5 questions to ask yourself to discover what you've outgrown and can release

As you evolve, you will become bored with ways of being that helped you learn your lessons in the previous phases of your life. When things seem stale, stagnant, or stuck, you've probably outgrown some behaviors and beliefs and need to shed them as a snake sheds its skin.

1. What activities have become second nature to me? What things do I do out of habit? Which of these activities or behaviors still bring something important to my growth and happiness? Is there another, more conscious way I could do this that would suit me better? Which parts of these behaviors could I change or totally dissolve?

2. What thought patterns continually enter my mind that act like wet blankets, suppressing or stalling activities my soul wants to do? Who do these beliefs or ideas really belong to? Did I pick them up and internalize them from a family member or partner? Can I become bored with these ideas now and give them back to their rightful owners?

3. What "shoulds" run my life? How might I act if these edicts were not present? Which ones can I dispose of now?

4. What unconscious "vows" have I taken that begin with "I will always" or "I will never"? Are these vows necessary for me today? Can I consciously complete them and release them, knowing the behaviors I wanted to integrate into myself have been successfully learned?

5. What childhood behavior patterns have I been operating under that keep my self-image juvenile and immature? How do these behavior patterns involve other people who I unconsciously try to make into parental figures? Which of these am I bored with and ready to dissolve entirely?

This material is copyrighted by Penney Peirce, from The Intuitive Way, second edition