Commitment can be a very charged topic, but I feel that it's an important magickal tool so I'd like to share some of my thoughts and ideas about it. I invite you to read through what I have to say here, try out some of the energy work at the end of the article and sit with it for a while. It is my hope that you will find something of value in this work, as I have.
This article came to the forefront of my mind partially as a result of an experience I had recently. I found myself frustrated with the whole discussion of commitment that came up in one of the groups I attend. The context of the discussion was relationships. The thought being presented was that commitment was overrated, and not at all desirable. That you should only be in a relationship as long as it served your needs and bail out as soon as it does not.
I try to take these things in context, knowing that the individual speaking recently had some bad relationship experiences, which may have colored the discussion. It did, however, get me thinking along these lines.
Life's lessons arrange themselves as they will, some being much less fun than others no matter how useful they end up being ultimately.
This holds true for relationships as well as anything else in life. Personally, I believe we are in relationships for a variety of reasons and what looks like a good reason to one person will not be for another. I, however, am a proponent for commitment in general and find it a valuable tool, although I find myself in the minority sometimes on this particular subject.
After the discussion, I found myself still unsettled and it gave me pause to ask some questions about commitment, and how we respond to the concept and the word.
How committed are we? Do we give our word and keep it? Do we understand the power in a vow? Do we speak the truth to ourselves and to others? What does commitment mean to us?
People tend to run from the word commitment like from ravening wolves. I have found myself, at times, sprinting right along with the crowd. So I asked myself how is commitment defined in the dictionary? First, from Webster's Online (www.m-w.com):
1: a: an act of committing to a charge or trust: as (1): a consignment to a penal or mental institution (2): an act of referring a matter to a legislative committee
b : MITTIMUS
2: a: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; especially: an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future date
b: something pledged
c: the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled <a commitment to a cause>
I also looked up synonyms. They were: OBLIGATION, charge, committal, devoir, duty, must, need, ought and right.
Yikes!! I tried The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and got:
1: The act or an instance of committing, especially:
a: The act of referring a legislative bill to committee.
b: Official consignment, as to a prison or mental health facility.
c: A court order authorizing consignment to a prison.
2: a: A pledge to do.
b: Something pledged, especially an engagement by contract involving financial obligation.
c: The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons: a deep commitment to liberal policies; a profound commitment to the family.
The parts about pledging, and agreement sound OK to me, but there is so much heaviness about the word and the whole thing about being committed to a mental institution doesn't paint a particularly rosy picture.
So why do I feel so strongly about the subject? Why would I want to write about it in the face of those odds? Is it just that I like to stir up trouble? Well yes, sometimes! Is it that my moon is in Capricorn? Well yes, that is also true.
First off, relationships are really important to me. That is one reason. I do think that we are at a time when, for some of us, the pendulum has swung to the other end of the commitment dichotomy. This is in response to a very intense set of "obligations" in the not-to-distant past. I also think that we are sometimes in the position of "throwing the baby out with the bath water" when we try to free ourselves from those constraints, but it is something more too.
I think that commitment is a powerful energy and one that we would do well to own and reclaim for ourselves as a magickal tool. I also believe that there is a very real spiritual component to commitment, something about how the world works, and faith and magic and manifestation. If you intend something that is one thing, but if you intend and also commit to that thing, I think it is exponentially more likely to come about. That the Universe, in some way, will support it.
This doesn't mean it will always happen in the way you intend or look exactly like you think it should look. (I think we would all be bored out of our minds if things were that predictable.) But that when you put your focus and energy into something and then add solid commitment to it, it is like a bridge or a doorway that opens ways unknown to you. It's like telling God, Goddess, and the Universe that you really are serious about it.
I feel that God(dess)/The Universe helps create or gives form to our own creations based, to a great extent, on our level of commitment to them. I think that one of the qualities of the Universal Force is ultimate commitment. I look at the heavens, the planets and how they move. How precise and cyclical they are to the point that you can predict with reasonable accuracy where everything will be at any specific time. You can pretty much count on the fact that the moon is going to be full and then start to wane.
My experience of God (or whatever word you choose) is very much of something that shines through creation as a manifestation of its commitment to that creation. I think that to tap into that energy is one way to bring into being a manifestation of our desire and intention.
It is akin to faith in some way, the faith allows the commitment or the commitment allows the faith. That I commit to something means that I have the faith that I will be able to carry it out and be supported by the Universe in that intention, or that some other way will be made clear to me. My faith is supported and strengthened by my commitment because from that commitment comes action.
When I make a vow, or a promise or some other act that requires commitment such as: making my vows in the craft, committing to my spiritual path, committing to take a body in this lifetime and learn the lessons that I said I would and teach the things I agreed I would, it sets up a particular energy.
I think commitment, like anything else, is an energy. A specific vibration of energy, one that exists in the present moment, and one that opens a way for things to come into being. It is like a gateway. It is the power in yes and no, of choice. Not a dead obligation, but an active vibrant affirmation.
When we don't allow this energy, or run from it — then we are only partially present in any action or decision. Some part of us is held back, and is then not available to bring to our actions. The faith is lacking somehow, the "what ifs" are shaking us, we can lose our power to doubt and fear.
The question is then asked, how do you know? How can you say that you will or won't do something? How can you commit to anything? Good question. I personally think there are lots of ways to do so. Commitment isn't (in my mind) the same as an obligation. It also isn't about being perfect and always choosing "right", or never changing your mind. It is more about being in line with what you truly intend and gather yourself together to do. Then the Universe has the space to act to bring it into being. The heaviness of obligation, I think, often comes from the feeling of having to doing something you are not actually committed to and so you experience an internal conflict and general uckiness (the technical term).
One way I think we can get to that energy of being able to commit to what we are doing is through conscious contact with our inner self/Divinity. Some kind of alignment by magick, meditation, or simply being — that gets us in touch with what we want to do, our pure hearts desire, or right action or whatever you want to call it. I see that as God(dess) speaking it's will to us, moment by moment, in this lifetime, our own will at a higher octave.
From that deep inner knowing of the rightness of something, (that for me is the presence of the Goddess or God, what ever the name) from that deep certainly, can come the ability to choose and to commit to the choice easily. It can feel sometimes that that act of choosing is the commitment and that this very action is the one that will bring things into manifestation. It is magick.
My experience shows me that we create and receive based on our beliefs, and that by our commitment we place our beliefs in motion. I also think that the Universe will create itself around us based on where our attention is. It has been said that "whatever you put your attention on increases", and that somehow we attract to ourselves whatever it is that supports our current level of consciousness and beliefs. It follows then that if we are inline with our choices internally, and bring our commitment to them that we will find ourselves more and more being supported by the commitment of the Universe, God(dess) to us.
This is why I have such strong feelings about the power of commitment. If we do magick, if we want to bring something into being, whatever it is, that is going to require some action, or input from us in some way.
On the mundane level, if you want to build a house you will have to put the work into building it and the commitment to follow it through, and if at some point you bail on that you won't actually bring into being that particular house. It may mean that you spend either time or energy or money to fund your project when you would rather spend that on something else. When the commitment is there though, it can allow you to remember why you are doing all this work to begin with, and complete your creation.
In a relationship it may mean that you find a way to open up to the other person, work through a rough spot, or allow vulnerability because you have a commitment to intimacy, or that you show up when you say you will because you have made a commitment to do so to some group.
On the more magical level I think that there is level of discipline that comes out of committing to your work, or your vows or your intention. You may want to create a magical working. I think that intention, attention and commitment are very closely linked in your ability to make that result happen. Your commitment creates the space from which you open up the time to focus your attention and direct your intention. It may manifest as the time you use to do the work in, or the time you spend honing your skills at developing and managing your energy.
I think there is some aspect of integrity that comes into play as well.
Integrity: noun [from Middle English integrite, from Old French, from Latin integritâs, soundness, from integer, whole, complete]
1: Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. See synonyms at honesty.
2: The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
3: The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.
Soundness, whole, complete, synonym with honesty, these are things that I personally find closely linked with being able to commit to ourselves. While integrity and commitment aren't the same things, to me they are closely linked. When one can make the commitment to self, the inner spiritual self, then ones actions will play that out and there is an integrity that comes from all the pieces within ones self melding into a whole. I think that there is great power in this ability to come from that wholeness, connecting with that energy and bringing your commitment to it. That is a place from which powerful magic springs.
Now we are left with, perhaps, wanting to be able to commit to the actions at hand, to bring more of ourselves to our choices. But we still feel haunted by the fear of obligation, or of outside influences that we connect to the idea of commitment. This is where the act of reclaiming this energy becomes important. What I mean by reclaiming, in this instance, is to take back the word and the vibration and clean off some of the heavy energy associated with it so that we are not controlled by it. If we see commitment only as something that brings unwanted pain, obligation, and mental institutions into our lives, then we will not be able to use it effectively. If it feels like it only creates a prison, we will not be able to see the freedom it can offer. There are many ways to achieve this freedom; I am going to offer one.
The following meditation will help you to "de-energize" the word commitment so that you can begin to get a clearer sense of what the concept means to you in present time. It will make it easier to use the energy of this word/concept for yourself and reclaim it for your own, without a lot of past ideas or other people's embellishments tied to it. This process, by the way, can work with any concept that you would like to release unwanted energy from. Feel free to play with this on your own and see what options you open up for your self. Enjoy!
Meditation
This is normally done with the eyes closed, but feel free to read a bit and then practice as you go along. Begin by grounding and centering.
Be aware of your first chakra. This is simply an energy center (vortex) that is located in the general area near the base of the spine. Be aware of this area, and allow a cord of energy to flow downward from your body. Through the chair you are sitting in. Through the floor and down through the building you are in. Through the foundation and into the deep earth beneath.
Allow your grounding to flow down into the earth past all the rocks and layers of the planet, past the water, deep into the earth into the heart of the Mother. Until it reaches the center of the earth.
Allow your grounding cord to connect securely into the center of the planet. Be aware of your grounding cord being securely connected also to your first chakra.
Now that you are grounded, you can take the next step and center yourself. The center of your head is a safe neutral place to focus your attention when you do energy work. It is located behind your eyes and a few inches back, near the pineal gland. Take a nice deep breath and bring your awareness into the center of your head. Notice how your body responds. It might have a reaction to you being centered. Let that reaction simply be; notice it. If you experience any discomfort, release it down your grounding.
Be aware of what the center of your head is like right now. Is it
light? Is it dark? Is it crowded, or empty? Cold or warm, big or small? Are
you aware of sensations, sounds, images, scents? Relax and breath yourself
into the center of your head. Continue to use your grounding to release
energy from this space so that you can make more room for you to focus there
in the present moment. Get comfortable and begin to own this safe
neutral
place, where you can be in your body and retain your spiritual
perspective. Feel yourself connected to the deep earth and let the warm gold energy
of the sun wash over you. Breathe and release.
Now take a moment and be aware of the idea of commitment. Notice how your body responds as you do so, do you notice tension, or discomfort? Release it down your grounding, use your breathing to assist. Continue to focus on your concept of commitment. Where did you learn about it, who taught you about it? Use your grounding and begin to release anything that doesn't belong to you. Release it down your grounding. Release anything that is no longer serving you in the here and now. Breathe as you do this, notice how your body responds.
Check your grounding and settle yourself into that comfortable neutral place in the center of your head. With your eyes still closed create a mental image of the word commitment out in front of your forehead about 6-8 inches. Now destroy that image, by letting it explode like bright fireworks, or burst like a bubble (or any other way that works for you). Create the word again in a mental image out in front of you. See it. Commitment. Then destroy it once again.
Keep doing this over and over again, while continuing to breath deeply and releasing energy down your grounding. Notice how your body responds, how you feel emotionally. You may find yourself feeling lighter. Continue the meditation until you feel a change, and get to a place where you feel complete for now. Check your grounding. Breathe. Own and reclaim commitment for yourself as spirit in this present moment.
When you are done, open your eyes, bend forward and touch your hands to the floor, as you relax your neck and release any built up energy around the head and shoulders into the earth. Slowly sit back up. If you journal, this would be a great time to record your experience. If not, then you're ready to go on to the rest of your day or evening. Blessed be.
Erika Ginnis works as a psychic and practitioner in Seattle. She
offers, counseling, classes, reading and healing through her practice "Inspiration is
the In-Breath of Spirit" She can be reached at (206)669-5881,
erika@inbreath.com or through her web page
http://www.inbreath.com
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