“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.”

- Bob Marley

What have you bought into that you think you can’t break out of?

It’s a question I ask myself all the time.

The answer goes two directions, the buy-ins that I want to break out of, and those from which I don’t want a break. A lot of my buy-ins work for me, so I don’t need to worry too much about them (although it’s still good to recognize them).

No, the one’s that are not working for me are the ones I need to break from.

We all need to break from the ideas and beliefs that don’t serve us. All those ideas and beliefs do is bring us down, and work against our natural state of magnificence.

We live in a world, that reinforces many of the self-defeating and self-deprecating thoughts. Yet we should always remember that we have choice, we get to decide the degree to which we live in those thoughts.

I was talking to a student in a class I am assisting in teaching about these notions, and where the erroneous ideas, beliefs, and thoughts come from. Much of what we align with in our own minds is the tendency of the groups we associate with. We tacitly agree with the predominant thoughts, beliefs and ideas — and those things become our point of view in how we experience life.

For instance, I pointed out to this student that about ten years ago there was a significant financial slow down in the United States — what many refer to as a recession. Many people were effected by it. Money was lost by many.

Not everyone was effected in this way, though. I was not effected adversely during this time. So, for me it begs the question, “What was the factor that differentiated these groups of people?”
There is only one answer.

The mental decision to participate or not on the part of the individual.

That’s it.

Don’t get caught up in other people’s ideas if they are not serving you. That is mental slavery.

We, and we alone, are in charge of our minds.

So… what have you bought into?

Do you recognize it?

Good, now you get to choose how to move forward.