Sunday, January 27, 2019

Listening inwards vs. Listening outwards

tibetan bowl
A Tibetan Singing Bowl - a musical and healing tool for the soul
Why are we not (as a rule) playing our true role in this world? Why are we sick? How can we eat junk food without feeling bad on the spot?

Its all about how well we listen inwards and how pre-occupied we are with what we hear from without.

As children we are in tune with ourselves. It is during this time that we start training ourselves to be out-of-tune. We do it to please others (Our parents, elders and friends). We do it to please ourselves (First taste of chocolate is usually enough ;) ). We learn from our teachers the values of discipline - to dogmas that we are taught, not to what our soul requests. We dream of being something exciting and end up "doing the right thing"...

It is all in the training. We train ourselves not to react badly to things we would rather not give up. Tasty and unwholesome foods are a good example. It may give us a stomach ache at first - but who would give up on a craved desert just to prevent an ache? We train ourselves to be good workers - at a job we would rather not work at. We argue that having a job in today's economy is nothing short of a miracle so who are we to be so thankless? We train ourselves to ignore the minor discomforts that are our body's way of signaling that we are living wrongly. After all, it's not like a little headache ever killed anybody? We are too busy to stop and ask - why is my head hurting? And so we train ourselves to ignore this. Eventually the body will rebel at this habit but by then we will be really sick...

Habits are a seriously hazardous tool. We tend to grow into habit and then find it very hard to break it. We can cough a little bit when we start smoking but everyone knows its just till you get used to it... Getting used to bad habits doesn't mean not paying a regular price for this adaptation process. We do. Eventually the price is high enough for the body to start shouting again.

So what am I suggesting?

I believe it is about time we grew up a little as a race and took on the challenge of listening inwards. Listening to the minor aches and pains, to the instinct that says - its a bad idea, to our soul. Logically, we know what to eat and what not. Its time to adhere to that and then listen again. Not all that is healthy as a rule is good for us. Each of us is an individual and thus prone to reacting differently to common "Generally regarded as Healthy" foods. Its time to listen to the body's requests regarding physical activity, sleeping habits, furniture choices, work load and all the other habitual elements in our life.

More challenging but not less important: It's time to listen to our soul's voice in regards to our calling. Our profession is a crucial choice in life - are we listening now? Are we doing what our soul desires? Are we fulfilling our Dharma? Our destiny? Our happiness and our health depend on it. Our world too. If we work in the wrong profession we are rarely satisfied and it shows...

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