It’s A Massive Shock

It’s a massive shock the first time we realise we’ve been living in others’ beliefs. That shock is actually a signal that we have the ability to step back and watch our own mind at work. We realise that, since birth, we’ve been running on ideas which lack any sense of reality, and just go through a routine. Our so-called personality is actually just a set of ingrained survival patterns as we lash out, run away, or clam up. This realisation can arouse a sense of anger.

A three-second pause – look, see, drop – is enough to interrupt lifelong fixations. When we – consciousness – realise that we are the gap between words, we’re suddenly aware that we’ve been a passenger in our life, rather than the driver. 

Once we experience the gap, we understand that we have the power to choose, which is overwhelming at first because we’ve been so used to depending on others. This sudden awareness triggers a surge from the reactive survival mode to conscious reasoning. That is the path to enlightenment. The more we realise, the more frequent this surge is, and the more we transcend the levels.

This realisation feels unnerving and life-altering as we start to become familiar with openness and a sense of freedom, and move away from sentimentality.

Like opening the door of a room that’s been closed for a thousand years;
once the door is open and light pours in,
everything is revealed in one moment.

And that’s the shock.