Who’s the boss?
“I used to think that the brain (the mind) was the most wonderful organ in my body; then I realised who was telling me this!” – Emo Philips, American Comedian.
With the mind as our spokesperson, we tend to forget who the boss truly is. The mind is strong and can overrule the soul’s purpose. That is the battle between the Ego and the Self.
The question is, who is going to oppose the minds conditioning and subsequent actions when it drifts away? Luckily, nature has provided us with three counterparts; the body, the soul and our deepest core values. They can react separately or at the same time.
Each time the mind drifts away, the body will react. Listening to the body’s signals such as diseases (including mental illness), will prompt us to realign it with the soul’s purpose and put the mind back where it belongs; in service of our soul. We all know people in our immediate vicinity who suffer physically because they follow their mind instead of their soul. We advise them, saying “follow your heart”, in fact urging them to stay true to their soul. Psychosomatic diseases have their roots here.
Fortunately, as well as listening to the signals of our body to read just the mind, we can count on another great tool to guide us: our core values in life, provided they match our soul. These values are chosen life directions. They are aspects of life or beliefs that are important to us. We can categorize values into domains such as family, friends, romantic relationships, education, citizenship, career, health or spirituality.
Values are not goals. Our goals are merely indicators that our values are followed. For example, if one of our values is transmitting knowledge to others, then obtaining a teaching degree is a valuable goal to achieve, indicating that we are following our values. At the moment of graduation, we are joyful as we realise that we are on track with our values in life. The mind is proud and joyful for achieving the goal and our soul is happy as it celebrates the connection of our actions with its values.
However, the joy of achieving a goal is temporary. Research suggests that we overestimate the impact of our achievements on our happiness. A goal-driven life is full of disappointments, as life is not truly about achievements in the outside world, but rather the transformation of our inner being. What defines our fulfillment in life is how much we can live in alignment with our values. Did I live by my values? Was I the person I wanted to be? Positive answers to these questions will define your quality of life.
The human mind is very powerful as it is capable of attracting and creating the infinite possibilities of reality. It is assisted by our emotions prompting us to act and live out our purpose in life. Unfortunately, our mind can wander in other directions, rather than serving our purpose. It is influenced, miseducated and misled if we don’t pay attention to our inner path.
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