“Passing thoughts can become toxic beliefs. Beliefs become dogma. And sometimes, especially for those carrying around the addict identity, dogmas become death sentences.”
Unconsciousness and Toxic Beliefs
When we start to experience true awareness, it becomes clear that this is our natural state.
We also begin to notice how radically off-track unconsciousness has driven our emotional, cognitive, and spiritual development. The serene rest of true awareness sometimes seems to contradict the experience of our everyday lives.
Unconsciousness develops in us because our parents and their parents were also unconscious. They were born into an equally unconscious culture. From the time we begin to acquire language, people around us teach us to identify with the ‘thinker’. For some additional insight into this process, check out this blog post on how labels and stories influence the ego. As the “thinker” mentality continues, we lose touch with the presence in which the thoughts and language arise.
Passing thoughts can become toxic beliefs. Beliefs become dogma. And sometimes, especially for those carrying around the addict identity, dogmas become death sentences.
The Fluidity of Awareness
But thoughts cannot survive in awareness.
Awareness is not static. It is always flowing, moving, and renewing. So the thoughts can simply arise, hold their space, and leave. When we recognize this flexibility of thought, there is no more work to do. We don’t have to radically dismantle toxic beliefs by forming new affirmations or ‘better’ beliefs. The end result is not the creation of a new belief, but the recognition that we didn’t need one in the first place.
Each day as we flex the muscle of being aware and notice this, we recognize our natural state again.
The Gradual Shift
The seeing that we call awakening does not always appear as a sudden realization. It’s quite often a gradual kind of “falling awake”.
‘Mind’ may try to measure progress, as if being aware is somehow in the future. The key is to not get caught up in those thoughts. Awareness is only now. It is always now.
Get Connected
The Kiloby Center is using a new model of treatment to address addiction, trauma, anxiety, and depression. This treatment is based in mindfulness, awareness, and self-inquiry. To learn more, call us now at 1-866-545-6295.
