What Is Pathwalking?
Pathwalking is not just my personal life philosophy. It is my way of taking all of the ideas I have been studying for many years now, and putting it into practice.
A great deal of the process is dependent on thought and feeling. I have to take the thought, give it necessary feeling, and then perform an intentional action to get where I want to go.
Six years ago, in my seventh ever post in Pathwalking, I explained the what of it. As I explained then, The Australian Aborigines use the term ‘Walkabout’ to denote an adolescent journey through the wilderness as a rite of passage. It has been borrowed in more common culture over the years to refer to a spiritual journey, often taking the form of some kind of physical adventure.
A large portion of Pathwalking is taking the notion of this special journey – and applying it to day-to-day life. As I have explored the idea that consciousness creates reality over the past six years, I see where I have best practiced my philosophy, and where I still have room for improvement.
A lot of different sources have fed into Pathwalking. Books and audio books that include The Secret by Rhonda Byrne; The Four Agreements and The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and his son, Don Jose Ruiz, respectively; You Are a Badass and You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero; The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles; Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill; The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra; Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins; The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; and a host of other works on the topics of wealth consciousness, the Law of Attraction, and general mindfulness.
Pathwalking involves awareness of choices.
For too long I had a habit of letting life live me. There were moments of brilliance that flared up from time to time. Novels got written and completed; I manifested faster and more complete healing than medical science expected; a car was acquired against seemingly impossible odds. But for the most part I let life live me. I failed to commit to relationships, bounced from job to job, constantly found myself wanting, lacking satisfaction, but claiming to be at a crossroads and just about on the verge of…something.
What I didn’t realize for a long, long time, was that consciousness creates reality in totality. What you think about a lot you draw to yourself. That’s the Law of Attraction. When I see my life for what I want it to be ahead of me, it tends to stay ahead of me.
And just to add another wrinkle into this, the Law of Attraction doesn’t recognize negation. When your thought is I don’t want “that,” all the Universe gets is the “that.” There is no “not that”, and there is no “don’t want that” as far as the Universe is concerned – the object, the “that” is all there is. This is why being aware of what we are thinking, and where that takes our feelings is so very important to our lives.
When I am thinking about resolving debt, and getting out of debt, guess what the Universe and the Law of Attraction are getting fed? Yup, debt. This is why it’s important to remember that awareness in the here-and-now is so, so very important.
This moment is in fact the product of the past. To change it, I need to be aware of it, aware of what I’m thinking, and mindful of the feelings that come from those thoughts.
Every path is unique in every way.
The various sources mentioned above take a lot of different tacks and directions. Some get pretty hooky-spooky, others are more approachable. I took what I learned from these resources and crafted my own idea, which is Pathwalking. From this idea, this entire blog now focuses on the primary goal of it all – conscious reality creation.
Since I began to apply Pathwalking in my life, it has changed for the better. One reason I continue to write this every week is to assist anyone else striving to walk their own paths in life…but the other is to check in with myself. I need to remind myself about the process of conscious reality creation. I have re-read or re-listened to almost all of the sources above more than once. The Secret, Jen Sincero’s books and The Alchemist have probably had the most impact on my life, and have been listened to multiple times.
Yes, The Alchemist is a work of fiction. Even so, it has a deeper underlying message about pursuing your dreams and striving to live what Paulo Coelho calls your “personal legend”. The main character learns to be as genuine and true to himself as possible, while seeking the end goal. Santiago gives up the life he chose for himself to choose one fraught with uncertainty, but at the same time with an ultimate accomplishment at the end. Along the way numerous things change him, change his life, and make all sorts of useful impressions on him.
Also, Jeremy Irons’ reading of The Alchemist is outstanding.
I strive to do the same thing. Every day I seek illumination. Daily I want to learn something new. It is my desire to live my life to its fullest, getting the most out of the world around me, and finding contentment and joy.
Pathwalking is for everyone.
A lot of people find the idea of the Law of Attraction and its various analogies to be, for lack of a better word, bullshit.
Alright, let’s say that it is. What if conscious reality creation is bunk? So what if it is? Really, do you prefer to let life live you, or would you rather make choices and decisions to impact your “personal legend,” your destiny? I have written before about my belief that there are three ways to live this life – let life live you; curl up in a ball and await death; or choose to take life for a ride.
Even if the manifesting of what we want from conscious reality creation, and using the Law of Attraction is total bullcrap, why not choose it? I think it is better to work on living the life I most desire, than to just let life happen and not seek contentment and happiness. Because when all is said and done, living a happy, fulfilling life is, as far as I know, almost everyone’s goal. It certainly is mine.
Pathwalking is choosing to live life, and not just let life live you. Doesn’t that sound worthwhile?
What do you choose?
This is the three-hundred twenty-eighth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for, and my personal experiences with, walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
After more than 6 years of Pathwalking, I have launched a Patreon to garner support for these works, and more.
