Open Up The World Inside
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” - Rumi
Trying to change everything that's wrong with the world and those around us can be quite the setup for feeling powerless and cynical.
It’s the easier route to project and blame my current state on the people around me, the president, my team losing, the weather…
But if we really want to have a sense of empowerment, we need to make the huge shift from the outside world to an awareness of our own state of mind.
When we become aware of the world inside - our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, judgments, hopes, fears - we have much more power to create change in our lives. We can then present a more robust self to create the change we hope for outside of us.
If you find yourself blaming or controlling others, take a step back and see if you can become aware of your emotional state. See if you have some needs that aren't getting met. Maybe you need a relaxing day off work, or to be told you got this and you’re awesome, or someone to really listen, or maybe you just need a seriously good laugh.
Before we try to change the world, we should first reflect on whether we simply need to change our mind. And care for that world inside. Our mind deserves lots of space to feel, imagine, play, create. If we don’t give our mind that space, we will try to constrict that space in others.
Our mind deserves lots of space to feel, imagine, play, create. If we don’t give our mind that space, we will try to constrict that space in others.
As I’ve said in previous posts, one of the best ways I begin this process with clients is to start a process of having them notice. Instead of talking about the past or the future, we begin to notice what they see right now when they think of a certain issue. What’s the image in their mind right now? What do they notice they feel right now when they see themselves happy, playful, living a life that really matters to them? What does this feel like in the body?
We need less fearful predicting of what might happen and more hopeful imagination of how things could be.
This process begins to open up a present awareness of the wildly expansive palette of the world inside. In this space, there is no need to control the world. It is far more interesting for them to notice what is unfolding right in front of them when they tap into their own mind.