What, me worry?
I’ve heard it said that a paranoiac is someone who is in possession of all the facts. Of course no one is in possession of all the facts. In fact, I think that facts are about as reliable as the truth, which is only relative to the beholder. Paranoiacs, like optimists and pessimists, are very selective about the information they focus on.
They remind me of the person who said they felt that the universe was crapping on their head - and from a great height at that. My only remark was “Who do you think you are that the universe would bother.”
The ego is a cruel task master. It has us chasing our tails and looking over our shoulders, waiting for the next shoe to drop at the same time. If I had to live like that I would have to seriously consider getting off the planet. As one person put it to me, “You’re born, you pay taxes and then you die. You may as well shoot yourself now!”
One of the things that sustains me is knowing that this whole thing we call status quo reality is nothing but an illusion. Beyond our microcosmic view of reality lies something much more wonderful, more fantastic than any philosophy or religion has come up with. It is certainly much more than the doom sayers of politics and the media keep babbling about.
If you look around you at the hard evidence that is being presented - the facts - you will find plenty to be paranoid about. But reality is much more than what we perceive with our physical senses.
Rocks and steel are not solid. Our bodies are not susceptible to the ravages of disease and old age. Our minds are capable of more than just linear thought.
“What the heck is that loony goin’ on about now, Martha?”
Basic physics! The world, our reality is made up of tiny particles called atoms. Each atom is made up of protons and neutrons orbiting around a nucleus. The space between these tiny particles is so vast that if the Earth could be compressed so that nothing was left but the actual matter, we could put the entire planet in a tea spoon.
The solid state of a rock is an illusion created by our belief that it is solid. The energy that causes atoms to rotate, whether it is in a rock or your brain is the same.
Our bodies are composed of one main ingredient - energy. The main thing that keeps it working is consciousness. If the consciousness is functioning unimpeded by stress, anger or fear the organism is designed to exist indefinitely. However, the body is highly influenced by our emotions and our belief systems. One of our biggest beliefs is that we grow old and die. The evidence is all around you. Death and disease are a fact of life, right?
Only if that is what you believe! Of course we die. If you live on this planet at this time and you even have the slightest inkling of what is going on, you will be so stressed out and pissed off that you will give yourself a heart attack.
But who’s reality are you looking at? We are so busy looking anywhere else but at ourselves that most likely you are looking at somebody else's reality, who is busy looking at somebody else's reality - ad infinitum, that nobody sees reality at all. They are just looking at illusions and frightening the crap out of themselves.
Besides, who would want to live forever when reality is such a scary place most of the time?
Our brains were designed for thought. It is one of humankind’s greatest evolutionary accomplishments, right? What if there was something that is more effective than thought? What if thinking is what got us into the mess we seem to be in? What if we stopped thinking for a moment? Turn off the old brain pan. Stop worrying if we can pay the bills, buy that new food processor, get junior into the high brow preschool.
Shut up brain!
Wouldn’t what we see, smell and hear suddenly become more intense? Without all that inner chatter, would not the world start to seem a more wonderful place to experience?
If you gave up all your judgments, opinions and grudges against others, wouldn’t others begin to look like friends rather than enemies or competitors? Wouldn’t your mate start to resemble the person you fell in love with, rather than the old fart you think they are now?
A change in perspective is far more refreshing than a month in Los Vegas or Jamaica and it costs a lot less! You don’t have to worry about the payments or losing your baggage and you get to see the world in a whole new light.
Linear thought - Screw it. Intuition is where it’s at. Try this exercise: Sit in a chair with your eyes closed and really listen to the thoughts bouncing around inside your skull. Do this for about five minutes or until you just can’t stand it any more and have an overwhelming urge to change the channel.
Now, put on a piece of your favourite music, crank it up so it drowns out the noise in your head and focus as hard as you can on the sound. Feel it wash over and through your body. Feel the vibration of the sound as it hits different parts of your body. See the images the sound invokes in your minds eye.
Is this more fun than sticking a hot poker in your eye, or what? Stress, worry, negative emotions - hot poker. Music, relaxation - Good! Poker - Bad!
Is anybody out there? Is anybody in there?
‘Til next time - do whatever it takes to shut that damn thing off once in a while. You may discover something new about yourself (who ever that is!)
....Here's some examples to get things started ...
