Clearing Away What Doesn't Work
There is a word that I just can’t remember: Discipline. I had to look up where I wrote that word down just for this article. As soon as I am done writing this, I am going to put it on my hand in Sharpie just so I can remember it later. It’s a word that my subconscious keeps denying and avoiding, yet this is what my life today is made of: discipline.
Discipline is that thing, that awful thing that creeps in when you have a goal or idea that you want to manifest. It’s that terrible thing that you have to use to break through the blocks and issues that got you to the place where you needed discipline in the first place. No wonder I can’t remember it - I don’t like it. As a mother, a boss, a woman, a creative being, a struggler with my weight, a wife, and a human, I dislike this word because it gets in the way of my coping mechanisms and sabotage. I am an expert at those things, as they take no discipline; they only involve my reaction to the world. When you invite discipline into your life your coping mechanisms lose their priority and place. Let me tell you, those mechanisms are buried deep, hooked into every aspect of your body, mind, and spirit, and they are automatic. You don’t even have to think about coping when you have mechanisms in place. You don’t even have to think about self-sabotage when there is a mechanism on auto-pilot willing to bring out sabotage at any given moment.
When you really want to bring discipline into your life, you have to decommission the machine that is your fears, struggles, false identities, legacies, and all that junk that keeps you in the uncomfortable comfort zone. It’s time to give them up because they are not working anymore; they don’t fit who you are today. Often we are told to let go of those things that are not healthy for us, that are not part of the person we don’t want to be. I say it’s the opposite: once you are willing to become someone or something different than those coping mechanisms define you to be, they can’t stay because they no longer work. This is when they start fighting for your life. Your life, the person you used to be, the part that was false and protective and deflective and definitely not disciplined.
Here is the thing about these mechanisms that no longer work for you: they never did.
They never did what you intended for them to do. They never solved the problem, they just very skillfully avoided it. The thing is, the problem was still there, growing, evolving, driving the bus that is your life. Your coping mechanisms just made it ok for you to be the passenger in your own life. Discipline gives you back the license to drive your own life. That is really what is happening when you bring that nasty, dirty, filthy word into action: you win. This isn’t a “taaa-daa!” moment that solves everything in a blinding flash of miracle-ness. Nope, it is a journey of self-discovery, of your own sabotaging mechanisms. It’s not easy, but as the saying goes, nothing worthwhile is. Discipline starts with self-awareness and willingness to cut through self-deception and move into truth. The Witch's Brew "Eye of Newt" combined with the World Magic "Hekate" candle will help you at these crossroads and unlock the will needed to get into the truth of you. Then you move into conquering these coping mechanisms and dismantling them. The Blessed Herbal "Fire – Energy & Will" and the "Male Energies – The Sun" are your key candles here. Power up your own personal will to stay disciplined in your actions. Then you need to get on solid ground and nurture yourself through the hard stuff into your reward. Affirmation "Success" and Affirmation "Goddess" are going to get you through the really hard parts. Remember, the word is discipline, so go get yourself some. I’ve got mine!
Jacki Smith
