Du har TVÅ öron och EN mun

Det finns en anledning till att vi har två öron och en mun, tänker jag. Det finns nämligen ett värde i att lyssna dubbelt så mycket som vi pratar. Trots detta obestridliga faktum är det många som i princip nästan har slutat lyssna. Självklart är det inte enbart för att vi ska lyssna mer och prata mindre som vi har två öron, men det är tänkvärt.

Att samtala med människor som inte lyssnar, som är låsta i sina resonemang är oerhört tröttsamt. Det slutar oftast med att den ena partern slutar tala helt och hållet eftersom det upplevs som meningslöst att inflika något som utan undantag faller för döva öron. Inte för att det som sägs är meningslöst, oviktigt, utan värde eller ointressant, utan för att viljan att kommunicera något, att dela med sig av något holkas ur. Självklart kan det bero på hur det som ska sägas levereras men oviljan, rent generellt att ta till sig något annorlunda, eller nytt, är många gånger obefintlig.

När en människa fastnat i sina tankemönster är upplevelsen lik den när en hel folkhop skanderar slagord, det är ett massivt motstånd. Ett orörligt intellekt med låsta banor där tankar som går utanför det redan tänkta, oavsett hur marginellt, har stelnat och därmed stagnerat. Hos denna människa uppstår inget nytt, inga insikter, inga “aha”-upplevelser. Där kommer talesättet eller den viktiga frågan: “Vill du har rätt eller vill du vara lycklig”, alternativt “Vill du ha rätt eller vill du vinna”? Att “ha rätt” blir det avgörande, även om det inte är “rätt”.

“Tala är silver – tiga är guld” har väl alla hört vi d något tillfälle. Det guld du kan tillskansa dig genom att tiga är naturligtvis ny kunskap, nya insikter, ny förståelse. Det innebär inte att jag på något sätt förespråkar att vi alla ska vara tysta och göra som vi blir tillsagda. Det är precis lika illa fast omvänt.

Dessvärre fastnar många människor vid den trotsiga treåringens inställning. JAG GILLAR INTE GURKA!!!! Föräldern frågar: Har du någonsin ätit gurka? -NEJ, MEN JAG GILLAR INTE GURKA!!

Kanske är det ett tecken på mognad, eller intelligens att faktiskt använda sina två öron för att lyssna och inte alltid låta munnen ta kommandot för att den egna uppfattningen om vad det än kan vara, hotas. Kanske är det egentligen det ENDA sättet för att växa, utvecklas och lära sig något nytt? Kan vara bra att påminna sig om lite då och då.

NOW is the time to flex & stretch your mind

A rigid mind rejects most things new, most things different and most things which are outside the proverbial boxmind created during life. We all have different areas where we have built these structures in our minds to “make sense of the world”. However, the key to be able to change and expand our minds is to understand that these walls are based on what we knew at the time. As life goes by, we always have the opportunity to learn new things and in order to “go with the flow” and thereby prosper, we benefit from flexing our mind-muscles and at times stretching it beyond it’s present capacity.

This is always a good measure to keep a healthy mind, but NOW, more than ever before, humanity needs to willingly allow their minds to be flexed and even stretched for them. Things will be disclosed, information will be published that many will find objectable and they will try to ignore or refuse this “attack” on their mind-structures. These are the people who will suffer the most. The more your resist what is coming, the harder it gets.

To allow your mind to open up, not only to take in the new, but most importantly to let go of your past beliefs and perceptions, will make the difference between experiencing the times ahead as exciting and filled with promises or the “end of the world, as in apocalyptic”.

We all know and understand that flexing and stretching our bodies is good for our health, a body in movement, agile and strong is what we all would like to enjoy. We do not as often talk about what a difference an agile mind can do, but the same principles apply. If we never stretch or flex our bodies and muscles, we become stiff and our movements will seem restricted and even painful. The same goes for people who keep their minds closed to everything outside their past experience. Who refuses to question what they think they “know”, who feel threatened by anything that questions their specific world view. To force a body, completely unpracticed in flexing and stretching can cause severe damage and a mind not used, or not prepared for change, monumental change, will be an impediment of humongous proportions when just about everything around you is about to change. This is why we sometimes say; “it blows my mind”. Make sure your mind isn’t blown to smithereens.

You do this by practicing questioning your beliefs, not all of them at once, just enough to notice that the world doesn’t come to an end just because you realize that what you have belived your whole life wasn’t so. It could be small things like how you like your eggs or bigger things how you handle anger, your religion, political views, etc, question them and give your mind a chance to see new opportunities, new possibilities, play with it. Change for a change.

What’s happening in the world, with humanity, right now, is something completely different than what has ever happened before. Most of what you thought you knew will come crashing down, most of what we have all believed to be true will be proven false.

If you fear change, if you fear being proven “wrong” or shiver at the thought of having been played like a fool, it will be painful. But if you can prepare your mind and yourself to see that whatever the mind makes up is as dynamic as water, your fear will diminish and you’ll know that in time all this will “make sense” to you as well.

To have a rigid mind is like walking through life carrying a heavy piece of rock. Even if you are pushed into deep water, you’ll hold on to the rock and it will drag you down and cause your demise. If you choose to let go of your rock (your beliefs, your perceptions, your pre-conceived ideas), you will have both arms free to swim to the shore if, or rather, when, you find yourself pushed into a deep and tumultous river. I assure you, the time will come when you will need to let the rock go.

If you saw someone, dragging a heavy rock around wherever they go, “for safety”, you’d either feel an inclination to laugh at the silliness of it, decide that the person is mentally challenged or be overhwhelmed by pity. What most of us never realize however is that we all do this, to some degree or other. The more rigid your mind, the bigger the rock. To challenge your mind – and even to have your mind challenged, is in fact rejuvenating – if you’ll only allow it, or as I suggest, do it on purpose, it will serve you well!

Still stuck in the details?

If you put your head down an anthill, you’ll see thousands of ants scurrying around in what seems like chaos, but when you come to your senses and pull your head out, you’ll see that there is both direction and purpose. As far as I can tell, from browsing through some of the posts on social media platforms, a lot of people are bent on keeping their heads down, engrossed in the anthill, feeling exasperated and desperate, seemingly unaware that they can stand up and get another perspective this very instant.

With everything going on right now, or rather what “seems” to be going on right now, it’s understandable that a large number of people get stuck in the details of it all. But that’s not where you’ll find any relief or clarity. There’s a reason why we say – “don’t sweat the small stuff” – and that is because when you do, you waste a lot of energy on things that are of no consequence. The thing is – as long as you fixate on the details – there’s no way you will realize what is and what is not of consequence. Everything seems to be drawing you in, scaring you, making you feel upset, confused and powerless. You feel overwhelmed, and soon you can’t figure out what to focus on and what to let go of. This is usually the cause of a so called “burn out”.

Yes there are a lot of things wrong with the world today, but to focus on each dirty detail will not solve anything. In order to see what needs to be done you need to take a higher perspective, much higher. This time, it’s about the future of mankind, not about whether this political party or political leader is better or worse than the other. This time it’s about unity around human values like love, wisdom, generosity, balance, honesty and peace. Yes it’s big, HUGE actually, but unless you come to grips with the fact that our world is changing, for the better even if it appears kind of messy right now, you’ll be stuck in the abyss of desperation.

I’m not saying that all details are unimportant, I am saying however that it’s more important to be completely aware of what the details are and what the big picture is. It’s perfectly allright to focus on details as long as you know they are details. If you are so engrossed in the details you believe that your tiny perspective is all that needs to be known, I suggest you read Plato’s story about the men in the cave, and have a good think about whether you’d prefer to be one of the men who decide to stay chained and afraid, or if you would like to venture out into the sunshine.

A lot of things will come to the surface, in fact a lot of things have already come to the surface, and for many these things will come as a shock. In order to not be alarmed by any of them, or rather be grateful that they are now visible, you need to brace yourself and prepare to take in a lot of new information. To keep your mind open, is not the same as to believe everything you hear. It is just to embrace the idea that there’s a lot you still do not know and like a funnel, be prepared to allow some new things to get in, and then sive and sort what you feel is valuable.

A rigid mind will have to break in order to understand a brand new concept while an open mind, a flexible mind that is willing to look at, evaluate and chew new things over will just expand. It’s less painful to have an open mind.

This is just a friendly advice to pull your head out of the anthill, now and then, look for the new, things that challenge your beliefs, try them on, sit with a new idea for a while before you shove your head back into the familiar albeit chaotic and confusing anthill, this will be good practice for what is coming. You might even find that the view from above gives you a feeling that life is better, brighter and even more promising than you could ever have dreamt of.