Sometimes we cannot see the way out of a situation even when it is right in front of us. We feel trapped by circumstances, unaware that we have the ability to change them. We create false limitations and erroneous beliefs. We build prisons and lock ourselves in. As humans, we are really good at it! Apparently, we are not alone in this behavior. Bruce Lipton is a biologist and researcher of behavioral epigenetics. To illustrate a point, he tells a story about an elephant. “Captors tie a young elephant to a tree with a length of rope around his leg. No matter how hard he struggles to free himself, he cannot, and so he eventually gives up. Then as a massively powerful adult, by simply feeling the rope tied around his leg, although it is no longer attached to the tree, he believes he cannot escape and remains a captive. He no longer realizes his own intrinsic power to improve his life by changing his perception. This happens to humans, too, because of our two minds.”
If there is something blocking your way to a life of joy, look for a way around it! Don’t let past programming limit your abilities now. And never give up. I remember a client who was feeling that there were many obstacles in the way of her success. During a therapeutic imagery session, I asked her to allow an image about obstacles she was experiencing in life. When prompted, an image of a brick wall appeared. I asked if there were any cracks in the mortar, perhaps a loose brick or some other way through the wall. I asked if there might have been a way to climb over the wall or perhaps some way to go around it. None were found. After some time in the meditative state in a place of emotional acceptance, the client was able to notice a vine which wound itself around the wall. Maybe it was ivy. When she looked further, she found that there was indeed a crack in the wall. The ivy had pushed itself through the cement to make its way to the other side. In the process, it had loosened the area around it, making it easy for her to move a few bricks out of the way. When she was able to look through the wall, she found what she had been searching for in her “real” life. Her subconscious mind provided her with an image of a small obstacle course. The course had signposts with specific instructions about each step to take in order to make it through the maze. She was able to “see” herself executing her plan to start and succeed at a new business venture. Her subconscious mind gave her conscious mind the information and the confirmation she needed in order to feel confident to proceed.
In many cultures, the elephant is revered as an animal of great strength and long memory. It is considered to be a symbol of wisdom and power. I hope you remember Lipton’s story of the elephant who forgot his own strength. Learn the lesson. Do not create limitation and imagined restraint. What’s your excuse? What has you all tied up? Who created those limitations? Is there a brick wall standing in your way to success?
Your subconscious mind has all the answers. Get out of our own way. Go beyond the imaginary boundaries and limitations. Look a little deeper in order to understand where you are right now…not where you were in the past or where others tell you to be. We need to acknowledge our strengths and power. To acknowledge that we hold the key to our own freedom. No one can imprison us but ourselves.