Free Your Mind
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“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”
We must not allow ourselves to be blind. One of the greatest challenges we face in our lives is admitting we don’t know something. We are faced each day with navigating and negotiating the unknown (and everything ahead of us is totally unknown — even when we think it isn’t). We do our best to make educated guesses to determine courses of action in life; most of the time those guesses are spot on. We have developed the capacity to make those guesses based on a lifetime of embodying habits of thought. Much of our mental response to the world is habitual.
If we are willing we can observe those habitual responses and question them to great benefit. Let’s begin to question those responses, beginning with answering the basic question, “Is this line of habitual thinking serving me in a constructive way?” Since these habitual responses are based on past experience and past development of thought, it might be worth getting to the root cause of the thought. What was it in our history that convinced us so thoroughly that our habit in thought was the right answer? Is that reasoning still valid?
Many people, experiences and events have shaped the people we have become today. Our alignment with these things will continue to shape our experiences until we actively decide to embody something else. We mustn’t be afraid to look at these things. We must look beyond the narrative to the deeper aspects of how the narrative has shaped our life. From this place of understanding — the work begins.
Work daily to uncover these habits. As you do, make decisions about them. Keep in mind, though, that these habits are not good or bad when you really recognize them — they just are. Honor them for being the roots for how you got to be where you are today, learn from them, and then either accept them as habits you would like to continue or release them to embody new habits.
This level of work and mindful awareness can change your life. It doesn’t happen in an instant, but persistence pays off in the long run. Keep up the great work of deepening awareness and developing constructive life habits!
You are worth it!