Do We Really Create Our Own Reality?
The idea that we create our own reality is not a new concept, but as you'll read, a lesson I'm still learning. Werner Erhard, the controversial founder of the "est" movement in the 70's was the first one I can remember in my own lifetime to talk about this idea. But if we look back through the ages, we see this same concept in the Buddhist notion of "interdependent arising," or what Thich Nhat Hanh calls "interbeing." Everyone, everything, everywhere interdependently co-creating the reality we call our world. Do we really create our own reality? If so, why aren't we doing a better job of it?
The big difference between being a victim in this world to being one of its co-authors is a flip in consciousness that The Zen Leader calls from "out there" to "in here." This is the point where we stop blaming others and circumstances for the state of our being and take ownership of our current situation and how we play into it. We become aware of the filters that color our decisions. Some are cultural filters. Some are personality based. But what we recognize is the vastness of possibilities that exist beyond our own limiting factors.
In the words of Jim Loehr, author of The Power of Story, "Your story is your destiny." So what IS your story? What kind of world do you want to create? If you've never thought about this before, there is a great little exercise in The Zen Leader that will help lead you through this question (you can also download it here.) "We don't normally look for connections between how we are on the inside and our everyday world on the outside, but when we do, the connections can be surprisingly revealing," states Ginny Whitelaw. If you want to read more, a good preview of The Zen Leader can be found here.
From my own perspective, I feel like I've been in a bit of a rut lately and decided to revisit those questions. What I have discovered is that I am spending too much time alone at my desk, when a great deal of my core values and satisfaction comes from my interaction with people. Why am I doing this? It didn't take a genius to figure out why I have stalled myself -- I am patiently waiting for the chance to see my new home in another state and I have deliberately put myself into a holding pattern till the time comes for us to go there. Considering the fact that all we ever really have is the present moment, this is a sorry way to live. In the classic words of Bob Newhart, it's time for me to "Stop it!" (If by some chance you've missed this Newhart classic, you can view it here)
My blog on this topic was not intended to be lesson in self-help, but that's the beauty of writing -- sometimes things come out you never intended. When we really take a close look at our own world, we see our reflection in all its corners. Creating a better world begins with core values and strengths that come from within. As we project all that's possible, vision becomes reality. One person at at time…:-)