As we saw in the post, A Call to ((Action)), there are a number of issues that humanity faces today that threatens our survival, and some which will have cataclysmic effects on our planet. In several ((Dia-blog)) posts, we investigated that the cause of our problems is /ego-mentalism/, that is, we are conducting our mind from a self-oriented, self-centered, objectifying, and fragmented framework. When we use this mental operating system, we take ourself to be the center of existence and the basis for experience, and contrast it with everything outside of us. We objectify and cut ourself off from everything else. This creates the distinction between “I” and “not I,” which leads to constantly comparing, judging, evaluating, and creating more and more divisions. Thus, all dialogue, experience, interaction, relationship, ideas, and emotions are filtered through our conditionings, memories, thoughts, prejudices, opinions, beliefs, judgments, reactions, and experiences (all these things which comprise the /self/, the /ego/, the /“me”/, our /story/). Because of that, we rarely encounter moments when we are free of our /self/. But through this ((Dia-blog)) we are discovering together if there is a way we can encounter and experience things ((as they are)) in a fresh, present, and creative way.
We have also been investigating the fact that we are as we mind. That is, the world is a reflection of how we are conducting our minds. Our way of minding is projected into the outer world. Therefore, if we wish to change the world, we must start with ourself, with our own inner life. Why? Because without understanding ourselves, our psychological process, our actions will perpetuate the cycle of /ego-mentalism/, of /objectification/ and /violence/. If you are full of conflict, jealously, anger, hatred, self-centeredness, whatever it is, could your actions in the world reflect differently? We will be stuck in /reactions/, not creatively responding to the experience, interaction, or problem. (For more on this, please refer to the posts On Psychological Freedom and On Relationships).
But how does one go about doing this? To change ourselves, don’t we need to understand what it is we’re changing from? It is vital to understand the /ego-mental patterns and habits/ within ourselves. Through non-judgmental awareness, we can watch our reactions, thoughts, emotions, clinging, anger, hatred, and the rest of it. We can simply watch unobtrusively; once we start judging, condemning, justifying, and interfering, it means we are trying to escape the fact of what we are because we are afraid to look at ourselves. If you learn to observe yourself in this non-judgmental manner, with an interest and an openness to see what you are, then you begin to understand yourself, and a change happens naturally. I recommend a book by Osho called Awareness: The Key to Living in Balance.
Changing oneself is not a matter of creating ideals or following a belief system. When you have ideals (non-violence, compassion, courage, kindness, temperance, etc.) and try to live up to them, doesn’t that mean you are in conflict because you are the opposite of that ideal? If I am trying to be non-violent, doesn’t that mean I am trying to change myself because I am violent? Creating this ideal in your mind puts you in conflict with your idea (which is really just an image rooted in your thoughts and memories of what you believe it is), and your actual, everyday experience. That is why I am not an idealist. Ideals create conflict, and are an elaborate way to escape from what you are by trying to live up to some belief in your mind. Instead, through awareness we begin to understand our psychological process and our /ego-mental habits/, and with understanding, one naturally changes. Then, there is no striving to live up to or become some ideal, but rather, one is kind, non-violent, creative, compassionate, courageous, etc. These qualities become the very presence of the person; it is their very being.
If you truly understand, not as an ideal or a thought or a belief, but clearly see what /ego-mentalism/ is as a fact, and how it creates divisions, objectifies, fragments, creates conflict, and leads to suffering, loneliness, and a chaotic inner and therefore outer life, no one in their right mind would continue to live with way of minding! Naturally, you would inquire whether there is a profoundly different way of living and experiencing life and optimizing your relationships with people and the world around you. This means that understanding is not merely intellectual, but is empathetic, intelligent, creative, and active. ((Understanding is action)). You can believe that everyone is interconnected, that we can be non-violent, that we can break free of /ego-mentalism/, whatever it is…but belief does not lead to integrated action. Integrated action comes from understanding, from seeing what is. And such ((action)) is, by its very nature coherent, moral, creative, and intelligent. I suggest reading Jiddu Krishnamurti’s book, The First and Last Freedom for more on this subject.
Through this awareness and understanding yourself, you begin to interact different in your relationships. Your nature of ((Being)) creates ripples and affects others. Society, the world, is not independent of you relationship between you and me, between you and other people, the world, ideas, etc.; it is the relationships we have. Understanding ourselves, our psychological process, leads to a ((transformation)) of our being, not through discipline, force, effort, control, authority, or fear, but through Self-knowledge. This ((inner revolution)) creates a change in our relationships. And if the vast network of relationships and interconnections is the world, we thereby affect the entire ((Field of Reality)). If you want to end conflict and violence in the world, end the conflict and violence in yourself. If you want to end misery in the world, end the misery in yourself. If you want to eliminate self-centeredness in the world, self-centeredness must be eliminated within yourself. No one can be forced to change, but you are responsible for creating and holding the ((space)) for a ((radically transformed Humanity)) through your own ((inner revolution)).
So, if you want to change the world, start with understanding yourself. If you want to understand yourself, become aware of how you are conducting your mind. For awareness and transformation to flourish, you must inquire whether a ((total revolution of our being)) is possible, not through force, discipline, or desiring to change, but through openness and willingness to see what is.
If these posts are helpful and interesting, please share them with others. There are links to share this on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and others below. Many thanks!
Related Links:
Here is a great book by my good friends Martha Randolph and Elizabeth Campbell that discusses spiritual evolution in a clear and simple manner. I highly recommend it, especially to young persons interested in these topics. It is called, That Which Is.
I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto. A link to the book and the his website, The Mazeway Project are below:
The Mazeway Project website: http://mazeway.org
Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy
Link to Last Week’s Post: On Conformity, Fear of the Known, and Discussing Matters of Life
Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Book, The First and Last Freedom – On Amazon or Online
Osho’s Book, Awareness: The Key to Living in Balance
Being a Lotus in the Mud: The Art of Living with Awareness 