For many years I found myself puzzled and perplexed by how parts of my mind seemed to have a mind of their own. I have often felt like the human mind should come with an instruction manual, a map that can help me find my way as I explore myself and understand why it seems like my mind is so often at odds with itself.
Why did a part of me want to eat junk food all the time? And why did it seem like it was so easy for that part of me to take control of my decisions? Or, why could I feel so excited about starting a new project, but then never actually follow through? Why did I act a certain way around one person, but then become a completely different person with another?
Perhaps you've experienced similar struggles in your own mind--as though there is a tug of war between different goals and desires that reside within you. If you're like me, that struggle can feel stressful and frustrating.
After years of struggle, I wanted to find a way to really experience harmony in my mind. But what does that harmony look like? A few things come to mind:
- Being able to make a clear decision, and then seeing it through to the end
- Being able to end unhelpful or unhealthy habits while adopting ones that uplift me and enhance my life
- Feeling more calm, courageous, creative, and connected
- Feeling as though my mind is a spacious refuge where I can joyfully see new possibilities, rather than a chaotic conflagration of opposing ideas and thoughts that only causes me more stress
The shift I've found that allows my mind to more naturally embrace harmony is simple. Most of us grow up with the idea that we have only one mind--a singular source of all our decisions, thoughts, and beliefs. On the surface level this seems true, but when we examine the mind more deeply, using modern knowledge of how it works, what we find is that everyone's mind is a multitude of different beliefs and ideas, and that those beliefs and ideas have their own lives, their own motives, and their own ways of making sense of the world. In a sense, we can even think of them as their own people, complete with the complexity that comes with being a person.
When I learned this approach for the first time, my mind made a lot more sense. Of course there was a conflict within me when I reached for that bag of chips, because the junk food part of my mind was in conflict with the part of my mind that wants to be healthy! Of course that great new project stalled, because the excited part that pitched it wasn't able to convince the part of me that was afraid I would fail to relax and let us move forward. Of course I acted in different ways around different people, because I had different parts of me that took over based on how much I trusted and understood those people.
By seeing my different attitudes, beliefs, ideas, and habits as independent aspects of my mind, that can make their own choices and often take over my decision-making-process without me even knowing it, I am now equipped with something I didn't have before--a map of how the mind works. I can better travel its avenues and alleyways, and I can get to know it in ways that allow me to better understand myself and how I can live a better life.
And, best of all, I can get to know these parts of me in ways that allow them to relax, feel heard, and get what they need. When I treat these parts of me as people who are all doing their best to help me--giving them love and seeking to understand them and help them be the best they can be--I now feel a harmony that wasn't possible before. That's pretty exciting!
I wish for you to experience that harmony as I have. That's why I invite you to join my class, Spiritual Cartography, starting on Monday, February 26th at 6pm. We will explore the many unique ways our minds work, build maps of them, and create space for our deeper, courageous inner Spirit to share its harmony in every aspect of our lives.
I look forward to mapping with you!
Much love,
-Russ
Comments
Post a Comment