F- | PsychologyZenFreedom

REFRESH THE FLOW

Over the years you have selected what to see, hear, think, and do. You have obviously done a good job because you are alive and reading this sentence.

Now go with the flow and pay attention to what you usually do not see, hear, think, and do. You may be overlooking something important.

Isaac Asimov

Your assumptions are your windows on the world.

Scrub them off every once in a while,

or the light won't come in.

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1. Refresh awareness of your body---say hello to an old friend.

2. Refresh awareness of the world---too many filters.

3. Refresh thoughts, emotions, impulses---not for everyone.

REFRSH AWARENESS OF YOUR BODY

Say hello to an old friend

Your body is sending your brain an enormous number of messages every second. You can only consciously attend to a very small number at any moment in time. So you become aware of those that have proven to be the most important. You have done a good job or you would not be alive.

Time to refresh the flow of the messages into your conscious awareness to find if there are important ones you are ignoring.

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Early each morning for a week, instruct yourself to be especially sensitive to messages from your body during the day. Especially those that increase happiness and health.

Free the flow.

At the end of the day, go over what you found. Maybe you begin to prefer a different diet---sleep patterns may change---perhaps begin to exercise.

Be courteous and pay attention when your body nudges you.

WHAT DID YOU FIND?

REFRESH AWARENESS OF THE WORLD

Too many filters

The world bombards you with thousands and thousands of bits of information every second. As we grow up we see, hear, and feel less and less of the Reality all around us. For instance, we usually just glance at something, name it on the basis of one or two defining characteristics, and move

on.

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Words, words, words! They shut one off from the universe. Three quarters of the time one's never in contact with things, only with the beastly words that stand for them.

Aldous Huxley

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Early each morning for a week, instruct yourself to be especially sensitive to messages from the world all around you, especially those you usually ignore.

Free the Flow.

At the end of the day, go over what you found.

Experience the marvelous world before you knew all those names for things---names that chop up the world and create a barrier between you and reality. The world will become alive and magical once again. T. S. Eliot described the experience well:

Sudden in a shaft of sunlight

Even while the dust moves

There rises the hidden laughter

Of children in the foliage.

Quick now, here, now, always—

Ridiculous the waste sad time

Stretching before and after.

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Sadly, poor old Eliot didn’t always follow his own advice.

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Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take,

Towards the door we never opened,

Into the rose-garden.

WHAT DID YOU FIND?

REFRESH THOUGHTS EMOTIONS IMPULSES

Not for everyone

Over the years you have learned to ignore “useless” or “bad” thoughts, emotions, and impulses, and to attend to those that are “useful” and “good”. It may be time to explore if the labels still fit.

During the next week watch for the tiny beginnings of thoughts, feelings and impulses you usually ignore or suppress. Unless you sense danger, allow them to develop. The sudden, barely noticeable, thoughts, feelings and impulses are a primary source of adventure and creativity in your life.

You will have so much more fun when you increase the freedom of the flow between your mind and your conscious awareness---a most important change to make in your life.

If you begin to sense danger trigger off RELAX and pay attention to something else. Go get a big dish of chocolate ice cream. Go Words-Data-Logic. Analyze! Analyze! Analyze!

If you feel uneasy about doing this adventure, perhaps best wait for another day.

Otherwise go for it.

Free the flow.

WHAT DID YOU FIND?