When I first read the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, I was amazed by the concept of Alchemy and Alchemist. For those who don’t know, alchemy is a process of transmuting base metals into gold. The said process was practiced in ancient Egypt and Arabia and then handed down further.
I found the whole process real and magical at the same time. I wanted to do the same so I looked here and there about it and then forgot.
But one day I came across a book, the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and he explained about alchemy and alchemist in a way that changed my whole perspective about life.
“Become an alchemist. Transmute base metal into gold, suffering into consciousness, disaster into enlightenment.” Eckhart Tolle
What he was trying to say was we don’t have to do something outside of ourselves to change a situation but a change within is enough.
Thoughts create your reality
Let’s understand this with an example, say you argued with a friend, family, or colleague or something happened that is making you feel uneasy and you have been thinking about it consistently.
If your thoughts and feelings create your reality then we can predict that the situation is going to sustain for a longer period. To change the situation you need to direct your thoughts and emotions into balance or harmony.
When something triggers your mind your body goes into a state of emergency, now you want to try anything in your power to feel safe again which can only happen when the cause of your problem leaves you alone.
And thus you make it your prime mission to eliminate the problem. But what you are saying energetically is- I don’t want this, I want to leave this situation, I have to leave this situation only then I will feel safe, only then everything will be okay.
If you understand universal laws a little bit you will know that what you resist, persists. By trying to avoid and get rid of the situation, you are making it worse. Constant fighting will only make the situation stay for a longer period.
Overcome the situation like an Alchemist?
So, to overcome this situation like an alchemist, you have to first understand that you created it unconsciously. There might have been something in your energetic field that attracted it into your life.
Secondly, you have to rise above it. This means that you have to sit with these thoughts and emotions in the quiet and observe them without any judgment, justification, argument, blaming, etc.
Allow them to stay there, don’t follow them in the hope of trying to figure something out. Just let them be there. Watch your thoughts come and Go like a silent watcher. Observe the rise and fall of your emotions without needing to change anything about them.
You must understand that you’re not your thoughts and emotions, you’re the silent watcher of them.
What happens when you watch your thoughts and emotions?
You separate yourself from the situation since your mind and body no longer controls you and you have become still conscious awareness that knows that it’s safe and everything happening around has no control over him/ her.
In this state, you will also know that nothing needs to be done or forced. With this awareness you will dissolve the resistance and let the situation solve itself.
Just like an alchemist you have transmuted suffering into pure consciousness. Everything in our life is there to make us conscious of our true state of being. Use this knowledge to rise above anything that bothers you. Because it’s not outside of you, it’s all within. All answers are within.
Why do we need to observe our thoughts and emotions?
Our thoughts and emotions govern our life and since we are so distracted with our fast-paced society, we don’t pay attention to where our thoughts and emotions are going. And wherever our attention goes energy flows, thus we create our reality like this. So it becomes important to be conscious of how we are thinking and feeling.
Allow your thoughts and emotions to be there. Don’t fight or run away from them. Your mind will try to avoid doing this by gaining your attention by convincing you to watch the news, check social media, eat more etc. Stay rooted in your practice and let conscious awareness take care of everything.
How long will it take?
Honestly speaking it depends on the level of your state of being. It may take an hour or more or just 20 minutes. Time may vary but practice remains the same. If you start to become impatient then understand that it’s another trigger that needs your attention. Bring it into your practice too, Allow it to be there and then let it dissolve itself into nothing, no action is needed on your part.
Remember that there is no past or future. All that you’ve is this very moment. Stay in it. Whatever arises in it, accept it, surrender to it. And let the light within you guide you.
Also Read:
Why can’t you meditate properly – Livin Alchemy
How to love yourself more? – Livin Alchemy
5 Ways to calm your Anxious Mind ( As an HSP) – Livin Alchemy