just said, “Oh. This is who I am. This is what I do.” And something in me just sort of “got it” and it made the shows so much better. (You had to be there I think! 🙂 )

  • Steve Olson

    Christine,
    I just started blogging in September. I learned for the first time about the LOA in Sept as well. About 30 days later I started to realize that for my entire life, my predominant thoughts were being manifested in reality. When I thought I was poor, I was poor. When I decided I was a blue collar working guy, I was a blue collar working guy and where I lived and the people I talked to reflected that. And when I decided to get into IT, technology and geekdom manifested everywhere around me. I could go into much more detail, but I will spare you. Today I still feel much resistance to where I intend to go, but it lessens daily as I work on my thinking.

    BTW, I found you on the Lyman Reeds site

    Thanks,

    Steve

  • Al Diaz

    Great insights!
    You may already know this, but a gentle way to start in dealing with the poop is to smile. It may be fake, but smiling and a negative thought or feeling don’t go hand in hand.

    Al Diaz
    Book: The Titus Concept Money For My Best and Highest Good
    Website: http://www.soar2006.com
    Seminar: SOAR 2006 The Titus Concept Live Event

  • Palmtreechick

    Cool!

  • christine

    PTC… I’ll be releasing a live DVD soon. You can watch that! (or maybe I’ll make it up there next year…)

  • Palmtreechick

    That makes sense, Christine.

    I really want to see you perform. That was random, but I hope you make it up here or I am down in Nashville when you’re there. The Bluebird’s a cool place.

  • christine

    Hey PTC, Well, in this world of thinking, you’re ALWAYS creating your own reality. Everyone’s thoughts are that powerful. It’s just that some people don’t want to create so much hardship..and so they consciously try to shift some of their “default” positions and negativity and self-hatred, etc. And that’s where they start to see clearly why their lives weren’t working all that great before. Does that make sense?

  • Palmtreechick

    I’ve always wondered how to start that process. Hmm. How do you get to the point where you can start creating your own reality?