...Your Awakening Cost You

Have you noticed a change in your relationships with other people lately? Is it sometimes difficult or awkward to talk to others about spiritual topics? Do you, at times, feel alone in your beliefs? Have you lost contact with any long time friends recently? You are not alone!
I'm fortunate to have a lot of Facebook friends who post similar types of links. Too many times, I see a lot of people who talk the talk but are afraid to walk the walk, due to being ridiculed for their thoughts and posts (GROUPTHINK). I've lost some longtime friends because of this but have made many, many new ones. Once the ego is released, you no longer worry about conformity and peer pressure.
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that structures various belief systems within a group of people while discouraging individual creativity and independent thinking. Even within a group of individuals who are spiritually awakened, you will find groupthink.
If you look at the recorded history of mankind, you'll find that this history is merely someone's interpretation of a landmark event or evolutionary process, backed by eyewitness testimonial, scientific data, video or faith. The actual truth may be hidden or distorted for many reasons, but mostly for control and power. Look no further than the origins of mankind and you'll find a plethora of creation myths from all cultures with varying dates of our existence. Who's right?
When you talk to people about these topics, they tend to remain inside the box with a belief system that supports religion's story of creation, which dates mankind back to 4000 BC If you raise questions about our true origins, it tends to separate people and relationships between those who think outside the box versus those who think inside the box. When these topics arise within relationships, they often create dissention. It's hard for anyone to admit they've been deceived for so long and even more difficult to admit they were possibly wrong in their assumptions.
This is a prime example of how our educational systems keep us locked inside the box without questioning anything about what we've been taught. Those who remain inside the box are afraid of what others might think if they venture outside the box, so they remain complacent and subservient while conforming to what society dictates rather than relying on their own discernment and judgment. People could live their entire lives pretending to be what society expects them to be and not even know it!
From an ego perspective, our thoughts are basically cultivated by what we've learned from our family, friends, educational systems and religious beliefs, but what have we truly been taught? What can we say about anything that wasn't regurgitated to us by someone else?
As evidenced by past life regressions, our previous lives and soul history remain dormant in our cellular DNA and can be recalled through our subconscious minds through hypnotherapy. Within your cellular DNA, you actually remember being back with the Source along with all of the things you wanted to accomplish during this incarnation, as well as all of the challenges you wanted to overcome and all of the people who would lead you to where you are. This includes the people that have come and gone from our lives.
Sometimes, we project to be someone that we expect others to see in us. In psychology, this is referred to as the shadow self, where we project an identity that conforms to how other people may perceive us versus being true to who we really are. Some people may find out that they never knew who they were because they lived their lives through the expectations of how others will perceive them.
Those who have begun their spiritual journeys may also be confronting these issues, which initially creates cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance occurs when you get an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. This is the transition period that many of us have gone through, where our beliefs have changed, yet we're unsure about relating these new ideas to our friends and family, due to fear or rejection.
As our spiritual journeys continue, we become more comfortable within our own beliefs and less concerned about how our friends and family view this awakening. This is when the ego becomes separated from the self and fear is dissolved by love. At this juncture, we begin to talk to acquaintances, as well as friends and family, about spiritual and metaphysical topics, with less regard about what they might think of us or how we may be perceived by others.
In time, spirituality will be the predominant frame of mind and it's likely that those who have strayed from us will be the first in line to ask for help in adjusting to the new paradigm.
Remember this: You are not alone! Those who truly love you will stand by you, no matter what. Those people who are no longer part of our lives have already played their role in helping us find out who we truly are. Sometimes, it takes polarity to be able to differentiate who we are and where we're going. This is where the unawakened help immensely, by providing that contrast which allows us to see the differences.
Envision each awakened person across the planet holding a candle. While your individual candle may not seem like a lot of light, it greatly contributes to making the world FULL of light and keeps us connected, no matter how far apart we may be. While it may be painful to lose some dear friends, think about what they have brought to your life and why.

Chances are, you'll end a few old relationships with people who were, at one time, very close to you, only to create new relationships with like-minded people. Forgive yourself, as well as your friends, if you feel badly about this. They came into your life for a reason a season or a lifetime:
Reason, Season, or Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they 'll die. Sometimes they 'll walk away. Sometimes they 'll act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. THEY bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. THEY may teach you something you have never done. THEY usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.