“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy...”— Genesis 2: 2

In a survey of the world’s favorite number, 7 was rated the highest. No surprise, right?

Being the world’s favorite number, people haven’t begun to truly understand how this powerful number operates in all of their life. So mystical that God used it in the 7 day creation plan and to this day, humanity operates on this 7 day week schedule. For most, this is just a number, but it’s not. It’s a law.

The Septimal Law (also known as the Law of Sevens or Law of Periodicity)  states that the progression of life goes in 7 cycles. Every 7 years you enter into a new life cycle. Biology (and Stanford School of Medicine) states that every single cell in your skeleton regenerates every 7 years. This means that you, biologically, are a brand new person every 7 years! The beauty of knowing this is that you can consciously become who you want /choose to be while still being in alignment with the law.

Each 7 year cycle has its own characteristics. Often times when sudden or overwhelming difficulties may appear in life, knowing this law can be helpful. For some, it may not be important for you to know about this, life can be swell for you because you are naturally readjusting and growing when life experiences call you to do so. In any case, after some research, here’s my theory on how it goes:

TRAONAH'S 7 YEAR LIFE CYCLE THEORY 1st Phase: Physical - There is a focus on securing a home, possessions, family, good reputation, friends and to be apart of a community. 

0-7 Infancy: Newness and discovery.

7-14 Childhood: Activity and vigorous development.

14-21 Adolescence: Education, ethics and heighten sexuality.

21-28 Full Growth: Labor and struggle. Self-nurturing needed.

28-35 Construction: Responsibility increases, acquire property, possessions, home, family.

35-42 Deconstruction: Reactions and changes. Dependency of love, friends and parents to get us through.

42-49 Reconstruction: Adjustment and recuperation. A period of rest with some lingering effects of the Deconstruction cycle. Foundation for a new career.

2nd Phase: Spiritual - There is decline in earthly pursuits and increasing interest in wisdom and higher ways of living. 

49-56 Rebirth: Weak but favorable cycle. New Beginnings and rediscovery.

56-63 Childhood: Successful cycle. Activity, domesticity, power and possibilities.

63-70 Adolescence: Wisdom, introspection, and passion.

70-77 Full Growth: Care and abundant rest is needed. Connection and communication.

77-84 Construction: Care and abundant rest is needed. Living by solid foundations.

84-91 Deconstruction: Friendships and love are important in this cycle.

91-98 Reconstruction: Rich in life experiences this cycle is a preparation for the divine realm.

The Septimal Law is a universal law. When we go against any law, life is simply harder. By knowing where you are in your life cycle, you can mentally, emotionally and physically prepare and/or re-adjust to a natural and more easier way of living.

--- Note: Nature shows us the Septimal Law in:  7 Chakras,  7 musical notes, 7 colors in a rainbow, 7 days for skin to completely regenerate, 7 days for each phase of the moon, etc. ---

Share: Where are you in your 7 year cycle?

“...anything that’s not growin’ is dead, so we better be changing”— Lauryn Hill: Interlude 5, Lauryn Hill MTV Unplugged 2.0

Perhaps, this post is more for me, than for you, but I’ve been thinking about how nature changes when required to do so and that we must do the same.

The seasons, for example, take us through a process of birth, growth, decline and death. In the fall, the maple tree doesn’t stubbornly hold on to its leaves and refuse to let them go by winter. The tree lets the leaves go when its required to do so.

Snakes, as an example, let go --shed-- their skin when they outgrow it. The uncomfortable process can take weeks in which their behavior, perception and appetite changes. Sounds similar to behaviors we go through when faced with major life situations, right? But if snakes go through it, certainly we can too. Yet at times we fight this growing process. We want to hold on to the old skin. Nature shows us that it’s unnatural to hold on to something that we know we should be letting go of. Yes, I know, it’s easier said than done. However, when what you’re doing, saying or feeling no longer holds true to who you are, then it’s time for a change.

Here are some signs calling you to change:

1. A career which you’ve mentally/emotionally checked out of
   
   
2. A relationship that’s empty or uncooperative
   
   
3. Activities or hobbies that now feel like chores
   
   
4. Environments that are not supportive  
   
   
5. Habits that are detrimental to your long-term health
   
   
6. Parental beliefs that you disagree with yet strongly affect you even as an adult
   
   
7. If you’re living in the past and/or constantly talking about how things used to be
   
   
8. If you have a fear of what's new
   
   
9. Continuously blaming other people for the way your life is now
   
   
10. The clothes or shoes in your closet that no longer fit, have holes, permanent stains or belong to an ex  
    
    
11. Whatever deep issue you are denying or ignoring right now 
    
    

This list can go on and on.

It takes courage to change but when we are prompted to, we must, our life is dependent on it.

What’s inhibiting your growth? and what will you do about it?    

“ An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory”— Albert Einstein

I recently have struggled with writing my next blog post, this one, because I come to feel that words are one thing but actions are something else. Am I just writing but not implementing these very things that I write about in my own life?

After having a good chat with my friend, I come to realize the reason I write is because I have something valuable to say to myself and for others. Yes, it’s a bit selfish. But when faced with certain situations in life, I use my own posts to help me through them --that’s being real.

For many years, I have been saying I wanted to write but resisted and procrastinated. But even procrastination gets old and resistance gets tiresome. As Steven Pressfield says, just “do the work”, we all know Nike more popularly says a variation of that too.

(Steven Pressfield’s books are highly recommended: War of Art and Do The Work).

This is where I talk about the Universal Law of Gender. Stay with me, I know I’m going all over the place, but there are some people that enjoy thinking and thinking and enjoy less of doing. Thinking is fun, right? Of course it is. But in my current state of mental fatigue, I've been thinking what’s the point of thinking so much? The thinking needs some doing.

Back to the Law of Gender. The word “gender” comes from Latin which means ‘to generate, create, produce’.  The Law of Gender means there is a feminine and masculine energy/aspect needed in order for creation to occur. The feminine energy is the thinker and the masculine energy is the doer. A woman and man creates a baby. The architect and construction crew creates a building. The car needs a driver to move (well, at least for now it does). We basically need to embody both thinking (fem.) and doing (masc.) to live a balanced life. So, when we're thinking too much and doing too little, we welcome frustration, mental fatigue, stagnation and host of other unpleasant emotions and situations. 

So, the point is: think and do. 

Lately I’ve been thinking about how I haven’t stuck with certain things long enough to master them. So when I noticed George Leonard’s Mastery, in a used bookstore, I figured it was a sign to start taking this issue a bit more seriously.

Leonard starts off identifying 3 types of people:

Dabbler: Approaches a new endeavor with excitement. Loves to tell everyone about it. When faced with difficulty or a plateau, the dabbler starts to lose interest and justifies the disinterest. Then moves on to something else.  

Hacker: Learns a thing just long enough to coast.The hacker doesn’t attempt to grow in knowledge or skill, they are content with where they are and what they are doing, they are at best average at what they do.

Obsessive: Approaches a new endeavor and wants to be the best. Makes progress immediately and forceful pushes his way to mastering information quickly, not paying too much attention to those around him with sound advice. The Obsessive wants quick results, but quick results are paired with rapid decline. The Obsessive goes on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.

Umm… wow! If you aren’t one of these people, then you know of them (if not all of them). I’m a Dabbler and it’s pretty darn uncomfortable to think about. As a Dabbler, with occasional Obsessive tendencies, I always thought it was cool to find novelty --and get wildly excited about-- new things. But just as a kid getting a Christmas present, 10 minutes later its lost its flair. How can I, you, and your best friend--that’s always into the next big thing-- stick with something long enough to master it?

Malcolm Gladwell offers his 10,000 Hour Rule in his book Outliers:  

10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” is needed to become successful (expert level) in any field   

And, in a more recent TED Talks, Josh Kaufman offers his 20 Hour Rule:

“It takes 20 hours of focused deliberate practice to be reasonable good at anything.”

But, whether it’s 20 hours  or 10,000 hours. What’s required out of us is a deliberate focused practice which involves commitment.For some, that’s such a loaded word (I’ll explore that topic in another post). Leonard says, “We fail to realize that mastery is not about perfection. It’s about a process, a journey. The master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is the one who is willing to try, and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.”

Today decide not to be average :)  Start with a 20-hour commitment to be good at something.

Comment Below: What will you commit 20-hours to?