You create your own life experience
We live in a world made up of 6.5 billion people and so, as individuals, we are only 1 person (out of 6.5 billion!).
Therefore, feeling insignificant is natural. It's even logical to feel that we do not matter that much.
But the secret to perceiving life correctly -- and the secret to self-empowerment -- is to realize that although there is ONE objective world in which we all participate and in which the facts are the same for everybody (that is, you can have your own opinions but you cannot have your own facts), there are 6.5 billion DIFFERENT and UNIQUE life experiences.
There are 6.5 billion different SUBJECTIVE universes, for the simple reason that NOBODY can experience life for you. Nobody can taste life for you. And nobody can put a "life experience" into your mouth (or mind) unless you agree to it. (The mind is really a mouth that is tasting life at a much deeper, and often unconscious, level -- this is a big insight!).
Each life experience is totally determined by the individual whose life it is.
In other words, the world is a big, vast kitchen containing every possible ingredient you can imagine, BUT we each "eat" the dish that we make. This "dish" or life experience is what we make with our mind. Our mind is the "chef." Of course, not all minds are well trained in the art of gastronomy. It requires "culinary" skills to create a great dish. (I don't know about you, but this discussion is making me really hungry!)
The world is also a "buffet" that we walk through. Nobody can put on your plate any kind of food that you do not want. Just as in any buffet restaurant, no waiter is allowed to put food onto your plate and tell you, "Try this!" You simply walk around, look at various foods, and decide for yourself what to put on your plate. It's about trial and experimentation. You never know what you'll like until you taste it. (Let your sense be the master, and your logic the servant. More on this below).
This reminds me of the famous scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally where, to make a point, Sally fakes an orgasm in a restaurant. After she's "done," an older woman next to her says to the waiter, "I'll have what she's having."
Now, I don't know much about women faking orgasms because, of course, such things never (and I mean, never) happen in the course of my relationships with women. Seriously. I am not kidding, folks. I always offer 100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! :-)
Anyways, I'll stop here because I'm too scared my Mom might come across this blog. But my point is, we go through life and we look at how other people "experience" life. And then we try to develop a similar recipe for engaging in a similar experience.
(The best experience seems to be when you "merge", at the spiritual, emotional and physical level, with another human being (also known as a "soul mate"). This is a fascinating yet complex subject I'll delve into some other time.)
But this requires that we "outsmart" ourselves every day. This requires that we continually increase our ability to create new experiences (which are like new dishes).
A person who only knows how to make spaghetti will experience less out of life than a person who has learned to cook a variety of different cuisines, from Indian to Chinese to Vietnamese, etc. Well, unless you're an Italian mom, of course, in which case an entire universe of pasta is available for the tasting!
My point is that the key to success and happiness is not to compete against other people, but to continually increase or refine one's ability to create new life experiences every day.
Dr Edward de Bono, probably my greatest teacher, once wrote: "There may be no reason for saying something until after it has been said."
Similarly, "there may be no reason for trying something or doing something until after you have done it."
Sometimes, you have to forget your "intelligence" or experience and just do something for the heck of it. Just try it.
People who ONLY do what their intelligence says is logical to do, live very poor lives. They rely too much on their intelligence or judgment, which is very, very, very small.
It is better to rely on one's imagination. Just look at kids. They will always try anything new at least once. And they do it with so much enthusiasm! They don't care about "succeeding" or "failing," they just care about experiencing the fullness of life.
This is what I mean by "outsmarting" yourself every day. Forget your intelligence, experience, judgment, etc. and just do what you feel like doing. Develop your intuitive sensitivity and creative ability by quieting your mind and just do what feels good and right to you, without caring about what other people think.
This is part of a powerful art or practice based on what I call the "sensitivity/rationality" ratio.
People with a high sense/logic ratio experience more out of life. They are less interested in being "right" than in being "happy" and "in the moment."
People with a low sense/logic ratio will always do what they are "expected" to do or what they are "supposed" to do, yet they live such boring lives. They prefer to be "right" rather than "happy." They live by obligation, not choice. They favor security, not freedom. They put their logic first, and their 6 senses second. They live abstract, conventional, fear-based lives, not experiential, original, fearlessness-based adventures.
A person who insists on being right, is usually not happy. A person who pursues the path of happiness is usually right (in the grand scheme of Life) and naturally attracts other people, for the simple reason that most human beings prefer being happy over being "right" according to social convention or societal standards.
The key thing to remember is that because you are the master of your subjective universe, you are free (and have the power) to be, do or have anything you want.
Therefore, feeling insignificant is natural. It's even logical to feel that we do not matter that much.
But the secret to perceiving life correctly -- and the secret to self-empowerment -- is to realize that although there is ONE objective world in which we all participate and in which the facts are the same for everybody (that is, you can have your own opinions but you cannot have your own facts), there are 6.5 billion DIFFERENT and UNIQUE life experiences.
There are 6.5 billion different SUBJECTIVE universes, for the simple reason that NOBODY can experience life for you. Nobody can taste life for you. And nobody can put a "life experience" into your mouth (or mind) unless you agree to it. (The mind is really a mouth that is tasting life at a much deeper, and often unconscious, level -- this is a big insight!).
Each life experience is totally determined by the individual whose life it is.
In other words, the world is a big, vast kitchen containing every possible ingredient you can imagine, BUT we each "eat" the dish that we make. This "dish" or life experience is what we make with our mind. Our mind is the "chef." Of course, not all minds are well trained in the art of gastronomy. It requires "culinary" skills to create a great dish. (I don't know about you, but this discussion is making me really hungry!)
The world is also a "buffet" that we walk through. Nobody can put on your plate any kind of food that you do not want. Just as in any buffet restaurant, no waiter is allowed to put food onto your plate and tell you, "Try this!" You simply walk around, look at various foods, and decide for yourself what to put on your plate. It's about trial and experimentation. You never know what you'll like until you taste it. (Let your sense be the master, and your logic the servant. More on this below).
This reminds me of the famous scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally where, to make a point, Sally fakes an orgasm in a restaurant. After she's "done," an older woman next to her says to the waiter, "I'll have what she's having."
Now, I don't know much about women faking orgasms because, of course, such things never (and I mean, never) happen in the course of my relationships with women. Seriously. I am not kidding, folks. I always offer 100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! :-)
Anyways, I'll stop here because I'm too scared my Mom might come across this blog. But my point is, we go through life and we look at how other people "experience" life. And then we try to develop a similar recipe for engaging in a similar experience.
(The best experience seems to be when you "merge", at the spiritual, emotional and physical level, with another human being (also known as a "soul mate"). This is a fascinating yet complex subject I'll delve into some other time.)
But this requires that we "outsmart" ourselves every day. This requires that we continually increase our ability to create new experiences (which are like new dishes).
A person who only knows how to make spaghetti will experience less out of life than a person who has learned to cook a variety of different cuisines, from Indian to Chinese to Vietnamese, etc. Well, unless you're an Italian mom, of course, in which case an entire universe of pasta is available for the tasting!
My point is that the key to success and happiness is not to compete against other people, but to continually increase or refine one's ability to create new life experiences every day.
Dr Edward de Bono, probably my greatest teacher, once wrote: "There may be no reason for saying something until after it has been said."
Similarly, "there may be no reason for trying something or doing something until after you have done it."
Sometimes, you have to forget your "intelligence" or experience and just do something for the heck of it. Just try it.
People who ONLY do what their intelligence says is logical to do, live very poor lives. They rely too much on their intelligence or judgment, which is very, very, very small.
It is better to rely on one's imagination. Just look at kids. They will always try anything new at least once. And they do it with so much enthusiasm! They don't care about "succeeding" or "failing," they just care about experiencing the fullness of life.
This is what I mean by "outsmarting" yourself every day. Forget your intelligence, experience, judgment, etc. and just do what you feel like doing. Develop your intuitive sensitivity and creative ability by quieting your mind and just do what feels good and right to you, without caring about what other people think.
This is part of a powerful art or practice based on what I call the "sensitivity/rationality" ratio.
People with a high sense/logic ratio experience more out of life. They are less interested in being "right" than in being "happy" and "in the moment."
People with a low sense/logic ratio will always do what they are "expected" to do or what they are "supposed" to do, yet they live such boring lives. They prefer to be "right" rather than "happy." They live by obligation, not choice. They favor security, not freedom. They put their logic first, and their 6 senses second. They live abstract, conventional, fear-based lives, not experiential, original, fearlessness-based adventures.
A person who insists on being right, is usually not happy. A person who pursues the path of happiness is usually right (in the grand scheme of Life) and naturally attracts other people, for the simple reason that most human beings prefer being happy over being "right" according to social convention or societal standards.
The key thing to remember is that because you are the master of your subjective universe, you are free (and have the power) to be, do or have anything you want.
posted by Super Peter at 2:09 PM
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