Moving

Hi Gabrielle,

Wow, things sure sound busy! I haven't moved officially... but at least 6 or 7 times I've moved many of my possessions between different cities (going to university for the school year and returning home or moving from one rez to another) so that's sort of moving.

I know how easy it is to get identified with the packing, moving, getting everything organized, etc. I find one of the most important things is to be organized. Each day (or even week) I try to make myself an agenda of what to do: a certain number of boxes to pack, which things to pack first, what time I'm going out for coffee with so-and-so to say goodbye, etc. Then I follow through with the plan. The plan is something I can cling to and I know (aside from unexpected changes in circumstances) by following the plan, all will turn out.

Aside from that, praying is really important. Things may be organized but it is hectic to move, many emotions come up having to say goodbye to people, etc. So really asking for help seems to be an amazing boost. Ask for strength before the days begin, knowing that they will be busy, etc.

Regarding the practices, when we're busy, sometimes we don't have too much time for them. So this is all the more reason to apply super strong efforts in awareness and make the days themselves practices with the observation within, etc. And perhaps try to set aside a little time at the end of the day whenever possible to chill out: read something by a Master, listen to a little Beethoven, etc. Then each day you have something to look forward to at the end.

I hope this helps.

All the best to you, your husband and the baby in the move!

Mike

Hi Gabrielle,

I have moved many times, from different cities, to different countries - both as a child and as an adult.

As a child, it was easy. A an adult, it was more difficult as I had to learn where to do everything: find the best grocery store, not to get lost on my way back from work, going past the haunting of driving in unknown areas. Where is the cheapest gas station? Where can I walk my dog?
And going from thoughts, oh at least where I used to live I knew everything about my neighborhood. Or going to different emotions - feeling that tightening in the stomach when driving on a new highway (where is my exit?? Did I pass it??)

But one of the great attributes of coming to a new place is that I became so aware of my environment - I noticed things that people did not notice anymore because they had been living there already for a while. And that's what I really liked about coming to a new place. Because my dreams became clearer and I was more grounded during the day.

I also like to see how habits form again, and how small things can either bring me comfort or discomfort. And how the thoughts process can really take over me if I let it :) And I won some battles and lost others. But that's okay too. As long as I can get something out - like looking for a gas station but finding a dog park instead :)

And then, it is really nice to go back to my old neighborhood and start noticing things I had stopped noticing because I took things for granted. I started becoming more aware of my parent's home, and how people lived their lives.

But it is a chaotic moment in one's lives, and changes are always difficult, but in the end they are completely feasible.

And for the moving process - I just attacked things as a bulk while listening to some musical classic whenever possible. I packed and got rid of stuff at the same time. What I found the most useful way of doing it was: attack a closet, and make 3 piles:
1. Absolutely get rid of
2. Give away
3. Keep

Then I went again through the "Keep" pile to make sure I really needed to keep whatever was in it and give away some more if possible. But I did not check the "Absolutely get rid of" or the "Give Away" pile. Because all of a sudden some stuff started become appealing to me again... Sticking to my choices helped me.

It got easier after a while. And I started enjoying getting rid of stuff very, very much!!

I really wanted to make my next place tidy, but comfortable. And that's what motivated me when I was packing. Needing versus just having, and comfort versus showing..

So good luck with it. It's a hard thing but I could actually make it somewhat enjoyable by keeping the goal in mind.

Geraldine

Hey gab something i've learned from this book im reading is there needs to be a balance between spiritual and physical. So for me before I really started going onto my path or trying to I was always in the physical playing video games 24/7 just waiting for the courses not really practicing. Now, im finding a happy medium. Im having fun, watching movies, reading etc but also taking time to meditate. In your case I don't know if I took it the right way but in the part where you said "I wont be able to practice as much" or something along the lines of that. Thats ok in my mind, you recognize that practicing and getting in touch with your inner self is important, but don't feel bad about it. Your getting something good done in the physical. After thats passed youll get something amazing done in the spiritual. What made you want to move anyways? Something i've learned from my path and part of my dads is, everything happens for a reason. So my advice, watch for things that could be those little coincidences, but take them as a sign. There could be something amazing in your future coming, or possibly not, don't expect something because you'll just get down and out about it if it doesn't happen, or with me atleast that's what happens, but try and watch for good things that come. Good luck in the things to come.

Hi Gabrielle,

Ahona and I are in the process of moving at the moment too because we've just found a new house, and I honestly haven't dealt with it too well since we started packing on Friday.

A few things have come out of it though which have been helpful and some interesting egos that I haven't seen since I moved last time are coming up!

I've found it quite difficult to keep my focus on the Work while I've been moving, which is mostly because I didn't realise how many thoughts I was having for the first few days, because I got caught up in the move without observing enough and because I wasn't retrospecting I think.

I let way too many thoughts through before I realised what was happening, thinking about what needs moving, where we're going to put things, making lists in my head, worrying about things and getting stuck in my thoughts a lot. I think that's shifted my focus off the work quite a bit.

I'm not sure if you will find the same problem if you have problems with emotions more than thoughts, but I'd second Mike's suggestion about making lists and sticking to them. Then hopefully you won't be thinking about what you need to do next, and can just focus on whatever you're doing in the moment.

Maybe you could also watch out for compulsive egos that might come up when you're packing / unpacking. My egos do this thing sometimes when I self-remember where they'll push me into the next thing I think I have to do to make me forget. If you're really struggling maybe you could set an alarm to go off every 10 minutes, and do a reality check and see how you've been going each time it goes off.

I think Mike's other suggestion of having some time out at the end of the day, even if it's just 20 or 30 minutes is helpful. It's nice just to unwind a bit, and not go to bed thinking about what needs doing the next day.

I've also slipped up on retrospections since we started the move which is no good, because I'm not really seeing what I need to work on from day to day and my day has been focussed more on moving than on seeing what moving is doing inside of me. :) I'm going to start retrospecting again tonight.

Maybe you could also see if your thoughts are leading you to have emotions. Like if you get scared or have a depressing thought, and then it ends up in your emotional centre. I've also seen some proud thoughts about my new place, and attachments to new and old things which were a little unexpected!

And finally, I think how you start your day is really important. A few days I've started thinking about what needs doing right after I wake up. But if I make sure I'm trying to be aware and disintegrating the egos from the first thing, I think that sets a good standard for the day.

All the strength for your move Gabrielle, if you come across anything that helps you I'd love to hear!

David

Hello Gabrielle,

If I was in your situation, I would use every possible moment for self-discovery and elimination, and only secondly eveything else.

I wish you a great experience.

Thanks so much for your replies and support. Yesterday didn't go very well and so I hope to improve today.

Mike, I think that's a great idea about making a plan. I have been slacking on doing that in my daily life and haven't been doing it during the move process (when I need to the most!). Thanks for the reminder and for making it sound much simplier than my mind has imagined. I feel like I can get a better handle of it already (we'll see how I feel at the end of the day ;). I will also plan to spend at least 20 min doing something that will build back my spiritual strength.

Geraldine, that must have been amazing to live in some many different places. Although I'm from a military family, we really didn't travel much. Thanks for your expert advice! I am going to apply the 3 piles approach, definitely. A weird tendency I've noticed recently is that I want to throw out or give away everything. I used to have a problem getting rid of stuff, but now it's switched. It's something I have to investigate more. The thought of this being a chance to get everything organized and tidy is really motivating. It makes the chaos of the move seem worth it. Thanks for that!

Thanks, John. We just wanted to move down to be closer to family. I will keep my mind open and try not to expect anything. That's a good approach. I actually tend to do the opposite and think that everything will be really great (or bad) once some big change takes place. It's much better to be open though, I agree.

David, good luck to you and Ahona! Yes, I have a lot of the same problems. There have been several days that my mind has immediately started thinking about the move and I would be afraid to find out how much time I have spent listing and organizing in my head. I tend to let that happen with the justification that I need to use my mind to plan things out...however, it does become compulsive and illogical (e.g., I don't need to imagine the layout of a room over and over again). I know exactly what you mean about the egos pushing you to the next task (or mental task) if you start to self-remember. I think that has to do with "life's program" being able to keep us pulled down in the darkness. Noticing it may be key to breaking out of the program.

I do have a little timer I can set to go off throughout the day. I'll give it a try today and try to really step up the reality checks. Another thing that I'll try doing that might help you, as well, is to make an extra effort to concentrate on doing one (and only one :) activity at a time. That way, I can better keep my mind under control and avoid unnecessary mental planning, etc...Much strength in your move and internal investigations! Don't let it pull you down!

Gyorgi, I will do that, thanks for putting into focus. All the strength to you.

Thanks again, everyone, sincerely.

Hi Gabrielle,

This is a link to a short piece of classical music I found very comforting after a long day of studies and lots of intellectual exhaustion, perhaps it'll help you too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maoLZpt1Ydw

Take care,
Matija

Hello Gabrielle,

It really looks like you have a lot of things happening :)

I find the best way to deal with situations that I know in advance are going to be tricky or difficult is to prepare yourself in advance before the things like packing, delivering items or whatever else actually start.

This could be even in the morning as you go and have breakfast etc... Its really amazing that if you are able to deal with all the thoughts and worries that come up (when nothing at all is happening) you will find you have more strength when the actual hard stuff comes along. (Getting at the details etc..)

A good asking for help is also a nice beginning to each day :)

All the best to you Gabrielle, and congratulations on your new boy!!

Olga

Hello Gabrielle,

I'm sure you'll be fine, they say that you can get comfort knowing there is always someone worse off than yourself. I've moved around three different countries in the past year. In the last two months alone I've moved four times and have at least another two moves to go in the next six weeks.

It is a good idea to keep a blog about it Gabrielle.

Last year I moved to a new built house. For me it was unsettling at first, and such shifts can put many things into motion. It took me a while to get adjusted to the new energies of the house and of the new area, for me it gets hard to even find sleep in a new area. But now I can see, that the whole move helped me see into some important aspects that I needed to see.

Make sure that you find some time to relax and a good sleep amidst everything.

Good luck coping with the move.