Inspiraelevation

We are imperfect, but beautiful creations. We emerge, as was once said, “the birth of two souls in one” A single, beautiful, soul; a living manifestation of two dreams, two souls blended. We enter the world as a visible manifestation of all that has been before and that shall be; a convergence of generations.

We are born a perfect but incomplete work in progress.

Every individual begins life with an undefined beauty. When we are born we are born perfect in nature, pure, innocent, without the blemish or stain of the world. Yet, we are incomplete. We are imperfect in our knowledge of self, the world, and our relation to those factors. Our future is yet to be written and our path yet to be paved. We are a blank canvas, pristine, waiting for a masterpiece to be written, waiting for someone or something to give expression to our form. Every day we grow into the fullness of our selves. Every mar and scar inscribed  leaves its mark upon our form. It is the result of slight, the  carelessness of an artist not refined in his or her craft. The parent not knowing the depth of his or her role. The friend unconcerned with his or her level of influence. The teacher making meaningless impressions. Artists, caring not what the final portrait shall become. Unskilled with paint and brush, carelessly applying strokes of misplaced words, anger, frustration, silence, and sometimes leaving the portrait to develop on its own. Yet, how is it that some come to reach the state of metamorphosis, while other never break free. Perhaps, they have yet to find the artists who will paint them as they should be. Or  their eyes have been painted shut by millions of other brushstrokes so they simply cannot see. You cannot use other’s eyes to see who you are, or what you are to be.

A lesson in the story

There is a fairy tale that is written of a beautiful creation who found itself lost, and feeling less than, because of years of belittling. It was born into a world that defined beauty as that which was possessed by the majority. It did not fit the standards of which it was given. The creature had not been given the tools necessary to break free from its  mental mold. The vast world to which it grew in subdued its will through manipulation. The world painted its beauty as insignificant, although it was truly magnificent. The beautiful creature was different, for  its looks by comparison did not fit. Thus,its beauty went unrecognized and  eventually it gave in. Through all the years of its formation, the creature lived below its potential. It had accepted how it had been defined by the many. It accepted its state and resigned to live life as misplaced and a disgrace.

Sometimes we only discover truth through grace.

It was through another that the creature was able to behold its true face. One day there came another, who showed the creation that its beauty was like no other. It’s beauty had surpassed that of what it could imagine. It had never been monstrous as defined by the others. The problem was never its beauty, bur rather the world into which it was born. The creation had accepted the image that others had created. The only image it had ever seen or could ever see  is what others wanted it to be. In reality the creation was so much more. – (Adaptation of Han’s Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling) Each of us are beautiful masterpieces struggling to manifest itself from the mass of stone under which, our true form is hidden. We must surround ourselves with people who will chisel away the stone, not projecting how they desire us to be, but set us free to manifest who we truly are. Beauty is not in conformity or uniformity. Beauty is in the uniqueness of your nature. Beauty is the expression of your soul reflected in all that you are; movement, energy, and your spirit. Recognizing  your beauty is a growth process. We all have to go through our metamorphosis before we emerge as a butterflies. Not all can break free of their cocoon, they need a bit of help. Some never break free of the mass of ruble that surrounds their true form. That is where we who have been given fresh eyes need to hold the mirror up so that others can be all that they were meant to be.

We have all been conditioned to think a certain way, to respond a certain way, and to see a certain way.

Our conditioning begins long before birth and continues long after.

This is how we grow to learn our alphabet, to speak words, to see ourselves. We are conditioned through repetitive instruction, and engagement in behaviors that are either reinforced or broken through reward systems and systems of discipline.

This is how we learn. This is how we become.

“The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

The great illusion

Tell someone something long enough and they will believe it to be true. Once these ideologies have been grounded they are hard to break. We are conditioned over time. For some the conditioning has been so lengthy, that the chains remain long after we are free in body. This is the great illusion.

“If freedom is a requisite for human happiness, then all that’s necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.”
― B.F. Skinner

Most of our conditioning occurs without our knowledge. The whole of our environment works to condition our behaviors. Visual cues and auditory cues all work to reinforce behaviors. Our emotion and desires stem from this conditioning.

It is our knowledge that drives our ambition, vision, and goals. Our experience with our environment teaches us well what is deemed an appropriate emotional response.

It is wise to cut off all those things which reinforce  behaviors you are trying to break. It is difficult to break a habit if you are around others who indulge in your vice. Your sensory cues reinforce the behavior, and war against you even when you work your hardest to break the hold. Thus, changing your environment and influences will ultimately affect your outcome.

It is difficult to break your conditioning.

The longer you have been conditioned the longer it will take to break. The more active you must be in trying to replace the old habits with new ones.

To re-condition yourself you will have to 

1. Break ties with anyone that embraces the behavior you are trying to break

2. Disengage in any activity that feeds your subconscious (such as music, media, and literature), and reinforces the negative behaviors

3. Replace the old activity with a new activity or behavior.

4. Identify the triggers that lend you to partake in the old behaviors

5. Whenever you receive the mental signal, deliberately, and as immediately as possible engage in the new behavior

4. Actively reward yourself for sticking with your new activity

5. Find a group of people who embrace the behavior you are trying to build (you will need support)

6. Keep a log (daily to chart progress)

Change the way you look at things

If caught in a negative cycle, you have to change the way you look at things. You are not that negative behavior. You have been conditioned to accept that behavior as an inseparable component of your make up.

This is not true. If you have been conditioned you can be unconditioned. It starts with a change in perspective and how you see yourself.

How we move about in the world and interact with the world is so very important. This is often something we take for granted.