Brisbane – Australia
Dear reader, I’m so glad you’re here, ready to read and reflect, ready, too, to share your thoughts on this new ‘mind-meander’.
As I sit, fingertips on the keyboard in this, the moment underfoot, I have no idea why the current ‘breeze blown infiltration of thoughts seems to be about the need to observe ourselves … neutrally.
Naturally.
‘Au naturel’, as the French might say.
Neither as a critical Judge nor as an Examiner.
There are no penalties to receive.
And there are no immediate reward points either.
None, beyond seeing more clearly what to keep and what to shift.
When it comes to these mind-meandering articles, I like to imagine the paragraphs that show up on each page as separate as little garden beds on the surface but which are invisibly interconnected at the root level.
I imagine they are populated by ‘seeds’ caught in the flow of intuitive thoughts on matters that are the heart and soul of our culture.
So, let’s jump in.
Let’s observe our own thoughts before we settle into an observation of What-Is and how it is in the world beyond.
Regardless of their nature, unsolicited thoughts never occur in isolation. Like clumps of soil rubbed between fingers, they don’t flutter down one at a time. They don’t sit in our mind in tidy rows.
They don’t intend to become a focal point in our garden bed.
Nor do thoughts know how to form clear patterns like flowering plants do in a well-tended garden bed.
Instead, thoughts flash in and out of our awareness.
They infiltrate our minds as seeds dropped by passing birds penetrate the soil and form their own haphazard designs.
Like any down-to-earth gardener would know, the process has to get messy before it begins to take shape and make sense.
Reality check: as fluttering seeds landing here and there, our thoughts are not ‘us’, and they generally remain ‘unedited’.
So, neutral observation of what we see, what we hear, what we feel, what we do as a result – and why we feel, think and do as we do – is crucial to any objective assessment of what shapes the everyday emotional landscape of our day-to-day.
Yes, of course, we objectively check ourselves before we attempt to check anyone else.
At the moment, the conduit thoughts fluttering on my screen via the keyboard seem to be about the need to exert greater control over our thoughts and over our actions.
Maybe that’s about the need to better activate two of our most relevant birthrights: free will when it comes to choosing actions vs inactions, reaction vs responses and the freedom to choose freely every-thing, any-thing or no-thing … within the limits of the law, of course.
Technically, choosing freely means that our choices are free of self, peer, media or authoritarian coercion of any sort.
So, maybe this little mind-meander is about digging up a more thought-full, unbiased answer to the question, ‘How have my free will and the associated freedom to choose my actions, reactions and responses have made me who am I today?’
Indeed, who are we beyond our name, (adopted) gender, status, work and qualifications, material possessions, the content of our closets and of our ‘beauty stash’?
Who are we beyond our skin that periodically flakes off or peels; beyond our cells that regenerate themselves every so often without affecting ‘who we are’ in any way?
Who are we, really, beyond our skeleton formed eons ago and beyond our past which has moved from present to past without altering our essence?
Who are we, really, beyond or through the labels we do our best to project, those that separate us from other?
Who are we, really, beyond the labels we’ve accepted from others, those that make us feel less than interesting to be with, less than worthy of trust, love, affection or respect?
Our answers are simply a surface summary of who we think we are or who we believe we are but, in reality, there is so much more depth to tap within our total being.
Similarly, there always is a big gap between our untapped potential and how we fail to maximise it.
Reality check: in the absence of a genuinely neutral observation of our modus operandi, we tend to remain fixed under a pile of labels, many of which our detrimental to our wellbeing.
So, as we go about this impromptu investigative foray into our selves, let’s avoid handing out labels.
Our self-preserving frame of mind restricts the integration of the many of our most positive character traits.
So, unconscious as we tend to be, we leave them untapped and therefore undeveloped.
We don’t trust ourselves enough to allow them to truly flourish.
We seldom allow them to become integrated aspects of who we are – of our reality.
What we tend to do is confirm the perception other have of us.
As it appears to be the line of least resistance, that’s the line we follow.
Knowing as we do that most of our current needs and fears are a throwback from our early childhood, we can ask our adult self, ‘What stirs me up the most, these days?’
‘Why does it?’
‘What makes me feel good? Like, really deep down?’
‘If it’s true that my current circumstances, such as they are, are exactly how they need to be, what thoughts should I choose to cultivate in order to enjoy a lot more my ‘here and now’?
‘What, really, what do I need, here and now, to feel content with the content of my days?’
‘If I peel back layers of worries and insecurities, what is at my core?’
Heads up: we have a better chance of getting an accurate answer when we balance what we want with what we need… truly need.
Of course, we understand what Maya Angelou meant when she said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive.”
Reality check: choosing freely means deciding what, as multi-dimensional beings cast in the roles of young or older adults, parents, relatives, friends, partners and colleagues, we want to think, say and do – or not – on the issues of our own authentic personal and social agency.
And on the issues of family togetherness, gender equity and racism, too, particularly and if only because so many more of us are finally willing to lean into these issues.
And within the framework of what we have so far karmically co-engineered with the Universe, what about our personal … purpose for what remains of this lifetime?
So, before we dive in to grapple with the significant issues that involve more than our selves, let’s agree to attempt finding the little trap door that will lead us to our higher purpose and …
… let it rip! 😉
Keep pondering.
Keep sharing.
