The Making of a World

IMG_6791

Everything you think is real? Yes, I meant the question mark even though that sounds more like a statement. Why the question mark you ask? Because if everything we think is real then why do so many of us think so many different things about one subject? We think everything into being and we do that based on what we know.

If you were on a deserted island for 10 years and your spouse died sitting in your living room 10 minutes after you got there but you didn’t know it, would they be dead to you? No. You would spend the next ten years waiting to see them again. In that time you might think up a 1000 scenarios about what will happen the next time you see them or what they might do without you. You could even drive yourself crazy with the what ifs. The only what if is that they are dead but you will live out the next 10 years with that person still in your life.

Real life is much like this. You are on a deserted island, it’s called your mind and the only thing that is real is what you think. Until you know different your world remains the same. Your world is completely made up of what you know correctly or incorrectly. So, why would you hold it all so dear even if it causes you pain. If you want out of pain you simply have to make up your mind to leave it behind. Yes, it is that simple. You made this world you are living in, make another one. Make a world where you are open, see others as your equal, where you extend out in all directions and are no longer confined and you know anything is possible.

Meditate, watch your mind. When a thought comes up that makes you feel bad replace it with one that makes you feel good. You can control what goes on up there.

Here is a meditation I’ve done for years when I’m not doing formal sitting meditation:

While you are driving down the road pay attention for a bit to what is going on in your head. Realize during this time how it seems that what is going on in your head is playing out like it is on a movie screen. It’s like you are watching the world through a lens that causes what you see on the outside to go internal, playing out inside your head even when you are looking straight ahead at the world in front of you. Now, if you can, and this is not easy, try to shift out of your head and stop seeing it all inside and only see what is on the other side of the car window. You won’t be able to hold this way of seeing long. If you feel yourself drawing back inside your head, remind yourself to come back out and see only what is in front of you. Try to put your head on lockdown for as long as you can. While you are on lockdown don’t allow yourself back in there and keep trying to reinforce that barrier, extending longer and longer. If you aren’t able to do this for long, don’t worry yourself. It is almost a miracle that you can do it at all.  If you were able to do this, this is probably the only time in your life that you have. Most people don’t even know they are capable of it.

Let’s think on this for a few days and then we’ll come back to it in another post and discuss this more. This is a lot to process. We have been living in our secluded worlds with a lot of thoughts about how it all should be without much to bother our way of seeing for a very long time. Best to just chip away the blinders a little at a time.

I know it’s not easy to share but if you want to I’d love to know if you try the riding meditation,  if you are able to make the shift and what it feels like. Just write about your experience in the comments.

Comments

Popular Posts