Transformation

In the area of human motivation and development, the word transformation is never too far away. Some synonym words may help – Reconstruct, Revolution, Transfiguration, Renewal and Metamorphosis. They all seem to have something in common. They are all profound and seem to transcend beyond some identifiable origin. Butterflies do it effortlessly. They are simply designed and configured to transform itself just at the right time. I really don’t know whether they are conscious of it. I suppose they really do not have a choice.

Are we humans, who are given the power to choose, capable of such transformation? At the physical level, we really do not have a choice. Appearance will change over time, skin texture will change, hair colour changes and so on. If you look at a picture of yourself when you were a baby, there is a good chance you may not recognize yourself and this physical transformation will continue to happen as you age. It is really about transcending a specific form to a completely different form. 

On the physical level, our physicality transforms quite literally moment to moment.   According to researchers, the body replaces itself with a largely new set of cells every seven years to 10 years, and some of our most important parts are revamped even more rapidly [sources: Stanford University, Northrup]. Swedish molecular biologist Dr. Jonas Frisen studied body tissue renewal and found that the body's cells largely replace themselves every 7 to 10 years. In other words, old cells mostly die and are replaced by new ones during this time span. The cell renewal process happens more quickly in certain parts of the body, but head-to-toe rejuvenation can take up to a decade or so. This is also one of the reasons why I regularly assert that our body is far more intelligent than our conditioned mind. It has the ability to change, create, adapt, solve, digest, process, pump, convert, substitute and defend itself and all this happens on its own without having to push any buttons.

Butterflies do it effortlessly. They are simply designed and configured to transform itself just at the right time

Hence, the question remains, are we or specifically our minds capable of transforming itself, so that it can move on to other experiences and new learnings and living. Is the mind able to renew itself? Why aren’t these prospects of change appealing enough for it? What really holds back the mind? Has the mind gathered so much over time, that the gatherings have become part of its personality? It seems to me that the only time that the mind feels the need to shift itself is when it is pushed to a corner and there is no way out. The distress and the pain of the experience seem to be the impetus for that transformation to take place, which we know happens quite rarely. The frequency of the pain and the intensity of the distress, of course, increases as we resist the change that is upon us.

If a family doctor tells you that you have another 4 months to live, maximum, then transformation will happen on its own. There would be no need to attend any motivational course or classes on transformation. It will happen quite automatically. Reality has finally hit home. All plans and goals would have to change. Now mortality has become real. Priority needs to change. What used to be important is no longer as important. Every moment that ticks away is real and is too quick. On the other hand, if mortality is just a word you have picked up and you know it happens to everyone else, but you, then you are going to be distracted by everything that happens to you. Everything is a priority and you will drown in the trivial and the morbidity of habits and routines. This is when your circumstances or your predicament will dictate your transformation. 

You see, the mind needs to be shocked out of itself. Today, everyone looks for a safe and comfortable place to live and work. Convenience is demanded and this is certainly not the best place for any transformation to happen. Comfort and convenience breed insecurity. The safer you become, the more insecure you are going to feel, because now you have more to lose. So at the end of the day, it all comes down to perspective. When things are out of perspective, then confusion will be your friend and on the other hand if everything in your life is in its correct perspective according to how they are meant to be, then one will be in absolute clarity. 

Hence, real transformation happens when one moves from a state of confusion to a state of clarity. A clarity that is so certain that there is absolutely no room for doubt. The next natural question, of course is what is it that we are confused about and what is it that we need to be clear about?

By Kumar Nagalingam