When people ask me suggestions for movies with Vedic themes, one that always gets a surprised look is Groundhog Day, that 90s movie starring Bill Murray in which his character has to live the same day over and over again until he changes. Our lives are actually not that different than this. Most of our thoughts are thoughts we’ve already had, most of our actions are on repeat. If you’ve ever lived with someone, you’ll find if they will never leave their plate by the sink only once. This is what the “wheel of karma” is all about, going around and around, circling within our comfort zone until finally, it’s enough and we evolve.
The thing about Groundhog Day was it wasn’t really the same each time. While the events repeated, Bill’s character was feeling more and more pressure to shift. His reaction to that pressure pushed him in different ways, he got depressed and despondent for a time, he raged and wanted to end it all for a while. It was only when he had a shift in his awareness and he embraced a new way of being did the karma release.
We do all kinds of things to avoid the negative inner experience that comes with avoiding change. The stress in our bodies makes us crave what the lower self deems safe and comforting. When I say “lower self” I do not mean lesser. When we first developing in the womb, the part of our nervous system that develops first is the most ancient, reptilian, survival-based part of that system that is its foundation. It is when we release the stress and trauma from our nervous system that we are able to fearlessly step into whatever what we want from life and what life wants for us.
The answer to having a full experience of life is not being more productive. Adding more to your plate when you are already stressed is only going to add to that stress. Stress limits our ability to handle multiple stimulus, it narrows our awareness, thereby narrowing our life. It puts us in that fearful frame of mind that keeps us living our own version of Groundhog Day.
We're all striving to live a life of purpose, playfulness and fullness. All those things we want are really just for this end. If you are not experiencing those things, then change is needed and the only way out is in.
The life you lead will fit into your comfort zone, so upgrade your consciousness and that comfort zone can expand to be the whole world and everything in it.
