Breaking Free of Routine and Rituals: Flexing the Unpredictable

(In the spirit of unpredictability, this segment is innately erratic)

While routines and rituals can serve a functional purpose, in the long run, redundancy can be highly oppressive to our creative spirits. It can act as a cage of limitation to our minds. We can easily find an efficacy in routine or ritual, which can be attractive, but can turn into a past-time that no longer serves us, or may even limit our evolution. When we habituate into a routine or ritual, we align with one frequency, closing the door to others on a regular basis.

One major synchronicity in shamanic practices around the world is going out of one’s way to behave and think in a unique way, unpredictable to yourself even at times. From a neurological viewpoint this would create a pattern of regularly opening up new neural pathways, creating new neural synapse connectivity, and instilling neuroplasticity. Focusing and practicing this kind of behavioral and thought process undoubtedly would highly benefit functionality and confidence in improvisational skills of all kinds.

Unpredicted tangent, but relative; wild hares evolved a method of evasive maneuvers from predators in a fashion that not only is unplanned, but is unknown. They instinctively evade in a method that not even they can predict, creating the perfect unpatterned scenario, so that there is no way for a predator to learn their ‘moves’ and get an idea of what they may do to avoid being their next meal. By being used to this, the hare is actually not in panic, though they may seemingly act panicked. Their security lies in their own unpredictability, knowing the predator can’t know what their next move is because they don’t even know! Without worry, with their somatic wisdom that they are currently not in the mouth of a predator, they rely on this sporadic method of bouncing here, there, anywhere, until they outrun or wear out the predator’s energy or patience, and escape. After that they just calmly keep on their way, not traumatized by the encounter, not worrying about where the next predator may be. They’re innately residing in the now, fully present; which is what we as human beings, strive for.

In our everyday lives, flexing unpredictability may look like choosing new words to communicate, taking an alternate route to a destination, or going somewhere you’ve never been before just by intuition, in an unplanned manner. Strike up a conversation with someone who you find intimidating, learn a skill or hobby that would shock your friends and family, find something that scares you and tackle it head on, in the spirit of Love. Scared of voodoo? Go learn about it with Love in your heart! There is nothing you need to be scared of because YOU ARE LOVE. Do you only learn about things you believe or do you also learn about things that you don’t believe? If you never learn about things you don’t believe, how do you truly know that you don’t believe them?

This concept is infinitely applicable! Feel into something to do that your body wants to do. Listen to your body, don’t overthink it. Less thinking, more doing. Once we start thinking about it, our biases and fears can energetically take away the power of what we are craving somatically. As long as you are living in the spirit of the Love that you are, you are free.

These sporadic behaviors can be therapeutic in a way that is not just beneficial for our conscious mind, but our unconscious mind. This is an amazing way to practice breaking free of the limitations that have been put on you by yourself and others. Did I mention this is actually extremely fun too? Just by implementing this mindset, you become not only more interesting and mysterious to others, but it creates an adventure in your mind every day. All of a sudden excitement is active in even the smallest of things. Imagine if you surprised yourself on a regular basis, how much more of a rush every day would be.

We aren’t our ‘selves’, we are the observer of our ‘selves’. The ‘self’ cannot exist as it is an ever-changing emanation. Energetically there isn’t a single commonality of our ‘selves’ over the course of our lifetimes. As the observer, we can tune into the somatic wisdom of the body, let go and let flow. This way we can enjoy the journey in a state of detachment and wonder. You are a uniquely unpredictable, and mystical character in this movie that is your life! Just embrace and enjoy the excitement of the mystery of the unknown!