Finding Your Own Way through Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNJ33DJmDgc

Video Blog Transcription:

(00:00):

So it seems to me that more and more people are telling us what to do these days. And not only that, they're telling us how to do it.

A common thing, perhaps at work, is that there's this script that we're invited to follow, or basically told to follow. They might call it policy and procedure or whatever else. And basically, it's almost like a flow chart, if you will. It goes something like, "When this happens, you do this, and when this happens, you do this." I think maybe it's from liability or whatever else, but it's designed so you don't have to think about it much. It’s very formulaic.

(00:54):

So that's one thing that's telling us what to do. And then our culture itself kind of tells us what to do. It seems like there are always several things that are kind of like the politically and socially correct way to be, you know? And, these are valid. It's how we grow, it's how we change, how our culture changes, and how we do social change.

And then, of course, the people around us are more than happy to tell us how to live our lives. Our family, our parents, have been telling us how to live since the day we were born. And often that does not stop when we become adults. Other family members, siblings, and our own children tell us what to do.

And friends, of course, and a lot of this is well-meaning; they're trying to help us, but they're saying, “Oh, you should dump that guy, or he's not right for you.” And it's great that they have their opinion as a friend, but it's like still we're being told what to do from things outside of us- like all the time.

(02:04):

What happens is we go through a lifetime of this, of people and things and culture telling us what to do, and we become conditioned to look outside of ourselves to know what to do. And then we get to the point where if we don't know what to do, we look outside of ourselves to find out.

We ask, “Tell me what to do. I don't know what to do. What's the right thing to do?” And it's cool that we want to know the right thing to do, but what I'm suggesting is maybe we're not looking in the right place to find that.

(02:41):

And it just so happens that we have this built-in natural resource that's designed to tell us what to do. We could call it our heart or our intuition. And it's designed that when you're in a situation and allow in the energy of that situation, you’re kind of seeing what's going on in that situation, and you kind of focus on a little bit, and your heart will always tell you what to do.

And not only that, it'll tell you what the right thing is for you to do in that particular situation. So I guess that's my premise or my spiritual truth going into this: your heart will always tell you what to do.

(03:26):

So "How do we access that?" becomes the next question. And the simple answer to that is we ask, and we just stop a minute and hesitate and say, “Okay, these people are telling me to do this, and this is what's going on. So what is the right thing for me to do?”

It's asking your heart or asking yourself, or asking your intuition: “So what is the right thing for me to do in this situation?” And there are all different ways to do it.

One of those, some people call self-inquiry. It's kind of a specific application of self-inquiry. And it's designed to ask, “What feels right? What is the right thing for me to do in that situation?” And you ask that question sincerely, and then you kind of wait for something to come to you.

And so we ask, and then we just quietly pause a little bit and wait, and then something comes to you, it’s like, “Ah, that's it. That feels right, and that's the right thing for me to do.”