January/February 2003 Cosmic
Toltec 52 Review

by Kelsey Bunker

One of the common practices of the ancient Toltec people was to review the structure of their government every 52 years. This included evaluating which laws were working and which were not. When they found a law that no longer served them, they changed it. By modifying and even throwing out entire structures, they were able to keep their government evolving to keep pace with its people. This enabled the government to work to its fullest potential.

Every 52 weeks when the New Year arrives, we, too, have a tradition of acknowledging the need for change as evidenced by our practice of making New Year’s resolutions. So often we focus on something that we want to change about ourselves--our weight, our health, our jobs or our relationships—without first looking deeply within to find those beliefs that no longer serve us. And inevitably, a few weeks later or sometimes even just a few days later, we find ourselves abandoning our new year’s resolutions and falling back into the same patterns of behavior that have caused us to create those situations that perpetuate a dissatisfaction of ourselves. This dissatisfaction is food for our internal judge. The judge becomes stronger, and we become evermore self-critical feeling worse and worse about ourselves.

This year before you make a single resolution, I encourage you to take some quiet time to examine your beliefs. Look into your heart and ask yourself what is working and what isn’t. Give yourself the gift of being totally honest with what you find. No one else is here, only you. We create our outer world from within. It all starts with our beliefs. What we believe we manifest. Before you can make any lasting changes in your outer world, it is critical to understand what you believe. If you are having trouble with discovering your belief system all you have to do is look at your outer world. If, for example, you are stuck in a low paying job, you can begin to look at your beliefs about money. Do you believe that money is bad? Do you believe in abundance or do you believe that you have to fight and claw your way to your fair share? Do you believe that you deserve abundance? What does abundance mean to you?

By asking yourself questions with an open heart, you create an opening between identifying what you believe as yourself and understanding that your beliefs are simply your operating system. You are not your beliefs. Questions are critical in the facilitation of this process. Question everything you think. Question everything you believe. Question everything you read, including this article. Learn to create a space so that the answers to your questions can bubble up from your higher Self. My experience is that rarely will the higher Self impose its existence upon the little me. It is only when I come from a place of not knowing, a place of openness that the higher Self responds. Through asking questions, I invite the wisdom of the higher Self to come forth.

Each of us is born with all of the tools necessary for our personal freedom. And by the time we reach adulthood, most of us have completely forgotten that we even have a full toolbox to use during our personal path of self-discovery. Although rusty and forgotten, these tools will serve us if only we express our desire to discover them.

Once you have discovered which beliefs are no longer serving you, have the courage to make changes. Alter your old agreements. Every belief that you currently adhere to, at some point in the past, you agreed to it. If you were a small child, you may not have had any choice but to agree with the parent who told you a belief about who you are. The point is not to blame anyone, but rather to know that without your agreement those words would have never become your belief. The good news is that as an adult you can make new agreements. Making new agreements changes your belief system. Changing your belief system alters the foundations from which you create your world. Personal freedom is the ability to change your belief system moment by moment to respond to the present to create whatever it is that you wish to experience.

Happy New Year and may all of your dreams come true.

Kelsey Bunker is an apprentice with don Miguel Ruiz and currently teaches classes in the Portland area on the Four Agreements. For more information call 503/288-4229 or email b1kelsey@aol.com.