A New Life article about personal transformation by Gary Bate

We are all here, individually and collectively, to evolve ourselves and thus humanity as a whole, beyond our existing known boundaries. This means that individually we are to change from our existing state of being to become a higher, more evolved state of being.

Our existing personalities are a combination of our inherited genes and the social conditioning of the society in which we live. Different cultures impose different conditioning upon the minds of their citizens by virtue of their way of life. It all amounts to a limitation of mind.

To change from the personality we've ‘picked up’ into a new personality of our own design, is the evolutionary task we all face. This is a task that flies in the face of family, tradition, culture, religion, colour, status, wealth, fashion, gender, fame etc.; indeed: it flies in the face of all the accepted values in our societies.

Never before have we been given so much knowledge to challenge our inherited belief systems and to intimidate the self-imposed limitations of our minds. How we develop into the future can only be limited by our own level of acceptance and our own willingness to let go of the past. And our unwillingness to let go of the past is evidence of our own lack of understanding or outright stubbornness towards change.

What we need to develop is our own ideal, not one that we have been conditioned to accept but one that is our own creation. How do we want to be? Notice I didn't say what role or status do we want to play or achieve within an existing framework. We are not here to simply fit in with modern-day society, although our politicians would want us to think that way!

Evolution is not about being accepted by an existing image but is about changing and moving beyond the boundaries of that accepted image; the exact image that is pressed to us everyday by mind-control techniques, which company advertising and marketing is so good at.

So we must become like the caterpillar that transforms itself into the beautiful butterfly. The caterpillar represents the old personality and the butterfly represents a new life that has yet to unfold. In evolutionary terms, we are all the same as the caterpillar that has yet to embark upon its remarkable transformation.

We can never evolve beyond our own level of acceptance. Very few people will be able to accept that they can be a master until they witness, first hand, somebody else being in that state of purity. Even then their own acceptance will rely on their acceptance of equality with the Christ-like personality. One's understanding and acceptance of the story of involution (described in detail in ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Reality’) is essential to this acceptance of equality.

Your ideal is not supposed to fit any existing image because that is just image worship. What is important is that your ideal is greater than your past and that you genuinely strive to become it. It is far greater to have an ideal that you struggle to become than have no ideal at all or one that represents no more than social acceptance.

Once the template has been designed in your mind then the individual components can be formulated and worked upon. These are the elements of the Great Work that spiritual masters have spoken about.

A diligent effort is required to replace the demons from your past thinking. Only when the new knowledge is added to the quagmire of your mind, will the alchemical process start to take place. The metamorphosis of the caterpillar is likened to the human alchemical process of turning the lead of the past into the gold of spiritual truth.

Whether it is the raising of the Phoenix from the ashes, the emergence of the butterfly from the caterpillar or the flight of a dove, it's all symbolic of one thing - the flight of FREEDOM.

Becoming a master is the ultimate ideal from the point of view of humanity. It is the crowning glory. Any climb down from that point is a compromise to any evolved mind. At the same time, we must realise that our own evolution progresses at the rate of our own acceptance of new knowledge and its integration into our lives, which can only come from our own desires and willingness to open ourselves up 'to know'.

A friend once said to me, ‘you can do anything’. This I found to be inspiring but is it a question of what we can do or what we can be? For instance, can we train our minds to be everything and nothing at the same time, just like God is? Or is our viewpoint always going to be limited by our own design? We are the creators of our future destiny - be in no doubt about that!

Designing a new life for yourself that bears no resemblance to your past and then choosing to live as the butterfly instead of continuing to be a caterpillar, is a hard task indeed. Why is this? It is because change is uncomfortable, not only for yourself but also for those who observe it in you. You are moving forward in your life and they are standing still. They can no longer relate to you because you are at a loftier vantage point and you have to continue to play the game with them, if you still want them in your life. Can you really afford to compromise or do you fly away and leave them standing in their own confusion, hoping that one day they will follow your lead?

The more spiritually advanced we become the more difficult we find it is to fit in with the accepted values of society. We eventually reach a point when we cease trying to ‘fit in’ and realise it is only our truth that matters to us.

In the absence of your own ideal, there is one ideal that you can focus upon, which is not currently in abundance in human consciousness. It is unconditional Love. Moving your mind to the blue window can be the structure (the skeleton if you like) of the butterfly you are trying to unfold from within. In love there is no lack; there is not the loss of energy that occurs when the energy is split into polarities.

In practice, being more loving is a matter of changing one's attitude. For instance, can you replace a lustful attitude with a loving one? You can if it is your will to do so. Can you move beyond your pain and suffering? You can if it is your will to do so. Can you let go of your need to be controlled or to be in control? You can always let go if you love unconditionally. Whatever you are perplexed by in your life, you will always find the answer in love. Are you looking out of the blue window or is your view blinded by the light (the yellow window)?*

Life then is not about you acquiring more and more money or your sex life or being a somebody or keeping up with the Jones's or living to be acceptable to others and to your society. No, it is really about fulfilling the journey of your soul in its quest for self-mastery.

*The colored window analogy is detailed in my book We are here to know ourselves.

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