The Hazards of Conscious Evolution (and Therapy!), Part II

As I mentioned in the last blog entry, people who consciously choose to evolve often go through a process of transforming that shifts more than they are bargaining for. I’ve noticed this pattern over and over again in others and continue to experience it myself. I share these “hazards” of evolution with clients and workshop participants to help calm their discomfort and normalize their experience.

The world is changing. No doubt. We have choices whether to change with it or resist this change. Risk exists in both options. The reality is, if we choose not to change we’ll be left behind;  if we make the conscious decision to grow, we’ll likely leave others in the dust. So, although our evolution is our human right and duty, it doesn’t come without discomfort or loss.

As you might remember, I mentioned the first hazard of conscious evolution in the last blog entry: The more you learn and evolve, the more you want to learn and evolve. This can create a vicious cycle in which you become so engaged in learning and evolving that it almost becomes an obsession. Consciousness takes a great deal of effort and energy. Unlike mindfulness, or the “moment-to-moment awareness of the good, the bad, and the ugly” as the well-known author, Jon Kabot-Zinn,  states, consciousness implies that not only is a person more aware, this awareness creates an urge to change something. The word is more action oriented, and, in my mind, IS the life force that initiates our human evolution.

So, why would conscious evolution be hazardous to our health? It’s not. Remaining lumps of unconscious flesh is, though. One way or another, someone will be left behind. Your choice is whether it will be you.

I share several of the other hazards of conscious evolution on the following video (the remaining to follow in future videos). Take a look:

I offer these now because we are at a critical juncture in our global evolution in which great divides are occurring in our population. These divides are clear depictions of those who are choosing to learn and grow and those who are not.