Understand Your Baseline.
Our baseline is what we work and live against. Often times what we think our baseline should be and what the baseline actually is are two different things. While at times the difference may not matter too deeply (being a white tiger but believing you are an orange tiger) more times than not these differences can be very destructive.
For instance: I live in Hawaii. I watch many people from the mainland move here and not respect the new baseline of Hawaii. So many people bring the old baseline of their old life here and continue to try to live here as if it were the mainland. This difference in baseline causes much conflict. Many behaviors that would work in a person’s old life are simply destructive and disrespectful when applied to live here in Hawaii.
What is Your Baseline?
Essence represents a person’s core nature. Our baseline is how a person decides to live against their essence.
Baseline represents how a person sees and acts to their perceived essence in life.
People always make a mistake to think they truly know their essence. Strangely, many people act out stories and beliefs that go against their essence. So, in fact: many people are living with a baseline that goes against their essence and then undercuts their life.
While we may not be able to change our essence, we can radically change our baseline in life. When you see a person magically transforming in life, you are witnessing a person changing their baseline in life!
Changing Your Baseline – Be in Your Strengths.
When we limit ourselves, then that limited story being held undercuts our true nature. For example, I have a friend who is a hoarder and has OCD. They held the hoarding as a liability and OCD as a curse. Holding the hoarding as a disability stopped them from changing their lifestyle. Instead, I helped them see it differently, to shift the base stories. The hoarding is an instinctual response to have supplies for hard times. Unfortunately, a consumer society preys on hoarders. Instead, I have helped this person turn the two traits around. I have shown them how to hoard “space” as a valuable commodity. Then to use the OCD as a tool to release materials, to create space, to focus on the de-cluttering with the OCD. With this new base of how to hold their natural instincts as a strength, they have spent the last year in joy reversing the previous poor baseline of suffering against their traits.
Will this approach for everyone? Yes and no. It usually depends on timing. Humans have windows in life when they are open to change and times when change is resisted at all costs. So part of the process requires an understanding of the timing of life.
Also, this concept requires nonjudgment. Changing how you hold your baseline isn’t a simple task. It’s an art to help a person work to their strengths. It takes work, and a person has to be willing to release the long-held beliefs of their nature. Having an outside teacher like myself helps quite a bit as I can see around the judgments a person is holding that limits their own change process.
Natural Times of Change
The best time to change your baseline will be at times of natural change. Adolescence, quarter-life, midlife crisis, and retirement are four such natural change points where it’s easier to redefine life to your strengths.
Being able to examine, edit and then improve upon your base is learning how to work to your strengths. The greatest strength a person can have is to be in alignment with their essence. These spiritual teachings to work with your essence can turn a life around to be much more powerful and graceful.
Our entire site represents practices for exploring your essence and learning how to live with strength and grace. So take a few moments to more deeply explore the Personal Tao site and use the information here to improve your lifestyle.