Today is Tool Tuesday! Shovel or ladder

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Every Tuesday I share one of Eloheim and The Council’s tools for spiritual growth.

The choice for consciousness is challenging, but habitual response is a pit of pain.

You get a shovel or a ladder, it’s your choice to dig yourself in deeper or to climb up the ladder and out of the pit. The shovel is repeating habit, it’s you not being willing to say, “What the hell is going on here in me? Not with him, not with her, not with the boss, not with the kids, not with the bank, not with the credit card statement but within me. What is going on in me?”

“Am I going to dig myself in deeper out of fear, guilt, lack, victim hood, or am I going to put my hand on the ladder and say something has to change? And am I going to keep climbing the ladder even when my pit partners look at me and say, ‘What are you doing? Where are you going? Who do you think you are? You’re getting too big for your britches!’” and all those other lines that they might give you. The ladder isn’t just a hop. You’re so far down in these pits of habitual response that you need one of those tall ladders, but the beauty is your ladder is tall enough.

You figure it out by putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to make the choices that say, “Habit is not who I am.” Because when habit gets to tell you who you are, the scenery doesn’t change. Do you want a shovel or a ladder? We will not give you shovels. But we have loads of ladders of all different sizes, shapes, and lengths and we even know how to make them taller. So if you get dug down in there, don’t think you’re ever lost. You’re not ever lost in the pit of habit. You simply have to keep making the choice.

We’re standing there cheering you on. Just lift your foot. We know it’s challenging to break habits, but it will get easier. If you want your life to change, you need to choose and choose again to climb the ladder of consciousness.

***

Veronica writes:
When Eloheim first came up with this one, I was blown away. It is classic Eloheim, funny and practical. I picture them standing at the top of the hole saying, “We have ladders for you!” There is something so comforting about the image of them standing in the light looking at us down in the dark just waiting for us to reach up for the ladder they are lowering.

***

When dealing with a coworker who flips into hysteria/doom and gloom thinking when confronted with a problem, I find it helpful to use the Shovel (are you really sure you want to dig that great big huge hole for yourself?) / Ladder (don’t you think we might actually get a better overview of this problem from up here?) approach. I used to call this the “Take the noose off your neck and get down from that chair” maneuver. But I like shovel/ladder now because it actually offers an alternative way of thinking about the situation rather than just a plea for different behavior.
—Rene

If you would like to read more of our Tool Tuesday entries, use these links:
Candle Wax (Nobody Gets Your Wax)
Who Answers the Door?
Velcro – Don’t Have Velcro For That
Preferences / Judgments

There are more Eloheim and The Council tools in our books:
The Choice for Consciousness, Tools for Conscious Living
The Homo Spiritus Sessions