I’m back in the old US of A again, hence my tardiness with this blog. I always take awhile to settle after travelling - sorry about that.
When I first get here I’m always super tuned-in to things I would never notice in Australia. Like ads on tv. You hear things in ads here that you would never hear in Oz – like if you take an erectile dysfunction drug and your erection lasts more than four hours then they suggest you go see a doctor. Or the depression drug that can have the side effects of suicidal thoughts and actions.
But the advertisement I saw last night, that of an insurance company, presented a scene of bucolic bliss where a range of different animals lived peacefully side by side, and a beautiful river ran through it. The voiceover pointed out that when you feel safe your world becomes a completely different place and experience, and nirvana becomes possible.
Clearly th implication was that simply through the purchase of an insurance policy you can gain that peace and serenity – although we all know that it’s not that simple, otherwise all of us who have such policies would be obtain instant peace.
But the ad did, inadvertently, make a profound metaphysical point. If you feel safe, you have a completely different experience in the very world where most others feel frightened and under threat. At the base of every experience are the thoughts we have about that experience, the filter through which we interpret what we see and feel.
How we interpret our experience is completely and utterly dependent on whether we see ourselves as separate and alone in a scary and dangerous world where there is no predictability, where danger lurks in every dark corner and the events of life are both random and incomprehensible; or whether we see ourselves as part of a greater whole, cradled in a matrix where all life is interconnected and has its source in a realm that may not necessarily be perceivable by the five senses but is nevertheless accessible to those who have the ‘ears’ to hear and the ‘eyes’ to see.
Whether we believe it or not, it is all up to us. How we see the world is purely a matter of belief - our belief. What we believe is what we see. The rest is filtered out (by us) and is not ‘real’ for us.
Most of us carry around a belief system that is very similar, if not identical, to that in which we were inculcated as children. We usually only change our beliefs when that system fails or breaks down in some way and that break down inevitably involves a significant amount of pain, suffering and difficulty.
But this is not the only way to create a new belief system. Over the next few weeks I will deal with some of the most limiting beliefs we all carry around with us to some extent, and offer some suggestions for how we can actually change our most cherished and strongest beliefs. So watch this space!
