Here’s a helpful filter to know when to worry: does something sound too good to be true, or does it sound so bad that people give up and stop thinking for themselves?

Either way, when everyone around you agrees, it’s worth asking some questions. Questions like: “What’s really going on here—and who is threatened by disagreement?”

Consider it an opportunity! When it comes to Coronavirus life, an astounding amount of groupthink is currently taking place. It’s as though everyone is taking the collective temperature (no pun intended…) before deciding what they believe and how they should act.

To be clear, I’ve said several times that the most important thing we can do is keep people safe. And as an introvert who frequently spends twenty-four hours a day by myself, I’ve also been social distancing for most of my life. (“Social distancing is the new silent retreat.”)

But whether it’s COVID-thinking or something else, if you can’t find someone who disagrees with you, someone who has another perspective—it’s time to worry. Or at the very least it’s time to widen your circle, read different media, and consider opposing viewpoints.

Otherwise, you’ll never have the chance to experience the courage of changing your mind.

Speaking up as the only dissenter in the group requires bravery, but so does acknowledging that you might not be right about everything. Are you courageous enough to do so? Most people aren’t.

Fortunately, you aren’t most people … right? You are an original—so think for yourself, and don’t accept what you’re told without closely examining it.

One more thing: have you ever heard “You must learn the rules before you break them”? This is a classic gatekeeping strategy.

Just imagine: If you’re trying to break out of prison, you don’t need to spend forty years becoming a model prisoner before you hide in a laundry cart. You’ll be much better served by studying up on successful prison breaks.

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re taking care of yourself and working on something you believe in. The rest of us need you to keep going.

###

The Opportunity in Adversity

By Eckhart Tolle

Life unfolds between the polarities of order and chaos. It is important at this time to recognize these two fundamental opposites, without which the world could not even be. Another word for disorder is “adversity.” When it becomes more extreme, we might call it “chaos.”

We would prefer, of course, to have order in our lives, which means to have things going well. We would like relative harmony in our lives. Yet, that very often is marred by the eruption of some form of disorder. And, usually, we resent that—we get angry, or despondent, or sad.

Disorder comes in many, many forms, big and small. When disorder comes it usually creates a kind of havoc in our lives, accompanied by strong underlying beliefs. “There’s something very wrong, this should not be happening, maybe God is against me,” and so on. Again, we need to understand that disorder, or adversity, is inevitable and is an essential part of a higher order.

 From a higher perspective, a higher level, the existence of order and disorder, or order and chaos, is a necessary part of the evolution of life.

 Many people have found that they experience a deepening, or a deeper sense of self or beingness, immediately after and as a result of having endured a period of disorder or chaos. This is sometimes called “the dark night of the soul,” a term from medieval Christianity used to describe the mental breakdown that many mystics experienced prior to awakening spiritually. There was an eruption of disorder, of destruction. Then, out of that, a deeper realization arose.

 And although that can be very painful, the strange thing is, it’s precisely there that many humans experience a transcendence. A strange fact is that it almost never happens that people awaken spiritually while they’re in their comfort zone. Or that they become deeper as human beings, which would be a partial awakening. It almost never happens. The place where the evolutionary shift happens, or the evolutionary leap, is usually the experience of disorder in a person’s life.

And so your life then moves between order and disorder. You have both, and they’re both necessary. There’s no guarantee that when disorder erupts this will bring about an awakening or a deepening, but there’s always the possibility. It is an opportunity, but often, it is missed.

 So here we are at this time, and our mission is the same: to align with the present moment, with whatever is happening here and now. The upheaval that we’re experiencing at the present time probably will not be the last upheaval that’s going to come on a collective level. However, it is an opportunity—because although this is a time for upheavals, it is also a time for awakening. The two go together. Just as in an individual life, you need adversity to awaken. It’s an opportunity but not a guarantee. And so what looks tragic and unpleasant on a conventional level is actually perfectly fine and as it should be on a higher level; it would not be happening otherwise. It’s all part of the awakening of human beings and of planetary awakening.

To learn more about Eckhart’s teachings on Conscious Manifestation, click here.

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The post The Opportunity in Adversity appeared first on Eckhart Tolle | Official Site – Spiritual Teachings and Tools For Personal Growth and Happiness.

What have you learned so far from 2020? I think we can all agree this will be a defining year for humanity.

Maybe it’s taught you how much you value being around others, even as an introvert. Or how much you take for granted the little things like working from a coffee shop.

Or how important it is to have difficult conversations with others, to become aware of your blind spots, and to use your voice to help others.

I think the world is asking us to wake up. We’re being asked to question and revisit our values. To listen, learn, and take action.

I saw a post on Instagram that said, ‘What if 2020 was the year we’ve been waiting for? A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw – that it finally forces us to grow?’

Instead of looking at it as a complete disaster, we can think of how we’re going to make some much-needed change. And that change starts by listening to and using your voice more.

Getting clear on what matters

---

I’ve done a lot of unlearning and unpacking thoughts and mindsets within myself that I didn’t realize were there. I’ve been reading Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, which has opened my eyes to ways that I’ve been ignorant and oblivious to my own privilege.

I’ve used my voice in a way I haven’t before and spoken up about what I believe in, even when I feared backlash.

More than anything, this year has encouraged me to be more in tune with what I want and the kind of world that I want to live in.

I was distant from this for a while. I was distracted from what I want this world to look like and what role I play in shaping it, beyond selfish and materialistic wants.

The first half of this year has left me thinking: Who am I when I’m unswayed by everything around me? What do I believe at my core? What would I say if I had no fear of criticism?

This past month, I’ve consumed more social media content and spent more time on the Internet than I have in a long time. I’m the kind of person who wants to be in the know at all times, but that comes at the cost of absorbing too much information. I spend too much time consuming that I forget to check-in, ask where I stand, and figure out how I want to move forward.

Sometimes you need to pause and find your voice so that you can take action from a place of alignment, while not using perfectionism and ‘perfect clarity’ as an excuse for avoiding action.

Finding and using your voice

---

Learn to listen to and trust your inner voice. Once you trust that, you will begin to live with more intention and clarity. Here are some ways to find and use your own voice:

Create stillness.

One of the best ways to connect with your inner voice is through quiet stillness. When was the last time you gave yourself full, uninterrupted attention?

For a long time, I stopped meditating. It wasn’t a conscious decision. It was that I stopped appreciating how it benefits me when I practice it.

For the past month, I’ve started looking at meditating as a way to connect with myself daily. I don’t go into it thinking, ‘I need to completely clear my mind for the next five minutes.’ Instead, I think, ‘This is a way to be with myself in this moment.’

I’ve also been journaling more than ever to get clarity when my thoughts are distracting me from what matters most.

Find time for regular check-ins with yourself. Come back to your beliefs and envision new ways to assert them.

Related Post: How to connect with yourself more deeply

---

Visualize what you want.

I’m a sucker for personality tests, and I’ve recently learned that my Human Design type is a Manifesting Generator. I can’t tell you exactly what that means because I haven’t looked into it too much, but I did find out that I need to visualize and ask for exactly what I want. Vague descriptions won’t work. I have to be specific and direct when asking for what I want out of life.

I encourage you to imagine the kind of world you want to live in. Think about what role you want to play in bringing that vision to fruition. Lean into what the world needs from you. This will give you clarity when it comes to using your voice and standing up for what you believe in.

“By actively asserting the role you wish to play in molding the world to come, the tests you will face in 2020 will help you cultivate new levels of inner strength as well as new skills to share with others.”

– Gray Crawford

---

Practice using your voice.

It’s easy to retreat into silence when you feel uncertain.To feel afraid of saying the wrong thing. To feel like your voice doesn’t matter.

That’s nothing but perfectionism getting in the way. You don’t have to retreat from speaking up because you don’t think you have the right words to say it.

Whatever it is you’re passionate about, speak up. Pay attention to how you feel and use that to guide you. 

Speak your dreams into existence with your words and your actions. In writing and conversations. By voting, signing petitions, and donating. With your decisions to follow and associate with certain people.

Don’t shy away from difficult and uncomfortable conversations with family members, coworkers, employers, etc. You may be faced with criticism, rebuttal, or deafening silence. But your voice might be the one that explains something in such a way that it changes another’s opinion for the better, even if it’s just one person.

“People are often so scared of saying the wrong thing that they miss the opportunity to do the right thing.”

– Elaine Welteroth, More Than Enough

---

How can you use your voice more?

If you like to journal, here are some prompts to help you dig into this topic more:

• When have you ignored your own inner voice? When have you listened to it? What has this taught you?
• When have you listened to someone else instead of yourself? How did that affect your future actions?
• How can you use your voice to speak up in the future? What do you need to feel more confident voicing your thoughts?

Here are some ways you can use your voice and actions to make a difference in the world right now: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

---

The post The Art of Finding and Using Your Voice appeared first on The Blissful Mind.

What have you learned so far from 2020? I think we can all agree this will be a defining year for humanity.

Maybe it’s taught you how much you value being around others, even as an introvert. Or how much you take for granted the little things like working from a coffee shop.

Or how important it is to have difficult conversations with others, to become aware of your blind spots, and to use your voice to help others.

I think the world is asking us to wake up. We’re being asked to question and revisit our values. To listen, learn, and take action.

I saw a post on Instagram that said, ‘What if 2020 was the year we’ve been waiting for? A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw – that it finally forces us to grow?’

Instead of looking at it as a complete disaster, we can think of how we’re going to make some much-needed change. And that change starts by listening to and using your voice more.

Getting clear on what matters

---

I’ve done a lot of unlearning and unpacking thoughts and mindsets within myself that I didn’t realize were there. I’ve been reading Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, which has opened my eyes to ways that I’ve been ignorant and oblivious to my own privilege.

I’ve used my voice in a way I haven’t before and spoken up about what I believe in, even when I feared backlash.

More than anything, this year has encouraged me to be more in tune with what I want and the kind of world that I want to live in.

I was distant from this for a while. I was distracted from what I want this world to look like and what role I play in shaping it, beyond selfish and materialistic wants.

The first half of this year has left me thinking: Who am I when I’m unswayed by everything around me? What do I believe at my core? What would I say if I had no fear of criticism?

This past month, I’ve consumed more social media content and spent more time on the Internet than I have in a long time. I’m the kind of person who wants to be in the know at all times, but that comes at the cost of absorbing too much information. I spend too much time consuming that I forget to check-in, ask where I stand, and figure out how I want to move forward.

Sometimes you need to pause and find your voice so that you can take action from a place of alignment, while not using perfectionism and ‘perfect clarity’ as an excuse for avoiding action.

Finding and using your voice

---

Learn to listen to and trust your inner voice. Once you trust that, you will begin to live with more intention and clarity. Here are some ways to find and use your own voice:

Create stillness.

One of the best ways to connect with your inner voice is through quiet stillness. When was the last time you gave yourself full, uninterrupted attention?

For a long time, I stopped meditating. It wasn’t a conscious decision. It was that I stopped appreciating how it benefits me when I practice it.

For the past month, I’ve started looking at meditating as a way to connect with myself daily. I don’t go into it thinking, ‘I need to completely clear my mind for the next five minutes.’ Instead, I think, ‘This is a way to be with myself in this moment.’

I’ve also been journaling more than ever to get clarity when my thoughts are distracting me from what matters most.

Find time for regular check-ins with yourself. Come back to your beliefs and envision new ways to assert them.

Related Post: How to connect with yourself more deeply

---

Visualize what you want.

I’m a sucker for personality tests, and I’ve recently learned that my Human Design type is a Manifesting Generator. I can’t tell you exactly what that means because I haven’t looked into it too much, but I did find out that I need to visualize and ask for exactly what I want. Vague descriptions won’t work. I have to be specific and direct when asking for what I want out of life.

I encourage you to imagine the kind of world you want to live in. Think about what role you want to play in bringing that vision to fruition. Lean into what the world needs from you. This will give you clarity when it comes to using your voice and standing up for what you believe in.

“By actively asserting the role you wish to play in molding the world to come, the tests you will face in 2020 will help you cultivate new levels of inner strength as well as new skills to share with others.”

– Gray Crawford

---

Practice using your voice.

It’s easy to retreat into silence when you feel uncertain.To feel afraid of saying the wrong thing. To feel like your voice doesn’t matter.

That’s nothing but perfectionism getting in the way. You don’t have to retreat from speaking up because you don’t think you have the right words to say it.

Whatever it is you’re passionate about, speak up. Pay attention to how you feel and use that to guide you. 

Speak your dreams into existence with your words and your actions. In writing and conversations. By voting, signing petitions, and donating. With your decisions to follow and associate with certain people.

Don’t shy away from difficult and uncomfortable conversations with family members, coworkers, employers, etc. You may be faced with criticism, rebuttal, or deafening silence. But your voice might be the one that explains something in such a way that it changes another’s opinion for the better, even if it’s just one person.

“People are often so scared of saying the wrong thing that they miss the opportunity to do the right thing.”

– Elaine Welteroth, More Than Enough

---

How can you use your voice more?

If you like to journal, here are some prompts to help you dig into this topic more:

• When have you ignored your own inner voice? When have you listened to it? What has this taught you?
• When have you listened to someone else instead of yourself? How did that affect your future actions?
• How can you use your voice to speak up in the future? What do you need to feel more confident voicing your thoughts?

Here are some ways you can use your voice and actions to make a difference in the world right now: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

---

The post The Art of Finding and Using Your Voice appeared first on The Blissful Mind.