You Are What You Consume.

If you read my last blog post, “You Are What You Eat,” then you know I believe this is a misnomer- a misstatement of the truth. I have come to understand that the true meaning of this statement is: “You are what you consume,” and what you consume is so much more than just what you eat. What you consume is what you take in. What you take in is what you are focusing on. What you focus on is what you spend your time on. And, what you focus on grows. For instance, if you spend your time doing something- a hobby, reading a book, watching a TV show, you will then think about it, talk about it and surround yourself with other people who also want to think and talk about those same interests (naturally). So, in this example, it is easy to see how what we choose to focus on naturally grows through us and in our lives.

Our ultimate currency as humans is not money; it is our time and energy, our focus- where we are shining the spotlight of our attention; it’s how we choose to spend our life-time. As illustrated in the previous example, what we place our attention upon ultimately grows both in power and in presence here on Earth. What to we want to bring into presence here on Earth at this time? We must choose wisely now.

Our focus, like water to a plant, feeds whatever it is that we are spending our focus resources on. And these days, EVERYTHING is vying for our attention: 10 million different social platforms and on-demand streaming options, workforce changes, crazy politics, inflation and tariffs, extracurriculars and social events... Life has never before been so busy and chaotic, and we have never before been spread so thin. Think of a Mag Light flashlight. Do you know those flashlights where you twist the head to turn them on and you can focus or unfocus the light depending on how far you twist the head of the flashlight? It’s like that. When we are spread thin, our light becomes unfocused and dim, our boundaries become diffuse and it becomes difficult to discern between the light and the dark. It becomes much more difficult to see clearly the path ahead, which makes progress in life uncertain and slow. When we are focused, our light becomes like a spotlight that floods the shadowy wood, and then like a lazer beam that can cut through any obstacle that stands in the way. When we are divided as individuals so too are we divided as a collective. And when we are divided we…

So, before that happens… Can we pull ourselves together? And how? How do we focus? How do we stand, not fall?

It starts with me. And it starts with you. We must take accountability for what we are individually investing our energy in. We must ask ourselves what are we focusing on? What am I focusing on?

Take a moment to look around and see what jumps out. What kinds of things or thoughts pop into your head as you look? Are they positive things or are they negative things? Are they blessings or condemnations? If you are in your personal space, what does it look like? Is it neat? Is it messy? Is it covered in Hollywood stars or religious figures? And what feelings do those images evoke? What’s under the feelings? If you are a creator, what is the energy of the art, literature, music or dance you are producing? What are the lyrics that are moving through you? What stories and emotions are forming them? Are they angry, resentful, co-dependent, attached? What kinds of art or colors have you decorated your space with? What kinds of feelings do they evoke?

If you haven’t paid close attention before, pay close attention now- it is a reflection of the energy you are broadcasting.

Our personal spaces, our decorations, our entertainment and our creative expressions, hobbies and eating patterns are all direct reflection of the energy we are broadcasting out into our environments, and it can be very helpful to understand this. If we begin to see our entire lives as a mirror of our energetic body, then we begin to see much more clearly what is influencing us effecting us, and what our life is trying to teach us about ourselves. There is information, messages and patterns that will become clear as you investigate life in this way, and there is also always a soul treasure hidden beneath. Hidden gifts for your soul growth and development. Let me offer an example from my own life:

When I was in college, working long days and late nights in the metalsmithing studio, I got involved in a relationship. He was manipulative and narcissistic. I was hopelessly co-dependent (aka love addict). He would blow up my phone when I was working in the studio and beg me to come home, I would succumb to the persuasion. He didn’t respect my boundaries and, evidently, neither did I. I tried to break up with him four times, and each time he somehow convinced me that things would change, and for some reason, I believed him. (I now know what this dynamic was about and I will get into that later) We were still together when I got to my senior thesis year, and when I started sketching my ideas and designs were about feeling trapped, anguish, resentment, anger, and feeling silenced, and unseen. I recognized a very clear pattern in my work, and I decided at that time I just couldn’t allow my creative energies to be used for that kind of work. I did NOT want to turn around ten years down the road and show my children that kind of stuff. I was depressed and my work showed it. I refused to let my senior thesis center around such dark and melancholy themes, but I also had deep self-worth wounds that wouldn’t allow me to break free from that relationship or those toxic cycles at that time, so, I dropped out of school and, shortly thereafter, moved down to Texas with this boyfriend.

For a long time, I felt like I had failed myself with that decision- with that whole relationship, really. I had given my power away to someone who didn’t have my best interests at heart and treated me with extreme disrespect (narcisissm is a bitch). While it is true that I was giving my power away, I can also see now that, in another way, I maintained my integrity at the same time. I was willing to put my creative work down when I saw that the message was not a positive one. I can now see that, given where I was at the time, I was actually demonstrating a great level of discernment and soul alignment with that decision. I have since come to understand much more clearly- the great impact we have as creator beings, and I have come to understand creation as a sacred, and its influence is deep and far-reaching. So in retrospect, I cans see that what, at first (and for many years) seemed like a failure to me was actually my soul stepping in to protect my own creative process from the low-vibe expression and impact it would have had upon the viewers of my work. Creative expression evokes emotion. What kinds of emotions are evoked by what you surround yourself by?

So, take a look around you. What do you see? What are you focusing on? What kinds of music are you listening to? Are you paying attention to the lyrics? What kinds of shows are you watching? What are the themes of those shows? What are the characters like? Are they people you would want in your life?

Is what you observe yourself focusing on full of the kinds of things that you want to see grow in your life? Is it serving you and supporting your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical well-being? If not, who is it serving? What themes or influences are you witnessing in your environment? Are they themes of Love or fear? Paying attention to these things will reveal a lot about yourself to you if you are willing to witness the reflection it provides.

Remember: You are a powerful creator being. You are what you consume. You focus on what you consume. What you focus on grows. Your impact is immense.

So, ask yourself: What am I consuming? What am I creating? Why am I creating it? What influences do I see at work in my creative process? How is what I am creating influencing others? How is my mode of expression impacting others?

I pray these thoughts help you dive into deeper exploration of your own creative powers and what your wants to reveal to you about yourself.

Let us cultivate Knowledge, bring awareness, and create positive waves of change together. Amen.

On that note, I must recommend a couple of resources that will help us in this Work together. The first is The Great Waves of Change- for those who seek Truth about the current circumstances of the world, and why answering The Call is so important at this crucial point in humanity’s evolution, and the second book is The Steps to Knowledge, for those who are ready to answer The Call and walk the Walk