Life is a story. Our personal story is based on how we each choose to define our own experience from moment to moment. As we label events from a place of negative or positive judgement then the quality of our experience matches up accordingly. Are you enjoying the story of your life? The story is of your creation. You may not always have a choice as to how events play out, but you can choose another narrative by adopting a higher perspective that makes sense and then acting on that.
For inner harmony our belief has to be in alignment with our experience. When self awareness is low, the story we take on is usually from the experiences of others. When we think someone else has what we are looking for (like health or happiness) then it becomes very easy to adopt their ideals and behaviours. If desire is strong, then letting go of those ideals becomes fearful. From this, the risk is that we become more like someone else and less like ourselves.
It is also easy to hyper focus on the story surrounding others and not see people for who they really are. Acting from this place keeps you disconnected. Prejudice is born of ignorance because it is based on the negative story we have heard from others about others, and not our own authentic objective experience.
If you choose, the mindful practice is to notice when:
- You buy into or repeat ideas about others/events you have no first-hand experience with.
or
2) You let external influences override what you know is true for you.
This is how we contribute to the disconnect between what we believe and what we experience. It takes us out of inner harmony.
Detach from the narrative of others. What is great truth for them may not be at all relevant for you. It is your responsibility to know what ideas are appropriate for your journey and which are not. There are no short cuts to self awareness. Trial and error is the way to self reliance.
When navigating life, it is important to have a conscious filter from the external world to stay in alignment with your internal world. No matter how convincing the ideals of others seem, be mindful of your own experiences and their corresponding results. When what you believe in provides the experience of greater internal harmony and unity then you are living from truth. When the story you are creating for yourself results in greater internal disharmony and divide, then its time to create a new story.
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