I always thought my parents were pretty awesome, and especially so as they got older.
They are (or were, in the case of my Dad who passed away a few years ago) surprisingly open.
They moved to Oakland, CA after 40+ years of living in Montreal, Canada—a big move even if you’re in your twenties. My folks were in their sixties and seventies at the time.
AND they moved into a loft in an area called Jack London Square which was just starting to become popular with young hipsters, but was, um, to put it politely, in the very early stages of gentrifying. Definitely not your average seniors.
What has surprised me most was that they were always curious about whatever crazy spirit modality Chris and I were exploring. Not only were they curious, they actually DID most of it, including frequency work before my own abilities came in.
How about that week-long breatharian thing we tried? Check.
Quasi-mystical chiropractic nervous system work? Yep, they went along with us on that, too.
Uncomfortable regimen of cold showers and ice-baths? Like champs.
And eventually, the frequency work. Lots of it.
None of this was mainstream, at least not at the time. And certainly very few of their peers were out there trying this stuff.
We’re talking about older Asian folks, neither of whom was born in North America, both with plenty of cultural and lineage baggage.
They never explored spiritual-esque things when they were younger, not until after Chris and I started leading the way.
So, truth be told, I never expected them to want to join Chris and me in whatever awesome-weird thing we were trying next.
And yet, time and time again I was surprised at how open they were. Every time. Pleasantly so, but surprised nonetheless.
Why was I still finding myself surprised after repeated opportunities for me to have let go of my outdated beliefs about them?
It’s strange how we have expectations of how the people the closest to us are, isn’t it? And how enduring those expectations can be even if there’s a good amount of evidence suggesting otherwise!
In this week’s video and podcast episode (#60), Dennis and I discuss expectations and how they are a hidden stumbling block for many of us, how they can cause resistance and slow us down—and how we can use them to strengthen.
This topic is extremely relevant during this pandemic.
We have expected most things to be a certain way—our government, our employers, our banks, our ability to make a living, our school systems, our access to goods and services, our ability to move freely.
How rigid your expectations are of the way things were and will be, and how you react to the changes we’re experiencing, very much influence your ability to surf the unknown of the next few months and beyond, and whether you perceive opportunity or challenge (or perhaps more likely, what ratio of the two).
The free Group Frequency Calibration® (GFC) at the end is the most important part – it will help you begin to remove the distortion patterns that cause expectations to hijack our experience and to narrow the possibilities that are available to us.
Without clearing these distortion patterns, we often find ourselves feeling disappointed, frustrated and unfulfilled by what actually happens. Or worse, on top of that, not being able to adapt quickly to a changing situation.
Let’s get rid of that junk, and experience life for the amazingness it can be, even in these extraordinary times.
Until next time,
Karen
SUMMARY:
• Expectations are what the mind thinks it wants from an event or interaction, which can narrow your perception, limit the possibilities and remove the magic from your experience by taking you out of the present moment and into a mind-based reality that may be at odds with your current present reality.
• The most powerful place to be excited is in the moment—while a thing is happening—as opposed to projecting your excitement into the future. Embracing curiosity and wonder about what might unfold, and saving excitement for when the event has arrived—this can save you from struggling with unmet expectations.
• A natural consequence of frequency work is that you’ll feel less and less like you need to have a certain outcome. Removing distortion patterns allows you to embrace the beginner’s mind—full of wonder, curiosity, and openness—and become neutral on what can happen.
• We often have specific expectations of people—ourselves and others—which are informed by distortion patterns from lineage, religion, and culture. So long as these distortion patterns are still governing our reality, thoughts and behavior, we (often unwittingly) strive to meet the external expectations of what we should do as defined by our familial or societal roles. When those expectations of what should be or should happen go unmet (whether by ourselves or others), feelings of anger, resentment, and self-loathing (where our own behavior is concerned) can arise.
• We tend to have the most expectation around the people closest to us—we have a fixed idea of how they should be. As you do more frequency work, you’ll start to drop expectations around yourself and others. You can just be with others as opposed to maintaining a rigid mental construct of how they should be or behave.