We cannot heal what we do not acknowledge
With gentle awareness, we make the powerful choice to begin seeing all the ways we deceive ourselves and how we may even be sabotaging our happiness.
How to stop reinforcing our pain
Did you know that how you impulsively react, mentally and behaviorally, reinforces your personal delusions (deceptions)? It's something we all do. Literally every time you or I give into our egoic impulses, we're adding another brick to our house of suffering.
That sounds harsh but please note that my tone is quite tranquil as I type this. We all have delusions and deceptions, it's nothing to be offended by or ashamed of. Even the Buddha taught that "where there is perception there is deception". And we're always perceiving—it can be quieted but never stopped. When we react to life we're often reinforcing our non-mindful patterns, yet when we slow down and respond—consciously think and reflect—we're cultivating mindfulness and gain the ability to pierce the veil of our delusions and self-deceptions. In my book, Living Peace, I call these "veils" Mental Overlays.
“Life, this Earth, is inherently Neutral. Yet we as a humans blanket it with our MIND, creating a mental overlay of emotional biases and irrational judgments due to our limited perception."
We simply cannot know the totality of TRUTH, and yet so many of us confidently and haphazardly make claims of absolutes via our opinions about ourselves, others, and the collective world.
Judgments are just another form of self-deception and limited awareness
This habit of self-deception certainly leads to a lot of unnecessary "bumping into" each other, often leading to pain. However, the more we understand how we deceive ourselves through our impulsiveness and limited perceptions, the more compassion and healing we learn to cultivate.
Again, we cannot heal what we do not acknowledge
Instead of holding fast and firm to our personal opinions, judgments, and even religious or political beliefs―we can add some spaciousness. Uncertainty can be a beautiful thing at times, especially for those of us who may be impulsive and rush ahead with words and actions due to overconfidence in our beliefs and feelings.
Interestingly enough, even those of us who struggle with insecurity and major self-judgments are also overly confident. Why? Because it's the opposite pole―we're overly confident in our INABILITIES. And just as the overly confident can use some uncertainty in their confidence, those with negative self-certainties can also benefit from the same wisdom.
Lean in to uncertainty and acknowledge the uncomfortable
This week, activate greater mindfulness towards any judgments that arise and the hard opinions you have about yourself, others, and the collective world. Add some space to the ideas you usually attach to by taking a step back and looking at your life through a larger lens. You may even want to journal any thoughts or feelings that come out of this experience.
Additionally, do your best to not react in your usual manner anytime you get triggered. Instead, invite freshness and invite spaciousness. Breathe in peace and exhale calm. Again, take note of what this experience is like for you and what new thoughts or feelings may arise from it.
In peace,
Alaric
Our journey from winter into spring. . .
How we enter each seasonal year matters greatly. A tree that holds onto its leaves from the past year gives little room for new growth come spring.
In Dunisha, at the start of Midwinter (Feb. 1st) we journey through a seven week Life Cleanse that prepares us to enter into Spring (March 21st) with renewal and freshness. By laying the rest the previous year, it is easier to allow new growth to occur this year.
Link to Life Cleanse Week 1: Mental Hoarding
The video below is the Dunisha sermon giving by Rev. Alaric Hutchinson covering this blog's topic. Filmed on February 9th, 2020.
An Invitation
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