Change is inevitable yet authenticity is immutable.
We haggle with growth, progress, and change. We are distracted by the content of life missing on the absolute truth that lies beyond it all.
- How do we become slaves to the dance of the mind?
- Where does it end?
- What happens if connection is all we see?
— Interrogation. #recognize
In every airport I landed in, I used to dread the encounter with border and customs agents. Who doesn’t? And it was extra special flying for me with a Lebanese passport. It always scrutinized you before you even opened your mouth.The interrogation process starts way before you set foot in the country. Dealing with months of paperwork and then an “interview” to judge if you are allowed the visit.
While you might be lucky and never had this experience, you probably had the same feelings yet during a job interview or an important meeting where the premise was to deem you worthy.
In these encounters, no matter our intentions or how prepared we are the mind tends to kick in a plethora of self-defense mechanisms to protect us. It is anticipating the vulnerability of our position and wants to save us.
We always fall prey to the dance because the mind will always do what it is programmed to do. Insecurities surface and we forget that at the end of the day, we are dealing with other human beings.
Beyond the betrayal, the judgment, and the ego lies our authentic self — a source of boundless truth that cannot be betrayed, cannot be judged, and doesn’t rise or fall to the whims of what is happening but is constantly giving. The stream of life it is.
— The 3 Barriers. #understand
In the face of this authenticity, three barriers are erected which we need to see past. The first is our body. The physical appearance in a world of matter and perception that we touch, smell, and see.It keeps us at bay when we believe it is all that there is. The color of skin and eyes makes us trust or anticipate deception and fear. The sound and the accent catch us by surprise telling us stories we assume their truth without witnessing them.
Then comes the constructs of the mind, the second barrier is less visible but even more powerful than the first. Identity, origins, and stereotypes join the party. They induce a spell on our cognitive presence that projects realities that feel true but rarely are.
And even if we can escape those constructs, we face the last contender; the mind itself. A mechanism bathed in the creation of the reality we witness ebbing and flowing with our stream of consciousness.
It is the most difficult barrier to see through.
— Connection. #accept
The mind is a master of evaluation. It sits at the center deeming behavior and actions smart or dumb. Malicious or benevolent. All reflections and optimistic projections that are nothing but a regression model assuming it can predict and touch reality while it never can.We might feel we ended up being stupid or our response less than wise yet when we drop the pretense our authentic self connects with itself easily and instantaneously for it is immutable to the drama of the mind. When all there is left is our authenticity, connections happen because that’s their true nature and nothing can stand in their way.
Last night I arrived at another port of entry. Called in to get my money counted as I made my way in, I left the mind anticipating the worst and made a connection with a foreigner who let me pass without a hassle.
Until next time,
Carlo
Footer
the presencepulse
— a newsletter for conscious minds. Every Sunday morning, you'll get 1 guiding tip to recognize, understand, and accept the power of your presence in less than 4 minutes.
Enter your email and sign up for free right now.