As I wrote a couple weeks ago, recently I have shaken up my cafe routine. It was only a matter of time before the routine ran out of mojo. I had been writing at the same cafe exclusively for years. In the process, I see now that I grew attached to going at a particular time (6am), sitting in a particular place (to the right of the counter facing the room against the wall), staying for a particular length of time (3+ hours), all while expecting a particular internal experience (“blissing out” with clarity and inspiration). Alas, it seems I also expected the cafe to meet my expectations, as in having a slightly-social atmosphere that was not too loud.
These expectations were destined to disappoint. Recently I have broken up the routine entirely. Today I visited a different cafe. Instead of going first thing in the morning, I went at 1pm. Instead of requiring a 3-hour session, I stayed a bit over two hours. The actions I took were fairly normal: mostly writing in my journal while listening to Abraham-Hicks. Yet it was a refreshing experience. I enjoyed the atmosphere, including the music on the speakers and the chatting of the baristas working there. Most importantly, it achieved its desired end: I cleared my mind and felt really good. 😄
The cafe shake-up experience has taken a surprising amount of time and mental bandwidth, yet it is helps me see why I like going to cafes. A cafe is neutral territory, away from my usual routine, where I get to think and focus uninterrupted. This helps me with introspective journaling process. At its best, I feel receptive and inspired, like a giant antenna above the clouds tuned into the subtler frequencies of joy. That’s how the “bliss out” routine started, and it worked for so long I was slow to grasp it when I needed to make a change.
I think I now understand what really matters. I go for the head-clearing vibrational properties of the experience, not to meet certain conditions of when, where, and for how long. It is the emotional experience that matters, not the mechanics of the ritual.
I see it now clearly.
From my Inner Being: Yes, Chris you are learning wonderful new lessons by taking your life on as your testing ground. You are reaching for joy and putting aside forms and thoughts that don’t allow it. This is a good thing, you agree?
Yes, I agree. Though sort of annoying at times, to be honest.
That is just resistance to the process. Overall, you are allowing and letting go of resistance, but a part of you still prefers the old ways.
…Yes! And wishes it would still work! Haha. But I get it. Change is inevitable.
But sometimes still hard.