TWO PATHS

Posted on Jan. 23,2011 @ focusontheheart.org

When you come to the split in the road, which way will YOU choose?

"For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." ~Hebrews4:12

Every interaction with people in our lives is governed by two intentions. All of our behavior and all feelings come from these two intentions. We choose our intent freely, but the choice is so often made so automatically we don't even know we've made one. We can choose protection one moment and learning the next, but the are mutually exclusive. We cannot be protected (closed,hard,defensive) and open to learning (open,soft,curious) at the same time. Whichever intent is stronger at the moment will prevail.

If you can picture a curious squirrel that wants the tempting acorn outside very much, but until he is willing to leave the protection of his hole, he will not get the acorn. When he feels safe he will venture out cautiously exploring the environment outside. The only thing is that he can't do both at the same time; being in the hole (protected) and outside exploring (learning).
The same thing is true for us all. That''s why when we make a conscious decision to change, the decision itself will not bring about the change. We can want something really bad; maybe to stop smoking,be thin;be less critical of others;express more feeling; but we will be unsuccessful when our primary intent is protective. We are also usually unaware of our true intent since it is subconscious. We probably will also be unaware of the strength of our unacknowledged intent. All we will know is that there are hidden obstacles preventing things from getting better.
It's like a shape you stumble over as you are walking through your own living room in the dark. It's your living room and you know it well. Walking through it should be easy. But when it's pitch dark all you know is that there's something hindering you and you won't find out what it is or be able to avoid it in the future until you are willing to turn on the light and look.

The first step to a meaningful change is to become aware of our intent and then to connect it to the behavior and the inescapable consequences that follow.