In the last blog I addressed our distorted perception about life’s expressions and why it causes suffering.  I explained that when we created our ego-mind during our early childhood, we were led to believe that we are separate from those things “out there” and that our life “out there” is the cause of our happiness and our suffering.

I also explained that this was not actually the truth.  This upside-down perspective deprives us of the truth of who we are and also creates great struggles, often leading to suffering.  The truth is that the “out there” is nothing but a reflection of what is inside you.  Life is trying to show you something about yourself so you can learn the greater truth and in doing so, hopefully return you to the joyful life that you were intended to have.

Imagine that you are standing in front of a mirror and you want to put on some makeup.  You see the reflection of your face and then you reach up and start applying the lipstick to the lips in the mirror instead of on your face.  This is what happens when you try to fix the “out there” in order to be happy.  Doesn’t work very well.  So, you make a correction, apply the lipstick to your lips and the image in the mirror reflects your face in its new appearance.  Pretty simple analogy.

So, how do we make the corrections needed so that we can be happy so that our life’s expression reflects this state of mind.  The “mind” is the answer.  The ego-mind is what deceived us, so we use the same mind to discredit itself.  The ego-mind is not the truth, it was created by you by your beliefs and perceptions.  And, those are about as truthful as the evening news.  One time in your life, you absolutely new there was a Santa Claus.  Heck, you even saw him at the shopping mall.  Later, you were pointed at the truth and you changed your belief and now when you see Santa at the mall, your reaction is much different. 

So, we use the mind to point us in the direction of the truth.  If we discredit the untruth, the truth is left.  The same process when you discovered that you aren’t really who you have been telling everyone you are.  The ego-mind is all about what it perceives as cause and effect.  If we shine its own light on its fallacies, it will collapse on itself and when it gets out of the way, awareness reveals itself. 

The first step in making a change is being aware of what your mind is telling you.  We get so used to listening to the mind chatter that we never stop and question it.  Imagine that you are walking down the street and you see a person that you don’t know.  Your mind sees the person, objectifies her to separate her from the others, and then gives a narration of its beliefs.  “Wow, she shouldn’t be wearing that.  She is much too fat for that.”  Ouch.  The ego-mind loves to judge and criticize. Judgment and criticism makes sure that we maintain our attention on the ego because we want to be informed.  Unfortunately, it perpetuates the illusion that we are separate beings.  We need to be aware of this conditioning.  Just being aware will allow you to separate yourself from the ego-mind and understand its influence.  This alone will be a start to quieting that noise and restoring peace.  And, above all else.  Don’t let the ego get involved with its own criticism.  You know, “Oh, I shouldn’t have judged that person.”  The ego is a clever little fellow.

Another way to re-condition ourselves is to align ourselves with the truth.  There is an awareness of the truth inside each and every one of us.  It has not been lost.  It has patiently waited for our attention for a long time but we have been to busy listening to the ego in hopes of fixing our lives out there. 

Start each morning with this affirmation.  “Because I am awake this morning, everything in my world can exist.  Without my presence, nothing in my world could be.”  This might sound egotistical but it is not.  It is self-awareness and is aligned with the truth.  The reverse is also true.  Without my world, I cannot exist.  If you begin to become aware of this truth, you can start to understand that there really is no separation between individuals.  We all cooperate in order to exist in this lifetime.  That in itself should be enough reason to bless each other instead of finding fault.

Focus on the positive and avoid the negative.  The news loves the bad.  It sells subscriptions.  Since we are mostly driven by the ego, we feed off bad news.  It is a form of sensationalizing and when we read about bad things “out there” it is the ego’s way of energizing us and making us feel alive.  Don’t believe me?  Pick up the last minutes of the town council meeting and see how long you stay interested.

You don’t have to look too far to find something wonderful. The fact that you have eyes to look at the world, a nose to smell the wonderful fragrances, a mouth to taste and ears to hear are more than enough to make you hit a knee in gratitude.  Spend 10 minutes with your pet.  Look into her eyes and tell her how grateful that you are that she is in your life and how much joy she brings out of you.  You will be so full of joy that your heart will feel like it is going to burst.  Isn’t that how you want to spend your moments?

Have a gratitude journal next to your bed and each night before sleep, make a note or two about something that happened during your day that you were grateful for:  A smile from a passing person. The food you ate at lunch. The job you have that will pay for your shelter and food.  Not too much of a stretch here.

When you start to pick out the positive and turn away from the negative, you re-condition your mind.  The ego has been telling you that life sucks and you are proving it wrong.  It will pick up the pace, but it will not last because you are now aligned with the truth and truth always prevails. 

When life no longer appears to suck, life will manifest as it should.  Healing will begin.  Joy will express itself.  The fragrance of love will be everywhere manifesting as kindness, compassion and happiness.  Perfect health and well being for yourself and your pet.

You can take the oxygen mask off now.  You can breathe again.

How about you?have you ever  tried to “fixed the out there” part of your life? with out dealling the truth of why we are given of this life? leave comment and let me know,i would love to hear from you!