Law of Transformation
Excerpt from Deepak Chopra's book, Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheros
(Note: Whenever I read the word superhero in this book, I superimpose Starseed. They are interchangeable~~which I found exciting.)
Transformation is a very real force and active process in our lives. For example, the version of you reading these words right now is not the same version of you who bought this book or who will finish turning the last few pages of it whenever you reach the end. At a basic physical and atomic level, our body is in constant motion, replenishing and reinventing itself. The body is not a structure, it's a process. This year's version of your body is a recycled model of last year's. At the level of molecules and atoms, you are constantly reinventing yourself, which means you have a new skin once a month, a new skeleton every three months, a new stomach lining every five days, and a new liver every six weeks. Your DNA which holds memories of millions of years, is recycled every six weeks at the level of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
Likewise at an emotional level, we are also constantly changing because of the web of memories, hopes, desires, relationships, and interactions that we find ourselves involved in. Each of them influences us in countless ways, from the metabolic responses they can trigger within us to the choices they may push us toward that alter the course of our lives. Most of us, however, are not aware of this never-ending state of change, so that transformation is not active evolution, rather, it waxes and wanes and falls victim to the ebb and flow of our moods and the emotional climate of those we surround ourselves with. That is, we become trapped by the creation of our boundaries. Our actions and beliefs are limited by our perspective. We become convinced of our own inabilities, or that we are in the right, or that the world is somehow out to get us. No matter what the specific boundary is, the end result is that without the Law of Transformation, we are stuck and will always struggle to change.
In spiritual terms, transformation is not only about gaining mindfulness about ourselves but also about combining insight with a greater awareness of the basic connectivity of all things. Transformation then becomes a readiness to see and experience the world from an infinite number of perspectives. It is the ability to transform and then see and experience the world not only from one's own individual point of view but from every other perspective as well. Although transformation in the superhero world may reveal itself in overt physical metamorphosis—Bruce Wayne changing into Batman or the character Storm transforming into a lightning storm—in our world it is a great deal more subtle in appearance, but equally powerful in action.
So what does this mean in practical terms? How can we integrate into our lives the ability to truly see and experience the world through the perspective of someone else? Superheros navigate the cosmos in consciousness. Through their intentions and imagination, they can take quantum leaps to any location in space and time. A quantum leap allows you to move from one location in space and time to another without going through the intervening space.
Try this. Close your eyes and remember yourself as a little child. Instantly you have traveled in time and are now looking at a different body and a different personality. At one pint in the past, you identified with this person, but most likely he or she is no more familiar to you today than a stranger. Now close your eyes and envision yourself ten years from now with a different body and different personality, one that has grown in maturity and understanding beyond the one you have today. The same experience occurs.
Now go outside of your own body. Close your eyes and become an eagle in the sky. Imagine what the world might look like from that vantage point, soaring high above in the clouds. Or take on the consciousness of another animal—a snake slithering through the grass or a dolphin frolicking in the ocean. Or another human persona—a warrior bracing for battle, an alchemist tinkering with magic, or a divine Being harnessing the forces of the universe. The way in which we perceive the world shapes the way in which we interact with it, the choices we make, and ultimately what we define as real.
There's a saying in the East. "Reality is an act of perception." When we become mindful of that perception, we gain control of our reality. The ability to steer our own perception—or point of view—is the art of shape-shifting, a core quality of superheros, but also something we are all equipped to do.
