Just around the corner is your aha moment.

Before any meaningful change that matters….especially, a possible shift in world-view, a bit of chaos can sneak in.  There is often resistance to the possibility of even a tiny shift in perspective…agitation. internal, chaotic energy all around resisting even a small change in our perspective. We don’t even have to say a word to communicate our discomfort.

Enlightened.Words are only about 7 percent of our communication so most of how we express that resistance shows up in our body language, tone of voice and facial expressions. That chaos, as subtle as it may be, basically mirrors grander universal models. Examples of chaos into order exist in the universe and demonstrate that you are likely in sync with the order of how things work.  Chaos reigns before many universal events that eventually move into calm. Where the galaxies meet there is tremendous perturbation before they collide, mix it up, smooth out and move on.  There is huge power when ocean waves pound into the shore, each giving way to the dance and surrendering to one another.  High winds and intense chaos often shake things up and trees finally bend in acquiescence precedent to the calm. That was a slightly bastardized version of something I read years ago…but you get my drift.

So, let chaos and the blah blah blah do what it does. Just around the corner is your ahhha moment. You just might ‘get’ the other point of view. You don’t have to own it. Wear it around first and if it fits, keep it. If not, don’t. So obvious. So challenging to actually do.

Changing our minds about a strongly held belief isn’t always so dramatic as all that. Sometimes in a flash our perspectives are altered..an instant major aha moment.  Still, we’ve, most of us, done the dance and braced all four feet against what is even a very persuasive argument! Ego creates a powerful drag to forward movement and expanding our world view.

So, below I’ve listed some basic underlying principles to consider in learning to see through a different lens:

1. More is more: In so many cases less is more. But, when it comes to ways of seeing and gathering frames of reference, less is not enough. Having more perspectives expands our world and our relationship to it. It increases our options.

2. Trust: Trust in your life’s dance. As soon as you know that the inspiration or understanding will come, you will attract it.  Trust is like a magnet to ideas and new thought. We sometimes fabricate uncertainties, which in the end restrict our options. Doubt eclipses our field of view. Listen to your intuitive voice and trust it. If something feels out of whack, it probably is. If what you are seeing seems out of integrity, it likely is. That little voice inside is pretty smart. I’ve learned not to panic about much. Experience has shown me that the ideas will show up and they do. Those of you who are idea generators, writers, composers and artists of any kind understand this well. Trust, not struggle, manifests inspired thought and a new way of seeing.

3. Suspend judgment: Remove defenses and silence the preconceived notions that have been part of your repertoire until now. There are unlimited perspectives in our world, all right, wrong or indifferent to somebody. My question is, right or wrong by whose standards and by whose rules? Who says that orange clashes with pink or red? Who says something needs to be centered and not asymmetrical? Who says it isn’t art? Who says it IS art or good music? Really? Who says and by what right do they claim it or do you? The phantom ‘they’. We give them a lot of power. Don’t.  Letting go of judgment does not equal forgoing discernment or going stupid. A certain acuity for discernment is, at least, a grounding force…and evidence of a visit into the domain of logic.

 4. Risk: Take a risk by seeing from a perspective that would otherwise be outrageous to you. Risk screwing up. Risk that others may see you differently. Risk feeling dumb or weird in front of others. Self-consciousness is probably too much self-focus. Just a thought. Most people don’t really care that you just fell on your butt trying.. What they think is usually a fabrication of your own imagination. Risk the unusual perspective. Risk not being very good at ‘it’. Risk the unknown. That is where the real action is, the learning, the ideas. If you feel moved to try something outrageous, try it. Don’t analyze the possibility out of it first. You can’t organize spontaneity. It just looks awkward..  

“Dare to be naive”  Bucky Fuller

 

5. Choice: You can see through a new lens if you choose. You have already chosen, at some level, how you want to see the world. If you want to make that different, you need to re-choose. Pretty simple stuff. As I said, and others before me…and it deserves repeating…it is a universal imperative that either you choose or the world chooses for you. And that speaks to how you see things too. You can allow all those opinions of others and outside influences to determine your choices or you can notice the many options and choose your own position based on your own sense of integrity and ways of determining. You are not held hostage by how you were raised or what the world thinks.

What does this have to do with learning to see the world new again? Until you know that you are the master of how you do see and are willing to observe from a more ‘eyes wide open’ place, you are naturally going to remain stuck in the same modality. Choice is the rudder of life experience so, choose conscious observation first.

I have a few more which I will post next time.  I’ve committed to get these posts up at regular intervals. Who did I commit to? Myself. So….I don’t really have to post this right this minute but it’s kinda like stepping on a crack… So I do.

Next post:  6 more principles of seeing the world through a new lens.