“All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”–Buddha
Probably very few of us humans can look at an image of a battle, a politician, a chocolate bar, a starving child, a hurricane, or a gorgeous movie star, and not have an opinion about it. Our conditioning and body chemistry has us programmed to judge the image as being good or bad, positive or negative, right or wrong, better or worse. In fact, if we really paid attention, most of our thoughts are polarized or polarizing in one way or another.
The famine in Africa: bad; ninth-grade science teacher: bad (if he didn’t have the comb-over he might be tolerable); the rain: good for the gardener/bad for the wedding, etc. Whatever the assessment, it simply becomes another filter and lens through which we view and create our reality.
Even so, to the degree that we are not completely lost in our dramas, and we can bring awareness to our moment-to-moment experience, we can choose differently.
Here’s the rub: If the same beliefs have been spinning around for an entire lifetime, it might take a while and lots of gentle “minding” to soften their grip.
p.s. If it inspires you to work on this: to change some of the hardwired habits that keep you stuck, you might want to consider treating yourself this coming May to a week-long gift of spaciousness – a fabulous upcoming program that I will be co-presenting with one of my dearest friends and colleagues who specializes in life transitions.
Learn more about “Spacious in Spain: Clearing Ourselves and Rethinking our Stories“
