What is change? What is happening when something transforms?
- rebirth/renewal experiences
As we go through life there are times of transition. Spring always comes again, the full moon always comes around, and the sun always rises. In the meantime, life has phases of growth and little recessions too.
What are some of the ways you have awakened to new knowledge or perspective? What are some of the ways you have struggled through painful times, only to emerge stronger?
- initiation experiences
Sometimes we ceremonially experience rites of passage, and other times they just occur and we endure and keep going. There are Graduations, having wisdom teeth pulled, a first kiss, first pay cheque, puberty, and moving out of your parent or guardian's home to live independently, just to name a few that folks tend to have in common. When these things change, there is often no going back. Our world expands, we become someone new for the ordeal and we usually gain something in return. Sometimes we gain knowledge or courage or freedom. Other times it is responsibility, or challenge, or relationship that we take on.
Think about when you've been initiated into a new era of your lifetime. How did you celebrate or mark the occasion? Was your excitement, fear or confusion shared by others? Was it a big event, or did it come and go like a wave on the beach?
- portal hopping and manifesting change
How can we move through life in a way that honours our freedom of choice and celebrates our agency and ability to co-create this world together? What are some examples in your life where you have made a difference?
What is spiritually significant about change?
- time and movement - 4th dimension:
Are we moving through a series of possible worlds in the direction of time? And If so, can we reach distant possibilities by driving our intentions or prayers through this channel of time?
- probabilities and possible worlds
Is it maybe the case that new possibilities unfold as we begin to imagine something different from what is now our reality? What is happening when we create something that has never existed before - is that a bridge into the future?
- the past becomes fixed truth
We can change how we respond to the past, and we can change the way we remember the past, but we can't change the past itself. Things may be extremely likely in the future, and they may be real experiences in the moment, but not until things are in the past, are they immovable truths. How can we use this knowledge to accept the Now, or to craft the present moment into something worth keeping?
- letting go of attachments
Everything changes. Nothing is immune from the effect of time and cycles of growth and decay. There are higher powers of Creation, Maintainence and Destruction at work, in many traditions. I like to add Transformation to that set, because the power of change allows us to move forward through the cycle into a new one. When we let go, we allow for what is new to come in. When we let go, we allow ourselves to be gifted with something that wasn't there for us before. How do you let go of attachments, do you shut yourself off and keep going, allowing yourself to forget what has been? Or do you acknowledge the blessings with gratitude before returning them to the world? Or some other way of moving forward?
- the Book of Changes, I Ching
My experience of this poetic description of various trigrams is that it's a system of wisdom that can be used for divination purposes, because of the power that is held in describing transformation. The trigrams can be combined into hexagrams by putting two together, and those hexagrams tell a story of what is going on in the situation, or what is to come. Much of the imagery is of nature, using the five traditional elements in combinations and honouring the world we live in for the lessons it holds. Change can be as simple as looking through a new lens at a situation that does not seem to have changed. How do you look at the stages of change in your life when things feel slow or unmoving? How do your mountains of experience slope into valleys after intense moments?
How does change affect us spiritually?
- personal and group/relationship growth
Do we change as the people around us change? Do we pick up new friends and allies along the way as we shed others who no longer "vibe" with us? How else can we describe the ways our relationships evolve?
- resilience through change
The more things change, the more able we are to cope with change. How have the challenges and successes in your past enabled you to be stronger at present?
- learning experiences, neuroplasticity or brain development
When something new happens, we internalize that. It can be intense, it can be eye opening, or it might just be different than what we expected. These changes can actually shape our minds. How do you frame new things, mentally? I mean, when something new comes along, do you have an approach to that? Do you brace yourself for incoming danger? Do you absorb new knowledge like a sponge and practice your learning? Or in what other ways do you embrace or reject change?
What are some examples of transformative experiences that have been profound and influential to you?
What do we learn from change? And what are some of the spiritual resources for maximizing growth during times of change?
What do you fear about change? And what are some strategies in your spiritual toolkit for coping with changes you do not like?