Stop Starting from the Wrong End

Stop Starting from the Wrong End

Photo by: Steven Depolo

 

Large, muscular, tattooed to the hilt, and draped all in leather, the

Harley-riding Chopper Dude cut quite an imposing figure."This 

is bull!" he all but shouted, standing up and pointing a finger in my 

face during a local workshop.

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I respect your thoughts and
 invite you to stay with me a little longer," I replied, concentrating
 to keep my voice level and my emotions in check.  "I'm glad
 you're here.  Please stay and hear me out, and I would be happy
to talk more with you one-to-one afterward."

After the room had emptied and everyone had left for home, he ambled back inside, and closed the door.  We just looked at each other for what seemed an interminable amount of time.  Then, just as I was about to speak, the most amazing thing happened.

Chopper Dude began to cry.  And I mean he wept like he had never wept before.  Between gasping sobs, he tried to say what had affected him so deeply that evening.  In time, as he gained control of himself, it became clear.

"I never had somebody not judge me for what I thought before," he said.

Parents, teachers, bosses, and peers had nearly destroyed this man's entire sense of self-worth - because they never appreciated his starting point.  The place where his value truly rested.  They were doing everything backward, as this society is prone to do.

Most of us have been misguided, believing that we can change our lives by simply thinking differently.  We start from the premise that change begins by applying logic - and that's the wrong end at which to start.

No, change truly and only can begin with the unconscious mind, the mind that defers to the more basic - meaning the place that serves as the base, the foundation, of everything else - part of our being.  The place that people call the "gut."

To achieve lasting, meaningful, tangible change toward greater balance and happiness in your life, you have to deal with this unconscious level first.  And this is where a lifetime of negative conditioning must be reversed.  Let's stop doing things backward.

Be well