Minding the Mind
Isabella Joy Conradi
Don’t we all know, at some level, the wisdom and truth of my granddaughter’s words: you and me came true into the world?
I would never have heard her song but for a series of unexpected events. After a visit from my son and his family, I was digging through our trash bins for my husband’s accidently discarded hearing aid. Were it not for his absent-minded toss and my fear of the cost of replacement, I would certainly never have crawled headfirst into our stinky trash bin to discover what I feel is an equally valuable treasure.
The wisdom of my granddaughter’s lyrics, so innocently and faithfully written, might have been lost but for grandpa’s absentmindedness.
The irony is not lost on me. Had the hearing aid never been lost, her song would have been forever silenced, lost among the ruins of banana peels and broken boxes. It was a lesson in trusting that things happen for a reason.
As children, we have no choice but to trust that basic instinct that we came true into the world. Armed only with innocence, we are ignorant of a world that demands we be anything other than who we are. We watch, we adjust, and the mental process takes notes, eventually fabricating a “pretend-self” to persevere, to be loved and liked and successful, all the while feeling we are a fraud. As the mental chatter increases we listen less to our instincts and more to the mind, even thought it often leads us astray.
It’s not an easy task to discern the difference between mental chatter and the brain processing information. Our brain functions miraculously, keeping our other organs and systems working efficiently. Without the brain, our bodies would be lifeless. Most if not all of us have been taught that the mind is the brain. They are not the same. When I stopped trusting my mental chatter, miracles started showing up in ways unexpected by me, surprising me in wonderful ways. At first baffling on the surface, the profundity of ignoring the mind is life changing. After six years of engaging in the practice of listening to my mental chatter, learning to ignore it, I now see the false controlling messages that got me into more predicaments and trouble than I care to remember but ones I am inclined to never forget.
Today, I am far closer to being myself than at any time in my 65 years on this planet. Finally comfortable in my own skin, my life is better; my family is better for my continuing effort.
Our mental construct teachers us to hate, to fear, to object to anything that does not align with false images of “right” or “wrong.” We build walls, real or imagined, and align with false narratives that demand we look like others, think like others without question, dress like others, fear like others, agree when we desperately disagree, laugh when we want to cry … all in order to survive and prove we are loveable. We stay in abusive relationships, believe people who lie to us, and/or surrender our inner authority to false narratives that do not serve or support us. In the most heinous of extremes, we vilify and tell lies about others who are descent. The mind defines and assigns good to some, bad to other’s, until horrifying acts of terror occur such as 9/11. But, for all that we do to avoid being ourselves, there is hope. There is a way. There is a map and it begins with a simple experiment: waiting.
Practice the Art of Waiting
Wait before making any decision or before taking an action. The world will not end if you take time to clearly know or sense whether something is true for you or not. Say less and you will see more clearly.
Ask a simple question, Is it true? Ninety-nine percent of mental chatter is false and sells lies and conspiracy theories, most often attached in some way to religious, political or social dogma. Question everything!
Instinct. Pay attention to what and how your body responds. Have you ever noticed that people who trust themselves are calm, confident, and assured? We all have our own version of how that calm confidence looks. We are magnificent in our own right and more than that, we are enough. We are more than enough. We are divinely created and perfectly Designed.
Trust. Trust that your gifts will be discovered. You don’t even have to know what those gifts are once you practice the simplicity of Human Design. Your contributions are worthy when created from your uniqueness and will always find a home in those who are ready to receive them.
There is no one like you.
I invite you to be you, wholly and completely, beautifully and correctly you.