Have you ever tried brushing your teeth with the opposite hand?
It is hard to imagine what that would be like just using your imagination, but if you try it for real you’ll be in fits of giggles in no time at all!
The coordination is all out of line. Which way to twist the elbow …the fingers … the wrist? No, not that way…. This! You missed a bit!
It is similar to the kind of cognitive dissonance you experience when you try to cut your own hair using a mirror and you get mixed up between right and left.
Or imagine you have damaged your wrist on the dominant hand and have to start learning to do things with the opposite one. Even the simplest of things become a whole new set of mini-challenges as we set about negotiating the world from this new set of parameters. How do you pull your socks on? How do you untwist the bottle cap? How do you comb your hair, handle the fork to eat your food, put your coat on, use the computer keyboard, fill the kettle to make a cup of tea, write a note … and so much more!
It is like learning a whole new set of movements that feel so unfamiliar, awkward and clumsy. I guess it is similar to a baby learning to use a spoon for the first time to feed itself… maybe not quite so messy!
Everything is there – the toothbrush, the toothpaste, the teeth, your hands and all of your knowledge about how to brush your teeth – but something has changed. It is a simple and single change of orientation, a different way of approaching the objective.
My guess is that if you practised this for any length of time it would soon become familiar and normal again.
It can be like this when you first start to live from an awakened consciousness. You start seeing the world from a new perspective and everything looks different and maybe rather strange, albeit the world, our universe, is essentially the same.
You are approaching the familiar from a new view, a new experience, a new knowing and you may need to work on developing new habits of coordination and new ways of responding that better fit the new transformed position.
At first it may feel a little awkward and unfamiliar and at the same time you are spurred on by a sense of curiosity and adventure. What is it like to face someone’s anger and not be triggered because now you can see beyond it to their soul?
The inner dialogue might go something like this: “Hmmm that’s strange and wonderful. I used to get so defensive before and now I am full of compassion.”
What is it like to be told you have just been made redundant? “Hmmm I would have been absolutely devastated before and now I trust and am open to something even better coming along instead, yes!”
“Uh oh! I have become exhausted from pushing myself too much lately and now I feel tearful. Hmmm I am noticing this instead of being fully engaged with it and now I can clearly choose my way forward. I am liking this new orientation. It feels good and wholesome and nurturing. I am thirsty for more”
The more you practice this new ‘spiritual muscle’, this new orientation, the more it will develop into a habit and become the new normal. A deeply satisfying normal too. And it can be such a great adventure along the way.
Get in touch if you would like to join me as your guide in delightfully navigating the path of your new awakening journey.
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” Rachel Gilmore
Presence is a state of conscious awareness that goes beyond our habitual, usually negative, conditioned thinking, and criticising self-talk.