WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
The Juice of Life
That internal dialogue. That inner voice that is always evaluating and judging the experience we are having. “That was awful.” “He’s such a jerk.” “I would have done it differently.” “I can’t believe she’s doing this to me.” We spend most of our time describing our experience, evaluating it, passing judgement on ourselves and others. What would our experience of life be like if we weren’t reacting in this way? What is life like when we transcend our description of it? The flow of life never stops, only our reactions stop us.
One way that we can begin to work through our reactions is to first become aware of this internal dialogue. To become aware that we are creating labels and descriptions that we attach to people, events and situations. Once we notice this, we can give ourselves a second chance to see what we’ve reacted to in a different light. We look at what we’ve reacted to a second time but this time we go into it consciously and remove the reactive label that we previously attached. We can then ask ourselves, when I remove the label that I’ve attached to this person or situation, what is actually there? When we drop the label we can truly begin to see and experience what is actually there.
As we work through our reactions in this way we may begin to notice what we couldn’t see before when we were caught in the smoke screen of our reactive description. We may notice the pain and hurt that exists in the person that we’ve just reacted to. We may begin to see the wisdom in the situation or event that seemed so horrific or tragic before. We are accessing our innate wisdom and compassion when we relate to life in this way.
As we continue this conscious work we can remind ourselves that a description of something is not the actual experience of that something. The actual experience of something just is what it is, whatever we add to it is extra. We can also remind ourselves that the moment we start to describe something, we are describing the past. The living experience of something is happening right now. If we are describing the past, we are missing what is actually happening right now.
Another way we can begin to work through our reactions is to shine the light of our consciousness back onto ourselves when we find ourselves blaming others for how we feel. This is particularly useful when we are caught in the emotional states of anger, hurt or frustration. The Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron refers to this practice as “removing the object”. When we remove the object, we stop directing blame at others for how we feel. We do not blame ourselves either. We’re simply abiding with the energy of the emotion in us, experiencing it’s contours and shape. If we notice that we are off in our internal dialogue again, blaming others, we simply come back to the experience of the energy itself. Not the story we’re telling, simply the energy itself.
When we embody this way of being we are not only working through our reactions, we are taking responsibility for our lives. This is true empowerment. When we are caught in the mire of blaming others for how we feel, we truly are giving our power away. We are blocking our innate ability to shape our own experience. We can’t access this ability if our internal dialogue has us believing that someone else is responsible for our life condition.
As we continue to work consciously in this way, we realize that taking responsibility for our lives is quite liberating. As we move through our reactions, it frees us to experience life more directly. We move closer to the dynamic, pulsating energy that is the juice of life.
One way that we can begin to work through our reactions is to first become aware of this internal dialogue. To become aware that we are creating labels and descriptions that we attach to people, events and situations. Once we notice this, we can give ourselves a second chance to see what we’ve reacted to in a different light. We look at what we’ve reacted to a second time but this time we go into it consciously and remove the reactive label that we previously attached. We can then ask ourselves, when I remove the label that I’ve attached to this person or situation, what is actually there? When we drop the label we can truly begin to see and experience what is actually there.
As we work through our reactions in this way we may begin to notice what we couldn’t see before when we were caught in the smoke screen of our reactive description. We may notice the pain and hurt that exists in the person that we’ve just reacted to. We may begin to see the wisdom in the situation or event that seemed so horrific or tragic before. We are accessing our innate wisdom and compassion when we relate to life in this way.
As we continue this conscious work we can remind ourselves that a description of something is not the actual experience of that something. The actual experience of something just is what it is, whatever we add to it is extra. We can also remind ourselves that the moment we start to describe something, we are describing the past. The living experience of something is happening right now. If we are describing the past, we are missing what is actually happening right now.
Another way we can begin to work through our reactions is to shine the light of our consciousness back onto ourselves when we find ourselves blaming others for how we feel. This is particularly useful when we are caught in the emotional states of anger, hurt or frustration. The Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron refers to this practice as “removing the object”. When we remove the object, we stop directing blame at others for how we feel. We do not blame ourselves either. We’re simply abiding with the energy of the emotion in us, experiencing it’s contours and shape. If we notice that we are off in our internal dialogue again, blaming others, we simply come back to the experience of the energy itself. Not the story we’re telling, simply the energy itself.
When we embody this way of being we are not only working through our reactions, we are taking responsibility for our lives. This is true empowerment. When we are caught in the mire of blaming others for how we feel, we truly are giving our power away. We are blocking our innate ability to shape our own experience. We can’t access this ability if our internal dialogue has us believing that someone else is responsible for our life condition.
As we continue to work consciously in this way, we realize that taking responsibility for our lives is quite liberating. As we move through our reactions, it frees us to experience life more directly. We move closer to the dynamic, pulsating energy that is the juice of life.
posted by Jay | 8:17 AM | 2 comments 
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