Friday, November 30, 2007

GWCC-free update (Rick waxes philosophic)

As I have moved through the first month of GWCC-free life, or the intent of moving to a GWCC-free life, I have learned lots. Some of the things I have learned were expected, and some whacked me upside the head when I least was ready.

Today is Day 33 since beginning this practice. [aside--simply click the badge on the right with the big red "1" in the middle if what I am talking about is foreign to you] In those weeks, I have come to refer to GWCC-free no longer as "breaking old patterns" because the old patterns are long gone. Now, GWCC-free is simply reinforcing the new patterns now in place.

It is now a proven aspect of brain function that thought patterns are reflected in the way our brains are wired. As we develop and repeat a new pattern, the path through our brain which is traversed as we perform that pattern of thinking becomes easier and easier to travel. Think of it as breaking trail, or clearing brush from an old trail. Likewise, as we abandon old patterns of thought, over time, those patterns become more difficult to repeat. The electrical path through our billions of neurons which represented that pattern, weakens. It is a trail which disappears into the forest as it is reclaimed and overgrown.

Part of my motivation to write today is to declare myself not only seeking to be GWCC-free, but as of today, freed from the counting of days, as well. I will no longer discuss how many days I have been GWCC-free (for the record, today is Day One, just as it was 33 days ago), nor will I track them. It has gotten to the point that the counting was no longer adding to the experience. I'm engulfed in it, so a reminder to become engulfed in it is now superfluous.

Happily, I have reached a stage in my life where I no longer fear the consequences of discarding what I find superfluous. Well...I fear them less often and to a lesser extent...let's go with that.

Make no mistake: I am not abandoning my GWCC-free cohorts or the practice. On the contrary! I will still visit with the friends who are on their own GWCC-free adventures, I will root them on, and I will be doing all I can to grow into the practice and reinforce even more the new pathways through my brain which are indicative of my GWCC-free ways.

An update on where I find myself today: while I never made it all the way through Day Six while counting consecutive GWCC-free days, I learned that, the better care and attention paid to my own accumulation of junk (as I referred to it in an earlier post, what my ego had stuffed in its back pocket to reveal with a flourish later), the easier it was to avoid those unfortunate, out-of-proportion explosions ("What do you mean, you are out of fennel?? Don't you realize how critical it is that I bring home fennel today??!??").

Several of us exchanged comments on an earlier post around what can be done to address this issue. Olivia, with her beautiful new art journal, proved that she could transmute that energy into art. I mentioned my wife's system, which includes the practically famous (in our home, anyway) "number 3" which provides for transmuting via emotional release. Kelly and Sylvain are able to talk their way through the gunk by shining the light of love on it. I enjoy reading their pair of blogs a great deal, as they show the two viewpoints of one love.

My own techniques are several, but the one I rely on the most is my time to myself. It may be meditative time, or conscious, work-through-the-experiences time, or time to "waste" by wandering the web as my subconscious self reorganizes the furniture. I know that I will be guided in the moment, and that the time will be spent in service to the clearing of my own conduit, and returning to my real job while I am here on the planet: being the radiator of Love.

Love, in the sense of its universal meaning, not the boyfriend/girlfriend kind, is the context within which everything is created. Life exists because of Love. Love is energy, and it must flow to do its job. We're conduits, and we're designed to take Love in and send it out via infinite paths we can never know in detail.

In a way, we are each no different than the brain neurons I wrote about earlier: we are connected to many other people, and by the flow of Love, we determine our own reflection of the truth of the universe, of its "thoughts." Most importantly, we as individuals are not of much use. It is our myriad paths of energy flow, of Love, with billions of others on the planet which are precious, which make us each important.

Yes, I have come to think of the living things on this planet as Earth's brain. The beauty of GWCC-free is that it not only helps us as individuals, it also helps us clear the pathways between ourselves and others, which allows those paths to carry the information and energy of Love without resistance.

Back here on the ground, it is time to get ready for work! Have yourself a merry little GWCC-free Friday, and I'll be back Sunday with my next post.

5 comments:

Kate I said...

Triple arm pump to you Rick! I'm in a similar space...not feeling the need to update and although I'm certainly still on Day 1, it's just so automatic now to be aware of the 'slips' and then move on.
What a great month this has been for rewiring!

Olivia said...

How wonderful that you are now reinforcing the new patterns, Rick! Isn't that a miracle, how such profound changes can happen in such a short time?

Congratulations on building new neural pathways. I understand why you don't find it helpful to count now, and I may reach that point too. Right now I'm too much a newbie to consider it, but I do understand what you're saying.

And...what a great summation of some of the different ways that people are working through this process. This is really a group learning process, isn't it?

Thank you for this great update, Rick,

Have a GWCC-free weekend,

O

Rick Hamrick said...

Thanks, ladies!

Kate, you are so right that Day One now is a completely different place than it was 5 weeks ago. That's one problem with a simple measuring method such as we are using: the subtleties are lost. It's why I'll keep talking about GWCC-free and how it is working in my life. I find our exchanges much more helpful than the simple counting of days without a whine or gripe.

Olivia, whether you keep counting or not, I know you have this practice right in the middle of your life, and that's the part I love to talk about.

One really fun outcome for me is seeing a person who works for me have a visibly improved attitude lately. We have not spoken about my own commitment--no one at my office knows about it unless they read my blog, and I don't advertise that I write one--yet this person, often the most curmudgeonly on our team, is now smiling more, less tense, and I think having more fun at work.

And, even though I have no scientific evidence to back me up, I'm taking some of the credit.

Thanks again for offering me your feedback!

storyteller said...

I've followed your conversations on this topic with interest and believe the exercise is well worth the time and energy you've devoted here. I'm relieved you've decided to stop counting and acknowledge that your current Day 1 is significantly different that the original Day 1. I've put the actual challenge "on hold" as far as blogging about it myself, but I do monitor & make mental note of any tendencies to engage in any of the GWCC practices (and occasionally even jot these down in my personal journal for future reference). Building new habits requires us to first become aware of and release those that no longer serve. Seems like you (and all the other folks engaged in this challenge & blogging about it) have shifted habits. Congratulations on your progress and thanks for sharing along the way. I know I’ve benefited from observing (mostly from the sidelines) and suspect others have also.
Hugs and blessings,

sharryb said...

Hi Rick,
I first heard of this challenge on your blog. I admit I haven't taken up the practice myself, but I stopped by to see how it was going for you. I tried going CWCC free for a day and what I noticed was It's darn hard! Hard but profound also. It really made a difference not to release energy through complaining. Even that one day was helpful. Nice to hear how it's going for you and see your lovely daughter Claire.
Blessings,
Sharry