STUCK IN A RUT

Motivation to change is often tied to our satisfaction with our life.  If an alcoholic/prescription drug abuser  is happy with the results of his/her life, then there is no persuading him/her  to get change, despite any long-term consequences.   The situation doesn’t even have to have the element of abuse present and people may still not want to change the quiet desperation they have in life.  A mediocre life is not so bad.  A challenging life may be too difficult for some.  

One of the boundaries that ‘stays’ the desire to change is inculcation from the paradigm we are working from, on a day-to-day basis.  If our paradigm has not shifted since our parents have given us those boundaries, then it probably needs an update.  Oh, of course the rejoinder comes that it was successful for my parents so why can’t it be successful for me.  In the mean time, the world was not standing still.  It moved on technologically, we as a society have socially upgraded expectations (e.g. the Pope says stop messing with gays), and we, even as a family, have personal developmental differences  that vary considerably, all suggesting that ‘one-way’ cannot suit everyone.

If we are in a world of rapid transformation and we insist upon standing still, we become the dinosaur in our personal development.  To be ‘stuck’ is to be old in the pejorative sense.

In my experience with people who had severe legal stresses, there were many who were ripe for making a personal transformation.  Others, of course, worked the system, trying to get off the scrutiny of a bureaucracy.  It was a good population that was easy to work with because there was potentially a good reason to do things differently.

This is in contrast to most of us who really do not have enough motivation to change beyond a couple week period.  We are basically waiting for the sledgehammer.  The situations above are general but capture the lack of urgency, regardless of abuse or no abuse of self or others.

The more skillful among us, will see that a nudge is better than a shove and listen to the universe when it is subtle with its message of “You better change Mofo”.  If we are not paying attention then the sledgehammer  will eventually come.  Adaptation to and flow with the universe on a moment-by-moment basis, is the key.  Locking down in a ‘safe’ place is not an option. 

A last category to mention is hopelessness.  It is the pinnacle of wanting change desperately while at the same time holding on to ideas and processes that cannot prevail the visited of life. Frustration and sledgehammering may be running too high for anyone to adapt, especially when we refuse to change our ‘basis’ of living.  It is at this point where change must happen to survive.  This is the ultimate sledgehammer.  It is us that must change.  Not to oversimplify the extreme of this situation, it is far from easy or one step.  The constant ache in the heart cannot instantly be relieved.  Paradigm shifts are minimally necessary as well as an examination of attachments, the root of suffering.

Buckminister Fuller, one of the brightest minds of the 20th century, was at that pinnacle, or more accurately ‘nadir’, in Chicago in 1927.  Failures haunted him.  He was about to call it quits big time.   “Bucky” brings us into his moment where he got his epiphany.  He was surrounded by a white light and felt that he was suspended in air.  He heard a clear voice that spoke directly to his plight.  “..You do not have the right to eliminate yourself. You do not belong to you. You belong to the Universe.  Your significance will remain forever obscure to you, but you may assume that you are fulfilling your role if you apply yourself to converting your experiences to the highest advantage of others.”  He went on to change the world with geodesic housing, CAD, and vaunting positive impact on others over profit.

“Bucky”  had to go against the forces of what others expected and how the world was prioritizing energy.  He subsequently thought that it was unwise to go ‘against’ what people were preferring.  Rather he flowed with the universe and created models that made current structures and thinking obsolete.  There was no reason to push things or people away.  People want sustainability and will gravitate naturally to the better model (like satellite communication over wire transmission; or the iphone 5S).  

Another thing that Bucky got was the value of experience versus just thinking.  Bucky saw that experience (aka consciousness) occurs before thinking.  Experience is inherently inclusive while ‘thinking’ is exclusive.  His conclusion here underscores the limitations of thinking as the ultimate tool.

Using increasing levels of awareness we can achieve more of the potential of who we are.  The limitations of thinking as a constant go-to tool must be recognized to the point of more appropriate use, especially in contrast to awareness potential.  The underutilization of awareness and the over utilization of thinking has plagued the quality of our lives too long.  Liberate self through Being every moment.  Use thinking after connecting.  Never lose awareness.  It is who you are always.  Experience experience fully without locking down too much in what we ‘normally’ might do.  See the ‘thinking, Be the Moment.  Daddy’O