The journey of becoming is a clear synopsis of the relationship between our behaviours (action) and our awareness (which is an expression of our consciousness). It illustrates how we each become the product of our behaviours and how our sense of self is constructed around that.
The journey of becoming offers us a formula well worth remembering, which is as follows: our behaviours become traits, our traits become habits, which lay the foundation for our personality. Those habits become patterns, which in turn set the foundation for our character. It is those patterns that then create the drivers, which lead to our nature. Our nature is the point in our life’s journey when we have ‘become’ whatever has most dominated our thinking and inner world – good or bad.
Although it is accurate to say that it is thoughts and feelings that are the initial catalysts on the journey of becoming, it is actually what we ‘do’ that most drives the process. That isn’t to say that our thoughts are innocent bystanders on this journey, because they certainly are not: they are arguably the ‘things’ that have done the most damage, often in a quiet, unassuming way, as they trickle their potent messages into the brain and the body. Equally, thoughts are the most powerful allies we have in the transformational process but only if they lead to actions.
Patternology is the term we use for describing the part that patterns play in our lives. The term simply means knowledge of patterns. Everything about human behaviour comes down to patterns. From the behaviour of the cell and the tens of thousands of actions carried out every moment we are alive, to the countless chemical and electrical actions and reactions taking place in the brain underpinning every thought and feeling – all are shaped and driven by patterns. These patterns become the sophisticated templates (based on past actions and learned behaviour) that establish ways of keeping both the mind and body surviving and thriving.
The power of patterns does not end there – everything taking place in the known world is influenced by patterns of one kind or another. Take a closer look at the disciplines of physics, chemistry and mathematics and there you will find laws, formulas and structures oozing with patterns, providing us with incredible insight about ourselves and our world – patterns are why the world works.
Scientists and mathematicians are beginning to unravel and make sense of these patterns from the subatomic level to the macrocosmic level. These patterns create rhythm, movement and momentum, which is the ‘heartbeat’ of life and the closer we look, not just through our microscopes, but through the telescopes of our minds, the more we discover that these patterns make everything around us make sense. Some researchers and students of this process are now referring to these patterns as ‘The Code’.
The Code explains what appear to be random acts of nature. Conversely it also explains the order and predictability we find in the world. It offers a description of a hidden mathematical world governing everything within our bodies, on our planet and beyond. The focus has largely been around: a) numbers and how they influence literally every event taking place in life, b) predictions about future events based on past data and c) how the many shapes and forms within nature are constructed. More research is needed but what is becoming clear is that everything from the invisible to the visible is governed by this code and the patterns it produces.
Patternology tells the story of how our past decisions and choices are literally ‘making’ current and future ones – assuming no other course of action is taken. The more we understand the power of patterns, the more we are able to extricate ourselves from the ‘stuff’ that enslaves us. So let us take a deeper look into the world of patterns and how they affect human behaviour.
Many are so entangled in the web of poor decisions and choices that they actually believe there is no way out. Freedom from their low self-esteem, destructive patterns and addictions seems like an impossible feat and so they sit in the place of doubt and disbelief becoming further entangled in this web of despair. At this point they feel like they have no choice and in fact decisions and choices are now being made on their behalf! They feel pulled against their will back into familiarity and further self-harm. This feeling of ‘having no choice’ is very real and once we get to see how “traits become habits, habits become patterns and patterns become drivers”, we can, probably for the first time, understand why individuals can feel that choices are no longer available to them. It actually feels to them as if they are being ‘chosen’ rather than ‘choosing’ to continue down the pathways they are so desperate to leave behind.
Once patterns have been sufficiently installed, conscious thinking has largely been suspended as the subconscious mind steps into the primary role of ‘decision-maker’. It houses the ‘templates’ (drivers) that determine how we respond and react. The interesting thing to note here is that the subconscious mind is not really making decisions at all, it is acting on those decisions that have been previously made and in the absence of any new evidence to overturn the templates, it continues to trust that those past decisions and actions are still serving the individual well. So, if we want to choose a different way of being we must change those templates – and understanding how they are created gives us a real chance of doing just that.
However, this does not mean we have lost the right to choose, because we never really lose that right, it’s more accurate to say that we lose the awareness of our option to choose and once that awareness is lost we become victims. Victims of the past, victims of old relationships, ideologies, opinions and beliefs and before we know it we are doing (mainly unconsciously) what we’ve always done – quite simply because we have not renounced the old scripts. It’s now time to renounce those old scripts, it’s time to create new patterns and in order to do that, we need structure, routine and discipline, coupled with compassion and empathy. This will help us to make new and better choices. In addition, we also need to cultivate faith and to learn to trust.
To have faith means doubting yourself, the process, and maybe even those around you, and yet still taking steps of courage in the direction of positive change. Trusting means probably believing in nothing and no one, which includes yourself, and yet daring to believe in the possibility of personal transformation.
It is important to note that when you begin this journey you are likely to be in the position of uncertainty and doubt and those feelings will, if you let them, sabotage any ideas and hope that you have that things could be different, better even. If you recognise and accept this as a likely starting point and simply embrace the possibility of positive change then magical things will happen.
Positive change begins with knowledge. Once we have a ‘sufficient’ amount of knowledge, we need to take responsibility for our own lives. What we have learned so far is that if we do nothing differently, the power of momentum (generated by drivers which have evolved from behaviours) will keep pushing us backwards towards the old and familiar – and so we need to create a forward momentum. This begins with new thoughts, which we must ensure become behaviours, as it is those actions that will bring lasting change by creating our new drivers.
By now we hope you can see the far-reaching effect patterns have on our lives: from the cells to the stars, from the micro to the macro, from the uniform to the random – everything, even our nature, thoughts, feelings and behaviours dance to their hypnotic tune. We hope you’ll use the insights gathered here to organize your own emancipation, leaving the old and familiar behind and daring to venture into new and unchartered territories.
Start by making a plan to reach your desired destination. Identify the help that you might need for that and actively pursue it. Find those songs that make your heart sing. Seek out joy and laughter wherever you can. Celebrate your most meaningful relationships. Count your blessings, great and small and you will find new patterns will emerge and gently propel you to a peaceful paradise – a place of clarity and contentment where you are able to meet life with confidence and grace.
Also see:
Courage and Application are the Keys
The 4 Stages of Personal Growth