How do we become conscious?

In our daily lives we all say things we don't really believe, or say things that we don't really think are true, or say things that are polite or socially acceptable. These thoughts come into our consciousness and into our hearts, but we don't really believe them. We say them or think we believe them because they are the acceptable thing to say.

I see this all the time; from talking with people to online stories to the cover of magazines ... polite, acceptable, conventional thought (see the post regarding thinking differently). We are afraid of saying what we truly believe in our hearts and are programmed to say and do what we think we are supposed to.

And unfortunately we have been instructed for so long to think/feel appropriate that we no longer even realize that we don't necessarily believe what we are saying. We are not conscious that our true beliefs are out of sync with our language.

So how do we become conscious?

It seems that as long as our thoughts and words don't push against our sensibilities, then polite and acceptable ideas work fine. It is when our thoughts and words push up against our true beliefs that we become uncomfortable ... and being uncomfortable is a good thing ... it makes us question our inbreed assumptions and beliefs.

So push to the edges ... push to the extremes ... that is where it is most uncomfortable ... that is where everyone else's influence on your beliefs start to fall apart and where there is the most clarity. It is also the scariest place to be ... the edge ... the extreme ... because that is where everything is at risk ... all of your long held beliefs.

So next time you say something, push it to the limit to see if what you say at the extreme is still the same as what you say in the comfortable middle, like:

"I don't have the money to ???" ... just ask yourself, if the ??? was a medical procedure for a loved one, could/would you find the money? That's extreme (an extreme thought experiment). If you could/would find the money, then the "I don't have the money to ???" fades away and is replaced with the more honest "I don't want to ???" Probably harder to say, but more truthful.

- or -

"I have to / I can't ???" ... just ask about the ??? and create an extreme thought experiment. If the ??? was something obviously right (ie. save a child from a car crash), or obviously wrong (ie, hurt an innocent person), then the "I have to / I can't ???" fades away and is replaced with the more honest "I don't want to ???" or "I won't ???" Probably harder to say, but more truthful.

So find the extremes, push to the edge and see where you go.

See you on the wire

Steven