Right now, is my view Personal?
Have you ever considered what does it actually mean when you have a personal view? Well, it starts with perception. And, I mean, your individual perception. Simply put, it is the way you interpret the world, and also how you see your place in the world. This includes your self image.
We can then say, that your perception is the first “gate” that influences any belief, preference and opinion you may have. And, all of these, play a key role in the way you react to situations in your life. Internally, and then, externally. For example, you may interpret one outcome as positive and be happy weeks after. Or, you may perceive another outcome as a complete disaster, or even a threat. You may decide to fight back and start a little war. With whom? Those who according to your personal point of view, had something to do with that horrific outcome. And of course, sometimes you may not even care about certain outcomes or situations.
In other words, your view is personal when you expect the world to behave in a certain way. And, you associate meanings to the way the world responds.
But, is my personal view really authentic to me?
Now, it’s time to talk about the elephant in the room. Or, more accurately, in our life. And, I am talking about all this social conditioning that play such a huge part of our life.
And, I have to admit. I often wonder if our thoughts are really unique to us at all. It seems as the human mind reflects more the ideas and beliefs of our society at this time and place, rather than our own true selves. Or, our true nature. After all, a lot of the “teaching”, or so called “education” actually trains us to become a part of our society. In other words, to think in a certain way that society considers as desirable. Not to mention, there is always some form of reinforcement present. Every single day, since we are born. Rewards for those who comply and meet the expectations, and punishments for those who do not.
How dare you not comply with our precious teaching? You are therefore, a threat to us all.
Freedom of speech is something we all appreciate, right? But, what about freedom of thought? How can we have this freedom, if we all go through such aggressive conditioning?
In fact, I am going to make a bold statement here.
Almost every thought, emotion and feeling you experience is the outcome of a conditioned mind. Clearly, all these affect your “personal” view. But, they do much more than that. They reshape your entire life experiences. Your entire human expression.
So, we call this a personal view, but is this view really authentic to you? Or, do we all just think, act, and feel exactly the way society trained us to. Train, or brainwash.
It’s a personal view that is not personal at all. Isn’t it ironic?
Am I aware of my personal view?
Now, this statement can open a door to a really deep and dark rabbit hole of despair. Are we just zombies operating in an unconscious autopilot mode? Or, is there still some uniqueness left in us?
Well, do not worry, my beautiful friend. There’s no need to go there. All you need to do is to accept that this is a possibility. And, if you can do this, we can then see where we can go from here. Because, we can use all this conditioning to free ourselves from it.
Ok, so our minds went through all this intense training and conditioning. And now, as a result, we can’t even trust our own thoughts. I mean, do they serve us, or society? And, more importantly, can any of this help us in some way?
Remember, I promise no rabbit holes. Let’s get down to business, shall we?
(Feel free to listen to Tiësto – The Business, as you read this).
Ask yourself: Right now, am I aware of my thoughts, feelings and emotions?
Also, right now, am I aware of any personal views I may have?
Yes, I am aware of my thoughts. Yes, it is personal
And this is where the magic of the moment happens. It’s like magic, only real. When you give enough space to this question, you may become aware of something truly remarkable. Something, that changes everything.
Clearly, you are aware of your thoughts, emotions, and feelings. And, if you are aware of all these, obviously, you are not them. You are not your thoughts, emotions, and feelings. They are simply, mind activity. And, you are not your mind, either. So, who are you then?
Now, if you can put aside all this mind stuff. And, I am talking about all this personal stuff. Your thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs, ideas. In fact, remove anything that is related to your “personal identify”. Your past, your desires, everything.
Then, ask yourself: what remains? Simply, let this sink in. This is not a question for the mind to answer. In fact, it is a question that will get you directly to your true self.
A simple truth reveals
You may notice silence. Or, space. But, is this just silence, or there’s something else there?
Sooner or later, you are going to realize you can be aware of any personal view in you, and in others. And, once you are aware, your point of view changes. It is not personal anymore. All these judgments, opinions, interpretations are nothing but thoughts you can observe.
In other words, personal views do not affect who you are. Regardless of what they are, or who believe in them. Or, what type of conditioning was involved. Now, that you are aware of them, you can seperate them from what they mean to the “person”. After all, if you don’t have the personal view, then whatever the thought is, you are not “attached” to it anymore. You can then see all this mind stuff exactly as it is. Just thoughts, floating in space. Nothing more. Definitely, not you.
And, even if these trigger uncomfortable emotions or feelings, you can witness them too. You can, be aware that they, are not who you are. All they are, is the experience you have at the moment.
They, will pass. You, however, will stay. As awareness.
Uncomfortable emotions? It’s a thought about a thought
Now, if you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with a thought, then, guess what? You can be aware of that as well. And, that is a sign that you are still in that personal view. But, really, these are just thoughts about other thoughts. Simply, reminder yourself that. Then, put these views aside, and ask yourself again: right now, what remains?
Also, don’t let uncomfortable emotions discourage you. On the contrary, there’s a silver lining here, as these usually reveal aggressive conditioning. If you want some examples, I can share. But, I think we all have experienced plenty of these. And, dwelling into the past is a good way to get into that personal view again. You know, that club we don’t necessarily want to go to anymore. Once we are aware of other options. Such as, the awareness club.
Simply, observe
Simply, observe. And understand that whatever you experience in life is not who you are. And, it doesn’t make you good or bad. It’s just your experience at that moment. It will pass. You will stay.
This is important because then, you can truly accept even painful experiences that carry intense emotions and feelings. And, what do you accept exactly? You accept that right now, this is your experience. But, it’s not who you are. And, it’s nobody’s fault either. Then, let go. Trust the intelligence of life to support this natural process. If you find that certain thoughts are still coming back to “haunt” you, then there’s a good chance you still have a personal view. Which is when we go and ask the question. That, which the mind can’t answer.
Overtime, you may find this is actually very simple. Because, it is our true nature. It is who we truly are. Awareness. And, love. Because when there’s no mind to judge or assess, or to distract our attention from what is real, we can then see the truth.
So, what remains? Love.
