“Comparison is the thief of joy.”    Theodore Roosevelt

Although many of us think of joy as an emotion it is not.  It is actually a state of being and it is also who our True Self is.  A lack of present joy, by the Law of Paradoxical Intent, actually pushes our Good (whatever we are working on manifesting) further into the future – just as trying to grab a beach ball on water at the beach results in it moving further and further away from reach.  When we compare ourselves with others, we are playing into our own egos and robbing ourselves of joy.  Comparing ourselves with others always plays to our ego  –  because it encourages us to see ourselves as “less than” or “better than” the other.  Either way we suffer ( an unattractive energy) and, also, as lightworkers know we are all ONE.  The success or suffering of anyone is also our success and our suffering.  In spiritual Truth we are ONE and in spiritual Truth we are perfect.

TIP 17:   BE THE BEST

Don’t give power away to competing or comparing yourself to others.  Always do your best, give your best and present your best in order to experience the best in your life.

TIP 18:   SEEK WHOLENESS NOT PERFECTION

Let good enough be good enough for you. Striving for perfection only leads to disappointment.

Giving your best in everything that you do is good for the Law of Attraction because when we give our best we expect the best in return and as you know, we always receive what we expect.  That is why we say that if we wish to be our own best psychic we look at our expectations!  Striving for perfection sends out an unattractive energy.  I looked up the dictionary definition of striving and it says, “to exert oneself vigorously.”  To me, that is synonymous with struggle and assumes that whatever we are manifesting is going to be difficult and really hard work to accomplish if even possible at all.  That is one of the reasons that I do not strive for perfection (bucking the entire North American ethos) but rather continue to ask for the best from myself in everything that I do while simultaneously becoming more ‘whole.’  Well, that and because my Jungian therapist asked me to stop “striving for perfection” in 1986!  So, I did.  I realized in the 80s while going through Jungian analysis that I was always striving for perfection because I had been raised surrounded by adults who never found me ‘good enough’ at anything no matter how hard I tried to please.  Therefore, my Jungian analyst recommended that I substitute a “quest for wholeness” rather than continue to strive for perfection.  What a relief!  That alone was more than worth his fee!  Working toward wholeness is also the goal of classical Hatha Yoga (notice I say classical because hybrid forms are something else) as well as Jungian therapy.  Both of these helped me in the 80s to let go of the North American and now quickly disappearing paradigm of comparison and competition and follow the ancient teachings of my path as a teacher and practitioner of classical Hatha Yoga.

I think that many of us, if we are striving for perfection, can become paralyzed and then we do not take the risks that we are guided to take to manifest our dreams.  To be successful at manifesting we are required to take both physical and emotional risks. I am not talking about life-threatening risks here.  I am talking about the woman/man who opens her/his heart to love again after extreme disappointment.  Or, the writer who continuously risks rejection and the loss of time and money and energy to be published, or the business person who risks money in order to open a store that serves the public, or the artist who goes ahead with a showing risking humiliation and the public disapproval of their work and vision.  As one of my teachers, Doreen Virtue, says, “playing it safe in life gets you nowhere.”  So many lightworkers today are social activists, speaking out (have you cleansed your throat chakra lately?  Archangel Gabriel will help you if you ask) about social issues, climate change, animal and children’s rights, the environment and such.  They daily risk being labeled as negative, paranoid or a conspiracy theorist.

In truth we are the blocks to manifesting our dreams, because almost all of the blocks we face come from our own fears and we place these projections into the future when we constantly focus on what could happen.  As Doreen says, ” we always meet our future worries upon our path.”  Doreen teaches us that only on Earth is there a competition daily among people and animals who perceive that there is a lack of resources.  We Earth Angels are not very competitive because we want everyone to win and we want equal happiness for everyone.  We know that life is meant to be a win-win condition.  Doreen says, “this is the only planet that has such full-on competitive energy.”  She says this competitiveness, violence and all the other harsh energies are very disturbing to Earth Angels and we often use food and alcohol in an attempt to numb our sensitivities.  Instead of doing this, we are working with the angels, following our guidance as we create our best life while also helping others to create theirs.

I like what Yoga teacher, Bryan Kest, has to say about his style of teaching.  “I come from a highly competitive background.  That’s why I teach what I teach.  We’re all so competitive.  We love to compete, but competition hinders our practice.  Then we get judgmental and critical about ourselves.  I try to empower people to let them know that they are already perfect.  Yoga teaches that you are already enlightened.  You’ve just got to wake up and realize it.  The goal of Yoga is chit vrtti nirodhah  – the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.  It’s quieting your mind down, not sticking your leg farther behind your head.  Let’s use our bodies as tools to challenge our mind.”  Bryan’s philosophy matches my own style of yoga teaching.  The healthiest person is not usually the person who can go farther into an asana (pose) but rather the person whose mind is so quiet that she can hear what her body is saying to her – because – the first step to healing is awareness.  Of course, the goal and meaning of Yoga is union.  Union of body, mind and spirit.  Wholeness.

It is not wise to compare ourselves to others.  It steals our joy.  Like snowflakes, our Creator fashioned each of us to be unique.  By doing our very best every day in everything we do and letting go of old habits, patterns and beliefs in struggle and suffering, we allow everything into our life that is for our Highest Good, by employing the Law of Attraction rather than pressing with our minds and bodies to be someone we are not.

Love & Light,   Monica