Accepting responsibility for your circumstances is the opposite of self-pity. Self-pity is a trap that robs you of personal power. Many folks see their circumstances in life as a blessing or a curse instead of a challenge. Seeing everything as a challenge moves the needle towards action and adjusts your perception. Life is about growth, and you only grow through challenging yourself.
Your perception is your reality, but not necessarily actual reality. You may think you know what’s happening, but that doesn’t mean you do. You only know after you experience it, not before, but experience alone isn’t enough either. The Great Wide World is a school and life is the teacher. If experience alone were enough, all of us senior citizens would be filled with peace and joy.
Hidden Wisdom
Lessons in the school of life are often hidden behind a veil of dogma and belief. Your mind often rebels against the wisdom hiding in life’s experiences. So you need a technique to “see” experience, a way to challenge your mind and overcome what you already believe. This shifting of perception provides the power to see reality more clearly and glean the wisdom hiding there.
“Running up a hill is a bitch, until you adapt to the hill. Then it’s not. The hill is the same but you are different and as a result, so is your experience. Easy or hard is about you, not the hill. Don’t wait for the hill to change.” ~ Craig Harper
The path toward wisdom begins with trusting the power you have within. The power to look beyond the veil of ego, shift perception, and see reality. Don Juan Matus called the technique “stopping the world.” Shutting down your inner dialogue allows you to focus attention on the task and shift your awareness to the experience where wisdom is hiding.
Stopping your internal dialogue is not easy. I’ve been trying for four decades, and it still only happens in fits and starts, but at least I’m aware of my spinning mind and can redirect my attention to the task instead of overthinking it. Noticing your inner dialogue is the first skill to develop otherwise, your attention stays lost in thought, keeping you distracted. Observe your thoughts, notice them, smile in acknowledgment, and then focus your attention on the experience.
Onward Through The Fog
In the Eastern meditative practice of Zen, it’s called “No-Mind,” a journey toward an ego-less state. It’s not only about silencing thoughts but transcending them, reaching for a state of mind free from habitual behaviors and ego. Universal awareness allows you to see reality without personal biases or conditioned perceptions. Onward through the fog.
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”
The Toltecs say that the reality we perceive is not true reality. Our reality is a reflection of light hidden behind a thick fog, an illusion maintained by our constant mental chatter or inner dialogue, which the Toltecs call the “Mitote.” A state of continuous mental meanderings influenced by personal beliefs and societal domestication. Your mind is like an open market bustling with activity. Busy and chaotic with a choir of voices telling you who you are or who you should be.
Your internal dialogue paints a reality filled with separateness, scarcity, competition, fear, and suffering. A path that leads to a lifetime of self-imposed limitations and suffering. By “Stopping the World,” you can break free from these limitations and awaken to your true nature. The Toltec tradition of “Stopping the World” is similar to the Eastern tradition of “No-Mind.”
Stillness Speaks
A shift in perception creates an interpretation of reality that is not influenced by social conditioning and internal dialogue but a direct experience of the Great Wide World. Silencing the mind or stepping off the ego train stops the ordinary world experience and creates space for a broader, deeper awareness of what is behind the veil of everyday reality.
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” — Lao Tzu
“Stopping the World” and “No Mind” originated on opposite sides of the world, yet they share a common goal: transcending the ego to access an alternative perception of reality. Both practices encourage diminishing mental chatter and shifting from a common, conditioned view to a more expansive, unconditional view. A direct experience with the true nature of reality, a reality that is interconnected, unfixed, and filled with potential.
Control
It starts with control and the one thing you can control is your attention — What are you focused on? You can’t always control your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, but you can focus your attention. When you focus your attention on being kind, kind behaviors will manifest themselves. Be impeccable when focusing your attention, be intentional. Use your eyes. The eyes beckon intent and direct your energy.
“It takes courage to be kind.” ~ Maya Angelou
Don Juan taught Carlitos a technique using the eyes to stop the world. I use it sometimes on my morning walk when I want to put a halt to the internal dialogue. Unfocus and slightly cross your eyes maintaining a peripheral view without directly focusing on anything, gaze just above the horizon to see a panoramic or wide angle view. The technique floods the mind with impressions, breaking habitual mental patterns and shutting off internal-dialogue; creating a sense of inner silence and heightened awareness.
When you stop your inner-dialogue, you can perceive reality without the distortions of your conditioned beliefs and thoughts. Stopping your inner-dialogue is a magical experience that opens you up to greater, more powerful experiences and a heightened perspective. You begin to live your life around love. Your heart points you in that direction and your experiences and challenges lock you in.
Your effort isn’t a blessing or a curse. It’s simply an effort. You learn to love the struggle and courage to meet each challenge. The new perspective frees your attention to focus on struggling well. You choose how to engage in what you do. Seek the path with heart; find joy in your work and your struggle.