I was brought up not to trust different. Not only that, but to reject it, judge it, be afraid of it.
And that programming took different forms as I grew up. It manifested differently throughout my life, but the mechanics have always been the same - if I’ve encountered something or someone that was outside the lines of what I considered to be true, good or correct, I would automatically judge and dismiss it. Sometimes I would argue it, needing to prove to the other person they were wrong.
Lately, I've come to understand the many faces of our reality and its paradoxical aspects. I’m now making conscious decisions that, when I encounter something different from what I believe or what I know to be true or even something I don't agree with, I choose to take it as an opportunity to be intrigued, curious, to ask questions and to understand it
It’s not something I want to do because I want to check a box or be someone I’m not. It's because I now know that I will only grow, whether through reinforcing my own beliefs or changing them in light of new information, if I have this approach to life. Because, I came to understand that, a different point of view, a different perspective, a different opinion, no matter how extreme, is not scary, it’s not threatening to me. It can't take anything away from me, unless I allow it.
I heard something that I liked from Bashar. He said that we’re all looking at the same thing but from different perspectives, created by our own lens of beliefs and definitions. And that seemingly mystical example actually validates a lot of the things we know to be true in our own science; in simplistic terms, people will react to the same thing differently, because they will perceive it differently,through their own experience and view of their world.
He continued to say that nothing has inherently meaning assigned to it. Which to me, it means that nothing is good or bad, right or wrong. It’s how we look at it. Something might be perceived as good by one person or a group of people, while the same thing will be perceived as bad by others.
I think it's all aimed at giving each and every one of us complex and various examples to help us choose what we want to experience, who we want to be, and what choices we want to make for our own existence; because that's the only thing we can change. Never anyone else's, only our own.
I found that being open and curious about new things, things I used to consider threatening or wrong, it's giving me the opportunity to expand what I know and grow
It’s been two years since I've started doing this exercise and it’s still not automatic. When I reach new depths of fear or belief systems, I have to recalibrate and remind myself that I am the one who decides what is real for me, that I choose and I create.
I came to realise that this way of interacting with the world can actually bring us closer together, because it no longer feels like we’re standing on opposing sides, shouting at each other. It feels more like we’re side by side, deciding if we should walk together or go our separate ways.
However, one thing I had to overcome was bypassing people’s opinions, reactions and judgments. When I lived in survival, everything was black or white, good or bad. If someone did or said something bad I would judge and eliminate them from my vision. And I know that, for people who are experiencing similar things to what I used to, when I start to look at things more profoundly and talk more widely, it can be interpreted as agreeing, excusing. And when the issues are social, economic, war-related, injustice and so on, people are more dual, more cutthroat, therefore there is no leeway. And I had to understand that it does not matter. Other people’s judgments do not matter because I know myself and my intentions. What comes out from an interaction where I express my own mind is only an opportunity for me to reevaluate my own beliefs, to either reinforce or change them.
I am still to follow my own advice, fully.
I believe these things, I don’t know them yet. I liked Bashar’s definition of the word knowing. That knowing equals to doing. I believe but my physical mind still doesn't fully trust to let go.
I am consciously working on it and I know I will know it soon.
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