In yesterdayâs Daily Reminder (Are you trying to figure it out?) we looked at how all the doing, all the seeking, all the figuring stuff out can get in the way of us finding the one thing we most desire: peace of mind.
Which of course begs the question, âWhat do we do, then?â
Should we just âlook in this directionâ then sit and wait for insight to strike?
Is that how it works?
This is another very easy trap to fall into, so letâs explore it today.
Iâm reading a Steve Chandler book at the moment and theyâve often got little throwaway sentences in them that really bring me screeching to a halt mid-paragraph, to look at things differently. I like it!
Hereâs one, on the topic of âknowing, deep down.â
âDeep down they know where true results come from. But deep down is no help. Out front in reality is where the fire needs to be.â
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Ouch!
This made me chuckle because when it comes to change by insight, we (i.e. the community of Innate Health/3 Principles practitioners/teachers) talk a lot about a âdeeper knowingâ or an âembodied understandingâ ⊠as opposed to an intellectual understanding, or simply holding on to an idea as a belief, to be applied. (The topic of yesterdayâs Daily Reminder.)
Indeed, youâll often hear me saying things like:
- Stop trying so hard
- Thereâs nothing to do, only something to see
- You already have what youâre looking for
- Have you tried giving up yet?
âŠand of course those cheeky little computer-minds of ours will (understandably) run this through their algorithms, and interpret this as:
And nothing changes.
Because, to paraphrase Steve Chandler here, you can âknowâ, as deep down as you like, but itâs not worth a hill of beans, unless you put that âknowingâ into action.
Which is why Iâm always encouraging clients and groupsâand you!âto not take my word for it, but to look for the evidence for yourself.
Itâs almost like there are two necessary steps here:
- Step one is to do the intellectual work; to get the mind on board with the process, so itâs not just yelling at you all the time with a bunch of complaints and objections; dismissing things out of hand⊠and then
- Step two is to look for the evidence, in your life.
So today (and maybe only today, who knows?!) Iâm upgrading that advice to GET your own evidence.
Because this isnât about sitting around, reading books, listening to podcasts and waiting for insight to strike.
Itâs about living your lifeâtaking action!âon the basis of these simple truths. Because thatâs how you get an embodied understanding: by experiential learning.
So if you catch yourself having a little chat in your head, saying something like, âWell, yes, of course, I understand this intellectually - it really makes sense⊠but now what?â then itâs time to act on that understanding:
†If 100% of your felt experience comes from thought, and not from circumstance⊠armed with that âknowing, deep downâ, then what are you going to change?
†If your wellbeing is not at risk from what other people think⊠armed with that âknowing, deep downâ, then what next step are you going to take?
†If you are âthe infinite creative potential of the entire f***ing universeâ (a Michael Neill quote) ⊠armed with that âknowing, deep downâ, then what are you going to create?
†If listening to another, without any expectation or judgement is the key to fruitful, loving relationships⊠armed with that âknowing, deep downâ, then who are you going to reach out to?
Honestly, âweâ (i.e. the mind) talks such a good talk, we can easily convince ourselves that we are indeed acting from the heart space, when really weâre just going through the same, tired old motions, and wondering why nothing is really changing.
đ€·đ»ââïž
So this is a call to actual, real life, practical action: take your âknowing, deep downâ, go out there today and actually just LIVE from that place, instead of conceptualising it all and waiting for insight to strike.
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Giles
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Giles P Croft
This is what you've already tried. You don't need to read this.
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