Neo (The One) knew this and you can step out of the dream into reality too!

My Friday reflection is one of language and the linguistic matrix we live in. When the mind is unconsciously set free to run the show its language creates reductive shortcuts by assuming and limiting scope and making generalisations and unchecked statements selling them to us as the truth. Well you know based on the past and opinions we bought for free from others especially those we like. For example saying; you can’t question management Johan did and his career was cut short. Except the person spouting this wasn’t in the room when it happened, didn’t have the build-up or understand the chemistry or dynamic of both parties and now is over simplifying to make a false truth out of it. This rumour dressed as truth gets sold in the corridors and people buy it without questioning or interrogating the assumptions.

When we label people we fail to see that we are reducing our vision rather than expanding our view (lens) which hides many factors from sight. Judgment then is made based on well pretty much “hot air”. To build our conscious awareness and to judge less, I say less as the mind will keep judging no matter how hard we try to get it to stop. Rather simply build awareness by following the steps below. Then you can become sharper, more insightful and see far more. The more you can see the more wise your movements are and eventually you dance in rhythm with life with grace and fluidity.

Consider the following steps to support your consciousness and awareness development:

•     Observe it. “Ah, there you are mind doing your thing to try to help me survive: labelling, categorizing, comparing. I observe you. Thank you for doing your instinctive work of survival and caring for my security”
• See that, though well intentioned, the mind is confused about who you really are and who others are. It thinks you and others are ego, identity, job, status, role, it operates at the first level of noticing. Whilst the real information is two to five levels deeper. More on levels in a future post.
• Don’t trust the mind as your primary source of information, especially in matters of consciousness.  It will often take you further away from the truth of who you are and from what it is that you most deeply want. Remember it’s just the holder and processer of language from our past and the current slipstream of conditioned language available. It’s like paint use the paint you want to consciously paint a masterpiece rather than spew onto a canvas ;-)
• Question the mind. Is that true? Is that really true? When you ask the mind to rather notice than label, then ask the question: What can I see, notice and observe about the whole situation? Einstein was an early adopter on the power of questions and way back the first “coach” was Socrates.
• Reveal your thoughts and beliefs to yourself first and then to trusted others as a check “Here is what my mind is making up about you and about me. It’s trying to help me survive by labelling, categorizing, and comparing. I want its activity to be transparent, not hidden."
• Use the mind for what it’s good for. The mind is not that useful for helping you experience consciousness, or the truth of who you are, or taking you to ultimate freedom, liberation or peace. It is good for doing administrative tasks, memory and being cognitive material that you can construct conversation from. It can be used to create powerful supportive language such as defining goals and purpose though check you not regurgitating societal or parental out of date perspectives.
• ·   Knowing what you can shift and what you can't- is the characteristic of conscious leaders. If mental freedom is what you’re after, stop expecting judgments to come to a screeching halt, and instead focus on how much you’re buying into your judgments. Remind yourself that as much as we will label we don’t have to take the label, assumption or thing we are concluding seriously at all. Laugh and choose to expand your world through an open expansive dialogue.