Behind The Curtain. . .
epiph·a·ny i-ˈpi-fə-nē: a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
The very nature of epiphanies is that they’re not controllable. This is, in part, why we have so many different stories for people who’ve gone through the same change. And while there’s no way for me to influence when and where you’ll have yours, they remain our best shot at priming our subconscious to look for the same in other areas of life.
In our case, when looking for our confident, reality-based self, the stories we seek are those of what are known as ‘high agency:’ High Agency is a sense that the story given to you by other people about what you can/cannot do is just that — a story. And that you have control over the story. A High Agency person looks to bend reality to their will. They either find a way, or they make a way.
When you’re told that something is impossible, is that the end of the conversation, or does that start a second dialogue in your mind, how to get around whatever block has presented itself? Many of us pride ourselves in the fact that we’re “grounded in reality,” when, actually, that’s just a different way of saying we’ve settled.
Most of us who wind up using these sort of strange high agency hacks to negotiate the world have some kind of traumatic birth. We may flatter ourselves that we’re in touch with reality, but in fact, reality is a second-best strategy. If you’re lucky, your family works pretty well and you never leave social reality.
It’s only when something goes wrong that you discover: “Okay, the world doesn’t work in any way the way I was told. Here’s the underlying structure.” And what you then have to realize is if you want this at scale, you’ve got to stop relying on these traumatic births. It’s like you’re waiting to get bit by a spider to become Spiderman.
Sure we all can cave in to the back against wall scenario, but with attention, understanding and determination we begin to rise up and look behind the proverbial curtain we have sewn over the years.
In the Wizard of Oz the famous line “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”; essentially reveals the efforts to hide the true, less impressive nature by creating a facade. Yet ponce the facade is revealed, The Wizard flew happily off to his new life.
Peace and Love, Jim
#personalgrowth #thedailybuddha
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