If Not This, Then What?

All we are is peace, love, and wisdom, and the power to create the illusion we’re not. – Jack Pransky

Every instant of our life is a choice point.

Through habit or conscious choice we decide what we’re going to do, or not do, and how we’re going to do it.

These choices come from our ground-of-being (GoB).

Our GoB is everything from our beliefs and values to the conditioned neural pathways and associated neuro-transmitters in our brains that create our emotions and “states-of-mind.”

*  *  *

We are subject to billions of stimuli and choice-points every day.

Because of the sheer volume, our brains learn to do two vital things: filter and develop habits.

Without the filtering of external stimuli we would go crazy. And without habits to guide and steer us we would be paralyzed by the sheer volume of decisions that could be made in a given day, hour, minute, even second.

So, we ignore certain things and we don’t consciously choose everything.

*  *  *

The most important thing we can do, if we want to experience peaceful, joyous and useful lives, is to be aware of how we create our lives – to understand that our states-of-mind, and being, come directly from our GoB.

At the foundation of our GoB is what we think we are. For so many of us, we made the “decision” about what we are, a long time ago, and have been proceeding accordingly since.

It’s likely that this “decision” was formed from multiple inputs (family/friends/peers/culture/advertising) and not necessarily all that consciously (especially since some of “it” comes from early life when we were pre-verbal).

*  *  *

I want you to ask yourself, based on a look at your results in life, what’s at the foundation of your GoB?

Are you acting as if you are peace, love and wisdom? Or are you coming from something else?

If it’s the latter, are you willing to consider that the truth is something different?

I believe it is and offer you the encouragement to re-make your GoB – and life – accordingly.

Similar Posts

  • It’s All Life

    Happiness is a journey, not a destination. For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on…

  • The Right Way To Gossip

    As destructive as gossip is normally, turned on its head it can be an incredible force for good. A recent e-mail from Darren Hardy described the power of reverse-gossip: talking about people, behind their backs, in a positive way. Read about it here.  It’s akin to (a definition of) true generosity: giving to someone who really…

  • The Folly of Pleasing

    You can do anything once you stop trying to do everything. – Eric Barker Why would anyone try to everything anyways? One possibility: to please. Trying to please others. Trying to please the idea we have in our heads about what people want from us. Trying to do enough and make people happy. Why? Because…

  • The Best Within Us

    If you want to get the best out of a person you must look for the best that is in him. – Bernard Haldane This is what coaching is, and does. What’s more, it’s a wonderful way to go through life. I’m sure if you think about it, it’s the best way to manage, and…

  • Expose Yourself

    There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. – Aristotle  *  *  * (No, not that way!) *  *  * Be willing to ruffle some feathers. Be willing to make mistakes and be judged by those on the sidelines. Be willing to feel a little bad, for a minute,…

  • The Power of Division

    Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it. – Rene Descartes Anthony Robbins would call the above “chunking.” He would say we should chunk everything down to whatever size necessary to take action on something and complete it. There’s a lot to what he, and Descartes, say. *…