THE WHITE TIGER: STEPPING STONES - Part 1
Full Circle
Replacing the Motherboard series took The White Tiger full circle - back to the early posts that discussed both the importance and the impact of the 90 percent.
Before the last two critical elements of this journey are elucidated, it seemed like an appropriate time to reread The White Tiger from the beginning.
In this process, what was found were the stepping stones along this pathway. A stepping stone was pulled out from many of the posts and collected in this post, and those to follow. The original thought was to edit and rearrange, however upon reading them, as they had been lifted from each post, it became obvious that the flow is already there - naturally leading to the final two critical elements to follow. Therefore, the content is as it appears in each original post.
The Stepping Stones
A Belief is a decision. It is a choice.
A Belief can always change or be changed.
A Belief can change based on new wisdom, understanding, knowledge.
The earth was Believed to be Flat at one point in time, until there was new knowledge and understanding demonstrating that the earth is, in fact, quite round.
Society would have all of us believe that the earth is flat/we require outside validation. It is the engine that runs commerce, industry, and social media. It is the life blood of an economy and a society. It serves a specific purpose, which is not you.
The earth is, in fact, quite round/we do not need external validation. We only require Internal validation, and this serves, specifically, you.
How do you make the shift? By understanding that the earth is round. By giving your Self permission to no longer believe that the earth is flat. By permitting your Self to begin to consider a new way of thinking and looking at the world, the round world. By taking back your power. By taking back your control over your Self and your life.
For in letting go of the Belief that you are beholden to Other, by releasing it, by no longer clinging to it, by NO LONGER ACCEPTING IT, by no longer tolerating it, by NO LONGER CHOOSING IT, all of the exhausting Efforting will cease. It will, in fact, be the end of Efforting. It is, in fact, the Second key that opens another door, a very big door, to Psychological Freedom.
A life filled with Expectation of OTHER, is a life filled with disappointment and frustration. If you wake up every day thinking today your family dynamic will be different or better, your job will be different or better, this relationship or that relationship will be different or better…if you are waiting waiting waiting and waiting for some THING or some ONE (OTHER) OUTSIDE of your SELF to change - you are in for a very stressful and arduous existence. You are living a life that feels like you have control over NO thing and NO one, and that is because you do not.
Intention is the antithesis of Expectation.
When you set an Intention, in place of an Expectation, you shift the locus of control Internally. YOU are the ONLY thing over which you have control. Setting an Intention moves you from the passenger/back seat to the driver’s seat. You are now in command of your own Self and your own life.
Expectations come from PAST lived experience. Expectations are Conditioned Beliefs. Expectations are PAST perceptions that were formed from experience, and are now used as pattern/template to judge the current or future experience. Expectations are living from the Outside In. (ie. This always happens when I do that. That always happens when I do this.) You are looking at the External experience, and anticipating (using the old template) what effect it will have on you. Expectations are living in the PAST, and living Outside of your SELF.
Intentions have NO PAST EXPERIENCE. Intentions are fresh and new, open and unrestricted. Intentions are created Internally. Intention is living from the Inside Out. Intention is NEW possibility created in the PRESENT. Intentions are LIVING in the PRESENT, Inside of your SELF.
Intentions release the bonds of the past!
The ONLY reason we would ever pass JUDGEMENT on our SELF, is because JUDGEMENT has been passed on us - by OTHER. We have been TAUGHT it. (Conditioned Belief) We have LEARNED Judgement. What is REJECTION? You have been JUDGED and deemed not good enough - not worthy - by whom?- by OTHER.
Hence, the human experience (aka the human condition) orbits around JUDGEMENT of both SELF and OTHER.
YESTERDAY DOES NOT EXIST. Where is it? Point to it…wave your arms around to feel for it. It isn’t there. It isn’t.
The ONLY thing that DOES EXIST is this moment. Right now. This breath. The PRESENT is the only reality. The Present is the only thing that is REAL.
Human suffering, in some degree, cannot be avoided. It begins upon the exit from the safest and most secure place on the planet, the womb. The separation that occurs at the moment of birth is, itself, our first experience of suffering. Immediate exposure to cold, loss of pure safety and security, the beginning of pure vulnerability, and being handed off to strangers, is the initiation of the human experience. With our first breath, we are literally cut off from what is known, and thrusted fully, and against our will, into the unknown. Welcome to the unknown…and the FEAR of it.
Therefore, it is impossible to navigate the human experience and come out unscathed. What we learn, as we grow in stature and experience, is that virtually all Human Suffering is instigated by other Humans. This is the most IMPORTANT part—the people who have caused our suffering also suffered at the hands of the people who caused their suffering - and so, like an infinity mirror, repeats back through time.
Hearken back to the post titled A Pause, A Reflection, and The Path to Psychological Freedom. That which is entrained, that which is learned, becomes hard wired into the 90 percent, and is passed down through the generations, until the day that YOU comprehend what is happening, and DO something differently - something that lays down NEW TEMPLATES - and ends the perpetuation of pain.
THE HOPE OF EXPECTATION
As a society we have been TAUGHT hope from Expectation. The Hope of WAITING (expecting) for something to happen. The Hope of Expectation - the Hope based in waiting - is a Hope of INACTION. The Hope of HELP coming from an OUTside SOURCE (OTHER). It is the Hope tied to/bound to OTHER/EXTERNAL and therefore, inextricably, to EXPECTATION.
We hope in the next president. We hope in the next remedy. We hope in the next theory. We hope in the next medication. We hope in the next job. We hope in the next relationship. We hope in the next lottery ticket. We hope that what ever is next will cure all that ails us. We hope in all manner of things, however the last place we anchor our hope is our WITHIN our SELF.
THE HOPE OF INTENTION
The Hope of Intention is the HOPE that WE create from WITHIN. It is the Hope of ACTION. It is the Hope of Movement and INTENT(ION). It is CREATION in the here and now, in this moment. It is INTENT(ION) to ACTION that we can take to benefit our SELF - TODAY - NOW.
We do not need solutions to be delivered to us by an OUTside source. We have the solution. We possess it WITHIN our SELF.
We have the POWER WITHIN our SELF to change our reality. We have the POWER WITHIN our SELF to change the trajectory of our life. We have the POWER WITHIN our SELF to change our life experience, our world. We have the POWER WITHIN our SELF to create the Shining Hope born of Intention and ACTION. The Hope of Growth and endless possibilities, unrestricted, unbound.
We do not HAVE to live stuck in one room, expectant and dependent upon the goats in the OTHER room - bound to our past (our legacy) - bound to OTHER. We can leave our past, move to town, act with INTENT(ION), and flourish, bound by nothing, creating everything - in the PRESENT.
JUDGEMENT IS THE THE POWER THAT MANIPULATES THE HUMAN PSYCHE.
How can that be true? Because JUDGEMENT creates FEAR. FEAR is the foundation of JUDGEMENT. Remember the quote from the post The F-Word?…“Fear again. If you want to control someone, all you have to do is make them feel afraid.” - Paulo Coelho
The 7 Core Fears (The F-Word) drive human behavior, but the greatest of these is the Fear of Rejection (Forgive Me Father for I have Sinned).
It is upon the insidious foundation of Fear of Rejection, Organized Religion, Government, Commerce, and Societies have been constructed.
JUDGEMENT creates POWER by FEAR. FEAR creates POWERLESSNESS and HELPLESSNESS. Let’s change Paulo’s quote just a little bit - if you want to control someone, all you have to do is make them feel powerless and helpless. Done. You now drive the bus.
AGENCY
This DEPENDENCE upon an External Source (OTHER) obviates the development of INTERNAL Re-SOURCEs. It eliminates AGENCY.
Thinking along these lines, it becomes very interesting that a critical goal of psychotherapy is the creation of AGENCY. It is one of the keys, if not the key, to the restoration of the integrity of the human psyche.
Agency: Agency is one of the central issues in psychotherapy. Generally, it refers to the clients' ability to attribute thoughts, feelings, and actions to themselves as well as their capability to take initiative and responsibility for their own actions in everyday life (Avdi, 2005; Etelämäki et al., 2021).
AN EPIPHANY
It was a few years after my run to freedom, that I read a couple of books that helped me to understand Agency in a way that resonated deeply. These two books completely changed my perspective on how to navigate life. The first book was The Life of Pi (Yan Martell) and the second was Lone Survivor (Marcus Luttrell). The Life of Pi is not mere fiction. It is deeply metaphorical, as it is written by someone who is a student of philosophy. Lone Survivor is a true story.
Both are stories of the struggle for survival. Both tell the tale of the painful, brutal, hard, agonizing, insufferable struggle to survive. In contemplation of these books, there grew a dawning epiphany that slowly started to blow my mind. Who saved Pi? Pi saved Pi. Who saved Marcus Luttrell. Marcus Luttrell saved Marcus Luttrell. The earth moved. Who saved me? I saved myself.
“IN”- SOURCED
Agency is becoming “IN”- SOURCED.
The power that we hold withIN our SELF is extraordinary!
We possess the power and the ability to save our SELF. We possess the power and the ability to CHANGE the trajectory of our own life.
COME HOME
Come “IN” from the “OUT”side . Come home to your SELF. Cease Efforting towards and for things that are unattainable. Habit your own skin, your own body, your own SELF. Let go of outside approval. Let go of Efforting towards things that are unachievable. Choose your SELF. Choose YOU. Choose AGENCY. SOURCE your own INternal Power. Breathe - IN.
Psychological Freedom is not something that you can find OUT there. You will not find it trying to wear clothing with the right label, wearing the right makeup, driving the right car. You will die by inches, and by degrees, in the Exhausting Efforting of seeking it OUT side of your SELF.
You do not have to Effort seeking Psychological Freedom. It is immediately accessible upon releasing ALL that is OUT side of your control (TOTAL CONTROL). Psychological Freedom already lives withIN your SELF. It already exists inside of you, waiting patiently for discovery. Waiting patiently for you to come home to your SELF.
Understanding THAT WE HAVE ASSIMILATED and ENTRAINED this behavior of Judging our SELF and OTHER, allows us to find the point of exit.
Guilt and Judgement are Concepts embraced as CONDITIONED BELIEFs (A Pillar of Salt). We have been taught/trained that these concepts are “how things are done.” They are, in fact, elective software downloads/uploads designed to precipitate Fear and thereby conformity via Powerlessness, helplessness, clinging to the Hope of Expectation (The Vendor’s Fable), and bound by Efforting to try to win our salvation/fix our SELVES.
Psychological Freedom lies no where OUT side of our SELF. It only lies withIN. You have arrived when you can habit your own skin, when your eyes no longer turn outward for approval, when your breath and your essence are enough….It is found IN tapping INto that deep deep deep well of INternal Resouce.
Psychological Freedom is SELF Love. It is the Love of the SELF. The Love of SELF can only grow in the fertile soil of Calm and Relax (It’s Just Emotion That’s Taking Me Over…). It can only grow in positivity and goodness. It will never grow in the cold harsh shade of Judgement and the barren soil of Fight Flight Freeze. It will only grow in the light of the wisdom of understanding - the understanding that the KEY lies withIN.
We are all looking for Systemic Change. We are all looking for Psychological Freedom. It does not require a massive Effort. It only requires small simple changes, for if you change one thing in a system - you change the entire system. It is a truism. It is no longer the same system. If you change your trajectory by even a 1/2 of a degree, you are simply not going to wind up in the same place that you were headed prior to that small change.
What is Love?
Often Desire is confused for Love. Perhaps, it is time to rethink what Love is, exactly. Remove all of the programmed and Conditioned Beliefs about Love. Take away all of the fantasies associated with Love. When you distill it down to its absolute essence - it’s purity - it’s most reduced form - Love is Non - Judgement.
Please do ponder this.
Where do we find Love & Belonging/Connection? - only in a space where we do not feel Judged - no where else.
When do we feel that we can “be our Selves?” Only in a space of Nonjudgement.
What is the primary measure of choosing a life’s partner? The person with whom we feel not judged, or judged the least.
What exactly is at the root of the life affirming Love of a Pet? Nonjudgement.
Connection/Love & Belonging
We spend our lives seeking that which was severed at birth - the deep sense of Safety and Security found only in pure Connection/Love & Belonging.
If we reframe Love as Non - Judgement - the path to the Love of Self and the Love of Other is suddenly illuminated. For it is only in the cessation of Judgement of Self and Judgement of Other can we find the Connection to Self (Self Love) and the Connection to Other (Love of Other).
Here lies the point of entry to kindness, gentleness, compassion, goodness, joy, lightness of being, Peace…Psychological Freedom. Here lies The Heart’s Desire of the human psyche - every human’s psyche.
The Compass of Seeking
It is no accident that we use the phrase “Heart’s Desire.” Yearning, seeking, longing do not originate in the cortex - these things originate in the Heart - the Center of Emotion - the Center of Human Experience - our core - our Psyche. Heart is merely the word we substitute for our Psyche.
Our Psyche is not out there on Social Media, tied to the number of Likes or comments that can be elicited. It exists only at our core. The compass points withIN.
Follow the Compass of Seeking. Follow The deepest Desire of your Heart (your Psyche). The Compass points first to Connection with your SELF - the Love (Non - Judgement) of SELF. Then it points to the Connection with Other - the Love (Non - Judgement) of Other. This is Love & Belonging. This is Connection.
Connection is unification. The uniting of all of the elements of a being/entity or beings/entities. Unity. Oneness.
Connection to SELF is unification with SELF. Unity with SELF. Oneness with SELF.
There is NO JUDGEMENT in the Universe.
Judgement (Right/Wrong/Sin) are HUMAN CONSTRUCTS/Conditioned Beliefs.
Everything moves towards homeostasis. Homeostasis is the absence of entropy. Homeostasis is balance-neutrality-Unity-Oneness.
We can, without question, become ONE with our SELF. We can, without question, fully Connect with our SELF. We can, without question, become a Unified entity - Simply - by cessation of Judgement of SELF.
Judgement is not something that is a reality in the Universe. It is a Conditioned Belief. It is a perception. It is merely a thought. All that is required is a decision/choice to no longer embrace the Conditioned Belief of Judgement.
Judgement of SELF and Other is deeply hard wired into our Society. That by no means makes it a reality in the Universe.
It may seem hard, perhaps impossible. However, it simply takes practice. Each time you have a thought that is SELF demeaning, denigrating, derogatory - switch to neutrality - switch to Neutral. The emotion will follow the thought. It does not take work or Efforting. The less Efforting the better. It is the Letting Go, the Releasing of the mean thought towards your SELF. That is it. You don’t have to replace the thought-Release it and sit in the Neutrality-the absence of the mean thought. Try it. Start with just one of your daily SELF demeaning thoughts. Then try it with a second one, and then a third. Try it until your habit is not SELF denigration, instead a habit of pure neutrality develops. Let life experiences just be life experiences. Let thoughts just be thoughts. Let emotions just be emotions. None of these things need to be placed on a scale. This is the Human Experience. This is the Life Experience. It only requires the LIVING of it, not the Judging of it.
Non-Judgement is just Pure Neutrality. Pure Neutrality is Pure Unity.
As you move towards neutrality and away from SELF Judgement, Unification/Connection/Oneness with your SELF is organic/automatic/effortless.
We were not meant to be this Gordian knot of angst, playing a game of psychological Twister trying to get out of it.
We were meant to live this life for the experience of it, Unified with our SELF, in that experience. In the Unification of SELF is the ability to be present in this life experience. It is only in a State of Oneness that we can truly understand, and take pleasure in, this extraordinary and singular experience.
Abandon Judgement. Judgement serves only one purpose - Division. Choose Unity.
Follow the Laws of the Universe as your guide. Follow the Law of One.
