Shift Happens!

The Week ending June 28, 2008 — Discussion for Code News Subscribers

Featured Article: “SHIFT HAPPENS”

What are you going through these days? What stories does mind come up with that you’ve noticed on the “thought-train”?

excerpt from the Code News June 2008
To subscribe: http://www.mayan-calendar-code.com/newsletter

SHIFT HAPPENS!

by: Andi Mac

This last Tuesday I was sitting here in front of the computer, talking on the phone with my beautiful Mom just before finishing up the script for this week’s TRACK DOWN video.

It was early in the a.m.

The front window was open to let in the warm ocean breeze and morning sunshine.

Peaches (the poodle who owns us) was perched in her usual spot on the desk… on her pillow… in front of the window taking care of “her” neighborhood. Everyone who passes by has to have her permission — according to her.

A 4.5 lb. poodle may be small but she certainly doesn’t know it. None the less, her bark sounds more like a musical note and the neighbors seem to enjoy her giving them “right to passage”.

While talking to Mom, I noticed the gardener arrived with his mower and edge-trimmer… more commonly called a weed-whacker.

I’ve wondered more than once if the gardener here has a special weed-whacker with 4-on-the-floor and a turbo-charged engine. Why? Because it’s loud. It must be power-packed to match the decibels it puts out.

So, I was about to tell Mom I’d call her back after the super-whacking-weeding device was completed when…

Something struck the window with a high-pitched ring. Peaches practically came out of her poodle-suit and bolted for the edge of the desk.

With the phone in one hand I reached out with other hand and caught the poodle mid-air just as she was going to leap off the desk.

In the same instant BOOM!

It was hard to tell what really had happened at first.

The front window jumped up slightly. The sound was unfamiliar - not like an earthquake which I’ve heard and felt up close and personally. The sound was loud and definitely not the weed-whacker… interesting isn’t it how all of that is surmised in less than a second or two.

What had happened was…

…the front window had exploded into 1,000 pieces.

Jag cleaning the broken glass from around the window frame.

One moment the open window frame had glass in it and then… well, it didn’t.

It took a couple hours to calm everyone down. From the very apologetic gardener to the worried park managers to the concerned neighbors.

Neighbors who heard or saw the blast worried Peaches may have been hurt and came by to inquire. By the way, she was unscathed if you don’t count the rattled poodle-fur! No one was hurt actually…

AND… within a couple of hours, after vacuuming, sweeping and sucking tiny bits of glass that had managed to make it through the screen and onto the desk, the computers and the floor, Peaches was back in the window “on duty”.

While it may seem there’s a million different ways to directly answer Life’s invitation to be in this moment right now - in reality - there’s only two: (1) Observe/question and respond or (2) Re-act/emote, stress out and disintegrate.

You’re either questioning or you’re believing in every moment. Nothing else is possible.

Everything Is A Story

Mind weaves the story and you believe it and do what it tells you. If you’re stressing out you’re believing what mind tells you.

In the few seconds during the “event” on Tuesday and within only minutes after it, mind machine-gunned off a laundry list of possibilities and did it all in less than a few seconds.

Let me slow this process down and show you what mind did as it appeared:

• There’s an earthquake! Mmmm no…
• The window shattered. Yes that’s it…
• How did that happen? The weed-whacker? The gardener? A rock? Yes. I heard a rock hit…
• Is Peaches ok?
• Was anyone hurt?
• Are we ok?
• Is it over?
• How will this get fixed?
• What will it cost?
• How will we find a window replacement for a vintage 1969 coach?
• Who do I need to call?
• What will it cost? (notice this comes up more than once)
• Who will pay?
• What if they don’t pay?
• How long with this take?

I know… it’s a long list and that’s not even the half of it. All we did here was slow it down enough to see a short laundry-list of what mind can do in it’s story-spinning process.

Everything is a story!

The work that builds a conscious awareness function in a human being is questioning the story.

Now the good news is that questioning your stories is really easy and the bad news is that questioning your stories is really hard.

Yes, that sounds a little nuts at first. So let’s break this down.

Just so you know going in, the whole good news/bad news thing is a story too. It’s simply a way to make a point. So let’s unravel this even more…

FIRST, it’s hard to question a story until you do it. The story will stand in the way.

The story - whatever it is - will stop you dead in your tracks because mind has all it’s proof for why the story is real. This is called thinking.

This last Tuesday mind says, “The glass is broken. That’s going to be hard to replace and expensive! Who’s going to pay for it? What if they don’t pay? How long will there be a gaping hole in the front of the Airstream? What if it rains?” …and on and on.

All of that is *thought* and it flows through. If one were to believe the river of thought flowing through it will lead to stress, unhappiness, struggle and pain. Getting anything done gets harder. Taking action is harder. Expectations are created.

So What’s Really Going On?

Is the glass broken? Sure it is.

Is a 1969 vintage Airstream window in good original condition hard to find? Sure it is.

Is a 1969 vintage Airstream window expensive? Yep.

If it rains will the inside of the Airstream get wet? Quite possibly.

Is any of the above REALITY?

No.

None of that is reality. It’s a story about reality.

The work that leads to freedom and a sane mind is the easiest thing in the world when you do it. End of story… literally.

The TRACK DOWN 2012 Series is an excellent example of how powerful stories can become. The inner world - the human Awareness Function - will hold to it’s ideas (stories) until you choose to be free of survival-mode mind.

The *story* IS survival as far as mind is concerned. It (mind) would rather die than give up one nanometer of a story. In fact, mind will eventually and very innocently kill you in the process of maintaining it’s stories… if you let it. Is it valuable to choose to evolve by questioning what mind believes? You tell me…

The *story believed* IS the disintegrating factor in man.

By the way… questioning the story sets you free effortlessly.

Something does have to die for you and I to be free. If you do this right… what dies is the story and you get to live - free - and all of it done effortlessly. We’re perfectly designed for this job of evolving/questioning/awakening. Is it worth it? You bet it is.

What makes this even better is that freedom isn’t something you *do*. It’s simply the result of questioning one story at a time. And guess what!

When You Question The Story SHIFT HAPPENS!

Earlier I mentioned several stories clothed as thoughts that came rolling in on the *thought train*. Mind was met as a friend - not an enemy. One by one both Jag and I question the stories and one-by-one they melted gently away. Sanity prevailed and we watched as… SHIFT HAPPENED.

Jag got on the phone to find a replacement window without any expectations. A perfect fit was found within an hour.

A new story cropped up just as quickly from the park managers who… had a tiny nervous breakdown when they heard the cost. They got stressed out and defenses went up. Rather than meeting defense with defense we chose not to go to war.

They wanted to call a home and auto glass shop for an estimate. We agreed.

The estimator arrived the next day, took one look at the window and realized it was a custom job that would cost more than usual. There were technical issues that made it a difficult job - if even possible - and this was all explained to the managers. All the bases were covered.

The replacement window we found turned out to be the best choice. It’s on the way here as I write this to you. The relationship with the park managers is stronger now than before - the gardener who always kept to himself, barely ever speaking, is now conversational and a new friend and…

I notice the weather here has been quite beautiful and the Airstream has a nice open and airy feel!

Did any of this happen because I chose to question the story? Can’t say that’s true… what I can say is that questioning the story opens the door for SHIFT to HAPPEN!

In service,

Andi Mac

P.S. This whole affair did slow the release of this week’s TRACK DOWN Series follow-up video. Pardon the delay. You’ll receive a note as soon as it’s ready to view.

Use the “comments” section below. There are no limits to post length for this thread so jump in, the water’s fine!

Warmest regards,
Andi

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