Discussion topic #4
When will it be time to change your focus, and follow a different path
Reflexology isn’t in everyone’s life for the long haul, and being able to recognize that, and accept change as it comes is wisdom in action.
Reflexology is like the reason, the season or the lifetime.
For some, it receives little more than a passing glance for a particular reason.
For others, it commands a great interest but for a short time.
And for some, it becomes an important part of their life from the day they first hear about it.
Change is inevitable. It is part of the human condition. Every experience affects us either in a positive or a negative way Therefore, we are in a state of constant change. Change is just another form of death; that could explain why many people are uncomfortable with it or even fear it.
Let change and the unknown become your friend, not your foe and embrace them with expectation and openness, rather than have circumstance, sometimes unpleasant one, encourage you to cooperate with your higher guidance.
Take home message:
- You have to move outside your comfort zone to grow
- Change is a friend not a foe
- When it’s time to change, it’s better to do it on your term
Changing focus
With regard to changing focus, when it’s time to move to something different, you won’t have to go searching. As some experiences leave or slow down, new opportunities will present themselves.
So, it’s important to be alert and read the signs around you. Take notice of what’s ending and leaving, and what’s opening and bringing in the new. Clinging on to anything, when you know it’s time to let go, only brings pain.
So, when you think about change and focus, or changing your focus, you can’t always see the big picture. You may need to look from a different perspective.
Remember…..
Wisdom is justified by her children.
Sometimes you don’t know the wisdom of your choices, until you see what they produce.
It’s in the aftermath that we can recognize the wisdom of our actions
From very early in my career, my focus changed from what reflexology could do for a person, to why that person was sick or in pain in the first place.
Since about my mid 20s I had very definite ideas on disease and sickness, but for the greater part they were my personal conclusions.
Becoming a professional practitioner gave me the opportunity to find the evidence I needed to support these theories.
And so, Reflexology supplied clients who were asking questions, and this motivated me to look for answers which subsequently led me outside of my comfort zone, and directed me to places where I would find new information.
Most of this new information became available through intense experiences connected to my logical mind, suppressed emotions or a physical experience.
These experiences brought the mind, body, spirit connection together for me. And so, I set about finding out how they all fitted together. Introducing the results to my clinical practice, once again brought changes.
I also became interested in energy work, and incorporated that into my practice. I wasn’t necessarily moving away from reflexology, but combining what I was learning in other modalities and expanding the focus.
As the years passed, I was more and more convinced that my line of thinking could be beneficial to people who were open to alternative ideas.
And so when the Reflexology Association of Australia conference was presented in Brisbane in 2010, I submitted an abstract.
The abstract was accepted but my time slot was quite short. That was when I decided to write Holistic Reflexology, the eight principles. The book would allow me to say what I wanted to say without leaving anything out.
I had been making notes on my ideas for many years, so all I had to do was put it all together. How hard was that going to be? I had about 4 months to pull it off and get it published. And so began many nights at my computer till 1.00 a.m. or later. The Universe supplied the perfect publisher. Would you believe I found her through a tarot reading? The books arrived a couple of days before the conference. I sold 88 to the 200 participants.
Following a different pathway
Even though I no longer offer a clinical practice, reflexology is still part of my life. I maintain my website, with posts, videos and eBooks, wouldn’t miss my weekly swap, continue to sell my books around the world, and I give an occasional presentation.
I’ve met practitioners who believe they must create a financially successful reflexology practice to replenish the money they have invested in their study. When this doesn’t happen as planned, they feel guilty because they have spent a large amount of money, and become despondent because of a perceived failure.
Changing their perspective, in such circumstances, is essential.
Think of it like this: You have not invested in learning reflexology. You have invested in personal development. You simply used reflexology as the learning tool. You have not wasted your money. From this perspective, what can you see and appreciate.
Take home message:
- Listen to your inner guidance; it will be repeated until to hear it
- You might think you do things for others, but you actually do them for yourself
- Your life is in constant change; it is part of the natural order
- Give yourself permission to change focus and direction; it doesn’t indicate failure
Each part of the presentation finishes with an invitation to think, once again, about the current topic: When will it be time to change your focus, and follow a different path?
How willing are you to recognize the changes that you need to make in your life/career?
What changes in your life/career needed an unpleasant event to help begin the process, and in retrospect how could that have been avoided?
Is the focus of your clinical practice relevant to who you are now?
In finding answers for your clients, what have you learnt about yourself?
What risks are you prepared to take to make changes in your life?
Let’s review what we have just spoken about in Part One of this presentation.
“Why are you a reflexologist?
Reflexology and every associated experience plays a primary role in your own personal healing process
How was your interest maintained over time?
The many widespread benefits of reflexology can’t be ignored, making it easy to maintain an on-going interest in one way or another
What did you learn?
Above all else, you learnt about yourself, sometimes through experiences you wouldn’t have consciously chosen
Where is reflexology taking you in the future?
To a broader and wider perspective of its purpose in your life
In closing, I would hope that by sharing my stories, adventures, ideas and beliefs, this presentation has expanded your answer and stimulated even more questions