Social Conditioning

In Difficult Times

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We are meant to be fundamentally changed by challenging times and events; to transcend our old identity.

Pain and suffering will occur to the extent that we resist what is happening. However, when we can see these circumstances with a pair of fresh eyes, a new perspective, we will suffer less, and for some, it will be possible not to suffer at all.

You do not want to end up being the same person that you were before these events happened; otherwise, you will become more anchored into the conditioned-self, leaving you no better off than you were before they occurred. Always remember you are walking in Consciousness or God and not just your body.

Connection

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Life is not about being correct; it is about being connected. Too often in life, we choose to fight to be right over connecting, being in the moment and listening. This causes separation and creates an environment of discord. We can no longer hear what someone else says because we are too busy formulating our response and being right. It is my way or the highway!

Love, understanding, compassion, and empathy only show up when we feel connected with someone, and the oneness of all things. If we only see our differences, we will never be able to find the middle ground or any lasting peace. We will forever remain in a state of anxiety, upset, anger and worry.

Therefore, we can always be right, or we can let go of our rigid thinking and be open to experiencing our true nature instead of who we have become, a conditioned, inflexible thinking human. We must find our way back to connection, awaken to our oneness and begin living in the present moment.

If you feel anxious, lost or live in worry and pain, then you are being called to begin this journey. Do not ignore the signs because it is your time to awaken. Let go of your resistance and the fight to be right and step on the path to self-discovery. It is here that you will find your way back to your true nature, find peace and a connection to something greater than yourself.

Mistakes

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Would life be different for you if you did not think that making a mistake was wrong? Would you then take more risks in your life? What if I told you that you were conditioned to feel this way and that in truth there is nothing wrong with making mistakes. In fact, that is how we learn.

Think about that for a minute, can you make a wrong choice if you are always learning from your so-called mistakes and moving forward with greater awareness in your life? Would you still consider it a mistake or a gift?

What if your conditioning had not taught you to think that anything short of perfection was wrong or incomplete. What if we had been shown never to fear to make mistakes and we saw them as opportunities, a chance to learn, grow and move forward in life with a new awareness.

Can you look back on your life to times when you thought you made a mistake and it led you to a new understanding about yourself or your life? Can you see that this so-called error was actually a guiding light to something better in your life?

Making a mistake is never wrong if we see it as an opportunity and learn from it. That is the beauty of life, we always have the chance to start over, to learn and make all of our mistakes and problems into victories.

Remember the more significant the mistake or problem, the greater the triumph when you overcome it.

Now, you are to remember that, so that when you have a disturbance of any kind raging inside you, you will never follow your conditioning and go into automatic thinking that the storm is stronger than your real nature because it isn’t. You can always be in charge of your thoughts and learn from your mistakes and problems.

Bringing awareness into your life, noticing your conditioning and automatic thinking can only make your life better, so take a risk, and be willing to make mistakes because it will lead you to a better life.

Real Change

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The only place we can indeed change anything is within ourselves. This inner journey is the most essential part of our human experience, and yet it is rarely put at the top of our list and pursued first, if at all.

Why, because we have been socially conditioned to think that many other things in life are more important. We have become so focused on getting these things, we fail to see that as we change, the world outside us changes with us.

We are too busy taking care of everyone else or working so hard to change everything out in the world that we neglect looking within and this is the only real way to make lasting change in our lives and in the world. Too many people never understand this until very late in life or unfortunately, not at all, and without it, we all suffer more than is necessary.

You have a tremendous opportunity if you are reading this now to wake up to this truth. To hear what I am saying and connect with that part of you that already knows and feels the trueness of it.

This is the first step, and then if you pay attention, you will be guided to the next action with minimal effort as long as you stay aware of your conditioning and let it go when it comes up.

Social conditioning is easy to identify because it will be at odds with what you feel in your body. Trust what your body is telling you because it will never lead you astray. If your thoughts are saying something different, then they are lying to you, not your body. Your conditioning, cunning and persistent will use your thoughts to trick you, keeping you stuck in life. Remember when you are in command of yourself, you are in command of your life and your happiness.

How to Change the World

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The next time you get frustrated, angry or upset with another person for his or her actions or words, remember that we are all doing the best we can in every moment; this is a fact.

Remembering this fact is not always easy to do because we will react to our thoughts, which are influenced by our conditioning. Past conditioning can cause our response to be inappropriate or disproportionate to what is happening. Our thoughts will tell us that it is the other person’s fault that we feel this way, but in truth, no one’s action or words alone have the power to upset us. We do that all on our own.

Think back to a time when your response to what someone did or said was inappropriate, or you overreacted. Also, notice if your reply was out of character or went against how you see yourself. Noticing this will allow you to see that there is more going on here than just what the other person did. You are witnessing your conditioning in action.

It was your thoughts and perceptions about the person’s words or actions, which evolved from your conditioning that generated your response. These misleading thoughts will make it difficult for you to respond appropriately until you let go of your conditioning.

You cannot think your way into reconnecting with your True-Self, you need to let go of who you have become for this to happen, to do that you have to become aware of your conditioning. How do you become aware of your conditioning? By paying more attention to your thoughts and the actions that arise out of those thoughts.

The next time a loved one, friend or co-worker is treating you in a way that makes you feel irritated, see if you can notice what you are thinking. In the beginning, you may not be able to hear your thoughts or notice your behavior until after the fact; know that this is okay. By paying more attention to your thoughts during or even after the event, you will begin to see your conditioning.

Know that every person who acts poorly towards you is suffering in some way. With this new understanding, release your suffering and conditioning, by being compassionate towards them. Use your personal experience to draw from; can you remember a time when you were angry or rude to someone? Don’t you wish that you had received compassion and love and not their displeasure with your behavior?

Remember the past is only a predictor of the future when we are not paying attention and then taking action from what we learn. Pay attention to your thoughts and actions. Release your conditioning and reconnect with your True-Self, this is our highest calling, because when we change from within the world outside us will also change.

Humanity’s Most Important Discovery to Make

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Finding our True-Self through inner exploration is more important than any scientific discovery, invention or creation by man. If we do not take this responsibility seriously, we will continue to destroy the planet and ourselves through the choices we make.

Our choices arise from a foundation created by our conditioning and the person we have become, not our True-Self. The True-Self is free from all conditioning. This conditioning gets passed down from generation to generation within our race, gender, family, country or any other group that we belong. If we continue on our current path without any correction in our thinking or actions, the planet will continue to deteriorate, and we will keep fighting wars until we self-destruct, whether these wars are internal ones or with each other.

Bringing awareness to our thoughts and actions, and questioning them will begin to release this conditioning. Know, that our conditioning, like a bad habit or addiction, will not let go without a fight and we must be vigilant in our efforts to expose it and free ourselves. If we do not bring the light of awareness into our lives, then we are destined to be oblivious to this conditioning and held hostage by it.

If you think you are already free from it, I would ask you to question that thought because your conditioning may be deceiving you. Also, when your thoughts say it is too hard or you cannot or do not need to do it know that this too is your conditioning anchoring in and protecting its place in your life. You always have the power and ability to release your conditioning, no matter what your current situation is in this life.

If you are sincere in your wish to release it, then your unbending intention to question your thoughts and actions will begin to shine a light in the corners of your being, exposing what needs to release. You have nothing to fear or lose except that which you no longer need.

There is nothing more important in your life than freeing yourself from this conditioning. When our guidance comes from the True-Self, we lead from the heart, and our efforts will be for the highest good of everyone. Can you see the possibilities once we rise to our full potential and enter the flow of natures organizing intelligence?

I know it is possible to live in a peaceful world where everyone can flourish together without fear. What do you think?

Short and Sweet #180 – In the Stillness of Life

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Stillness can arrive through all things, even in the midst of activity or turmoil. You may wonder how this is possible. It is possible because true stillness comes when we stop attaching to our thoughts. Notice I did not say our thoughts stop or that we need to stop our thoughts to find stillness.

Many people when they begin to meditate do not become still because there are too many thoughts running through their mind and they do not detach from them. They become fidgety and uncomfortable thinking they cannot DO it. However, meditation is not about doing, it is about letting go. Even a person walking, playing the piano, snow boarding, knitting or doing any activity can become still once they have detached from their thoughts. Athletes call this, being in the zone.

The world has conditioned you to THINK that we have to be doing something, getting something or have something to be happy. When this pursuit has not met our needs we become unhappy, all because we THINK we are not doing enough, have enough or getting enough. Happiness does not live in these things or in doing. We only experience a fleeting false sense of happiness in doing, not true lasting happiness. Moreover, you will certainly never become still if the pursuit of these things becomes your life.

First, learn to connect with your innate and natural state of stillness. Then bring that stillness into every area of your life. When you become the deep waters under the surface, below the storm, nothing can shake your peace and you will live in your stillness. You only have to let go of your conditioning. Find a small piece of stillness and watch it grow as you spend time with it. The more time you spend with stillness, the more your conditioning will fall away to reveal your True-Self.

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Short and Sweet #147 – The Body Wound and Bound

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This is not meant to be technical but something useful to give you a different perspective and knowledge about your body. What I am about to share I have ongoing experience with in my body and through my work with clients since 1987.

Many fail to recognize how the body stores information in the form of energy caused by our experiences, physical and emotional trauma, in utero, genetics and past lives. I know that the last one may be hard for some to believe but I have personally experienced this in session and with clients. In addition, this information effects how we interact with the world and those around us. Sometimes these energy patterns can run in the background like a loop tape on an answering machine, which can initiate certain behavior without conscious involvement. As this information is stored, it causes changes to the connective tissue. The connective tissue is not just the soft tissue as you might think; it makes up everything in the body from blood to bone.

Another reason that causes restrictions in the body is called cross-tissue linkage. Imagine your fingers as individual fibers; the cross-linkage occurs when little fibers grow between the fingers causing them to be pulled together. Now instead of having free moving fingers they are stuck together, it reminds me of string cheese. This reduces flexibility and movement causing the soft tissue to be bunched up then over time it becomes tight and hard. These fibers can be released with certain types of bodywork like Spiral Release bringing back the flexibility and freedom.

You might be wondering how all this information can help you. By releasing the connective tissue and the energy patterns held within we can increase flexibility and movement of course but something even more powerful takes place. You can release the energy held in the tissue, which holds old trauma, emotion, and past life memories. Once released our body upgrades on all levels just as your computer does with a software upgrade. We vibrate at a higher frequency because the denser patterns have been released and this allows us to physically feel lighter and connect on a stronger spiritual level. This is one way to uncover the True-Self by releasing the False-Self, the conditioned self from the body.

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Short and Sweet #143– Spiritual Superiority Shatters Earthly Inferiority

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When we live life from this truth things become much easier because we know that no matter what is happening in our lives everything will be OK. Now this is not just a lofty ideal or something to aspire to and never attain. It is very real, part of our true nature and can change your life and the world.

Unfortunately, we often get in our own way or we choose the earthly way over the spiritual way. There are many reasons for this, however I believe social conditioning plays a major role for making the earthly choice first. We are conditioned from birth to behave and even believe in certain things. As we grow up, we act from these beliefs without even knowing why or investigating them. Have you ever questioned any of your beliefs or asked yourself why you respond to certain people’s behavior in the way that you do? Do you just say it is their fault or they are stupid, immature or wrong? You may find that your beliefs are not rooted in truth but conditioning. With investigation, you may find that you do not believe them anymore, know where they came from or why you had them in the first place.

Start by paying attention to how you think and act in this life. Then contemplate these feeling, actions and thoughts. Do not point to something or someone outside yourself, look inward. Ask why you took that action or why you are feeling the way you are and notice the thoughts you are having at that moment. Call upon your True-Self to guide you and not acting from the False-Self or allow your unconscious beliefs to guide your every move.

Remember the title, spiritual superiority shatters earthly inferiority. This is important and goes to the foundation of all our problems. When we lose touch with who we really are and only live our lives for our earthly identity, we live through our flaws and conditioning. However, when we can connect with the True-Self and stay in touch with this higher guidance we will feel safe and secure knowing that all will be well no matter what happens.

We can all look back on our lives and see that we have survived everything that has happened to us to this point. We even survived those times and events when we thought we would not. In addition, something even more powerful happened going through those events when we were open to the teaching of the Divine, we came out the other side a better person, a stronger person and a more spiritual person. So do not fear what you cannot control, embrace it. Know that you will be OK and be open to whatever lesson comes with the experience because you will be better for it.

 

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What’s on your mind? I am always open to questions and comments or for a healthy and supportive discussion about these topics.