So...our deep-seated, repeating stories about 'Life' are not told by an idiot but by our younger trying-to-figure-out-how-the-world-works selves at various stages of development. And the loudest stories are formed by the most powerful experiences.
Underneath each story is a marker, a neural response coming from a particular part of the brain and the release of a particular chemical, a neurotransmitter. These markers were formed to call attention to what we registered once open a time as IMPORTANT. Many of our markers have been faithfully transmitting ever since.
Like a radio broadcast. A talk show. An All Talk All The Time Channel. One of the 'gifts' of mindful practice is to become more and more aware of this constant chatter. I use the word gift with a sense of irony because hearing these voices is both disturbing and enlightening. Sheesh, I had no idea how much I talk to myself, we discover. What strong opinions I have. What a lot of BS.
But also, Ah, what an amazing opportunity to learn, to discern, to let go, to re-form how we process our experiences of life.
We can can learn to pay wise and kind attention to our various talk stations. As we do we experience them for what they are. Voices from the past not the present. 'Wisdom' that is at best out of date and more likely never all that wise anyway. Conclusions arrived at not by UNDERSTANDING but by MISUNDERSTANDING.
Great time for RAIN work. Recognize when a broadcast starts. Accept that this is one of your channels--one that you often listen to without questioning it's message (remember to be kind to yourself all along!). INVESTIGATE what's being said--how accurate it is--how much you've believed this stuff up to this point--what you feel like when you're tuned in to this particular station--whether you still believe it at this stage of your life. NON-IDENTIFY with the untrue and unwise bits of the message. Remember that this is an out-of-date broadcast. It's very familiar but does not describe or confirm who you are now. It doesn't have to restrict who you will become.
Remember, too, there are other channels. Like WISDOM CALLS ALOUD (from wherever we are). We all have the capacity to tune into the STILL SMALL VOICE channel. And don't forget this one--it's particularly helpful: YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.
