by Mary Elizabeth Lynch
From the February/March Issue of The Southside Woman
At face value, “change” is a simple enough concept. But as we consider the dynamics and opportunities for change, it’s important to understand the difference between more ordinary change (which is incremental and focused on small improvements) and transformational change (which is radical and paradigm shifting). Incremental improvement is one thing; transformation is quite another.
In order to experience the rewards of transformational change, there needs to be a desire or “willingness” to engage in this deep process and fundamental shift in experiencing ourselves and the world around us. This willingness requires both an open heart and an open mind. Once the desire for transformation has been awakened within, we can begin the challenging and rewarding work of transformational change.
As with any kind of change – self-improvement or transformational change – we need to know where we are headed and set our direction, our goal. When we can “catch a vision” of who we really are and ignite the inner desire to more fully become our true self, then we are ready to engage the path of transformation. Catching a vision of our true selves depends on our being able to articulate intentionality – our core values and the promises we make to ourselves and others about the way we want to go about living. It is about not just seeing what we want to do, but even more deeply, it is about being in touch with the spirit in which we want to be living our lives. When our ideals are clouded or contain mixed-messages, then it’s virtually assured that any kind of meaningful personal change will be stymied. But when we can make whole-hearted and one-pointed commitments to an integrated set of values and strengths within ourselves, that internal coherence unlocks creativity and vitality that can be transformational.
Just as important to transformational change may be our capacity to adopt and commit to disciplined practices. They create the foundation and energy for transformation to emerge. These practices create the “space” in our lives to see more clearly what we have been doing and our intentions behind our actions. Then, we can envision new courses of actions based on our core values and higher intentions. Mindfulness and meditation practices help us create the mental, emotional and physical space in which we can consciously say “no” to unhealthy habits and begin to welcome and say “yes” to healthier ways to respond to life’s challenges and opportunities. Such practices allow us to consciously bring a new spirit into our daily interactions.
Modern neuroscience is continually making new discoveries about “neuroplasticity.” Essentially this means that human beings have the capacity to create new neural pathways. The human brain is a constantly evolving organ, and we are not necessarily stuck with our habits of mental functioning. The capacity to transform our thinking, feeling, and action, is not just a dream or promise of psychotherapy; it’s an immediately demonstrable fact of the way our brains are wired. But the potentials for transformation that are inherent in “neuroplasticity” won’t just happen automatically. We need to intentionally engage this possibility.
