Ganesh is right: there are no barriers. Any limitation we see is a mistake in perception. This mistake may be due to resistance to what is. We thus don’t see clearly and see barriers where there are none. Just in holding a “bad” feeling/ friction/ resistance about a circumstance or person reinforces this. The mistake can also be due to incomplete perception. Our vision is not good or clear enough to see rightly and thus we again create obstacles where there are none.
Clearly, these are basically the same thing. And those barriers we’re creating are just more resistance; more obstacles. Obstacles feed on themselves. By not liking what we see, we resist and essentially make it worse. We amplify the issues into monsters. We still have Boogey men under the bed. Contrast this to Santa Claus, for example. Which brings happiness?
In India, they tell the story of the Snake and String. You walk into a dark room and see a snake on the floor. You startle and experience fear. But when you turn on the light, you discover it was just a piece of string. Was there ever a snake or was it just a mistaken perception?
It can be quite a surprise when we see through the barriers we may engage, especially around things that are important to us. Relationships can be a good example. Has the person we fell in love with changed much when we fall out of love with them? Or is the change mostly in our perception of them?
Relationships can also be a great foil for overcoming obstacles as another person may see the situation differently and thus give us some insight. Light the darkened room, as it were. Resistance (karma) is notorious for giving us blind spots. But keep in mind that some of those blind spots are shared perceptions. Your partner or even the whole community may see the same way. One example here would be the amount of waste we produce that degrades our quality of life.
Now, certainly each of us is born with certain talents and a unique purpose they are aligned with. And we have what Buckminster Fuller called “special case” perception – we’re designed to be focused and experience one thing at a time. The key is putting that channel of focus into the larger context. And making the channel as clear as possible.
This way, we enjoy life much more, fulfill the purpose of our being, and are not obliged to come back over and over again until we get it right. 😉
Davidya
Last Updated on May 9, 2016 by
I find that when I feel limited, have obstacles, or find myself in what I would label some negative state, that I am living life in my head through some conceptual filter that is being challenged by what is.
I had trouble this week at work with some software issues. It stopped some forward movement I had planned. The conceptual framework I entered the week with was “I should be able to move forward with these projects.” What life said was no, you should be paying attention to these software problems and reports.
I didn’t like life’s answer. It didn’t fit my concept of what I should be doing this week. So, when I saw that my concept of life did not match the actuality of it. I said why shouldn’t I change direction? Why Not? I settled down and realized what I was doing to myself was creating my own suffering in the midst of a situation that wasn’t going to change without my attention.
Now I am relaxing into it all quite nicely, and seeing the value of it as I work through it. There are benefits I did not foresee.
It really is simple. I suffer when my conceptual filters clash with what is. I am much happier quite frankly in a state of not knowing and flowing. But if I can’t do that suffering will alert me to my lack of awareness.
Thanks!
Ben
Hi Ben
Yeah, I call the the story. If we watch our thoughts, we soon see the mind constantly reminding itself of what’s wrong, who’s to blame, and otherwise telling stories about our life. They can be hollow and deeply unfulfilling, yet we play them over and over.
Many people also add emotion to the story creating a dramatic story and amplifying the effect.
You offer a good example. Usually frustration comes with life doing something different than we planned. But if we can go with flow, it often works out better than we could have imagined.
And that’s a great approach – see suffering as a sign we’re resisting something.
Thanks for your thoughts.
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