Where Will You Focus?
Politics and Programming
The last few weeks have been eye-opening for me, as I’ve sat with my BFF and watched takeover of the political process by people who know how to manipulate the media and through them the public. I’ve felt anger, frustration, rage, judgment, incredulity, hopelessness, and grief as I heard meaningless sound bytes flow from our television. Yes, I let the lens of politics and programming distort my view. I began to see myself as powerless against a political machine that didn’t represent me at all.
Since watching this charade felt so bad, I decided to ask the empowering questions, “How can this feel better?” “What would it take to feel joy anyway?” “How could I feel more empowered in this situation?” As my questions started opening up space, I began to come to neutral and take a look at what I was experiencing. I realized that my anger and grief related to long held family beliefs that when we sent our men and women to war, it was a worthy endeavor. I felt like our service people protected the America my grandparents and parents, first and second generation Americans, believed in. Their vision was so strongly embedded in my mind, emotions, and body, that I truly felt betrayed by a political system who no longer cares about the American people, who only pays lip service to protecting the Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees.
But, did politicians and the media really have that much power over me, or did I give away my sovereignty while I was experiencing my programming?
The Problem with Programming
The problem with programming is that your viewpoint is automatic and has almost nothing to do with the present situation. When present circumstances trigger programming, your brain has made thousands of comparisons between what your senses perceive in the current situation and what it knows from the past. So, the chemistry and the emotions that follow kick your body’s survival mechanism into operation. But, is there really a danger in the current situation? Are you really powerless and need the adrenaline rush to help you flee a predator?
Think about how I described my feelings of betrayal. What I was looking at in my mind’s eye was my Dad breaking his back after a pre-WWII parachute jump, my cousin returning from VietNam with PTSD, and a career military friend suffering from Agent Orange poisoning. None of these situations occur in present time. My Dad has been dead over 20 years. I haven’t seen my cousin or my friend in over 3 decades. So, why did I want to protect what was important to them, without first stopping and seeing if this was appropriate for me now?
Slow the Roll
While I furiously tweeted my frustration programming last night, I felt worse and worse. Survival chemistry is stressful for the body, and it does not create feelings of joy and empowerment. Finally, it dawned on me that I had let go of my sovereignty and, therefore, my freedom of choice to create an experience I would rather have. That’s when I asked myself the question, “Do I want to continue to fight a situation I have no control over or do I want to create an alternative experience I could enjoy?” Just asking that question slowed my brain rolling through comparisons of how this situation was similar to other “dangerous” situations I’d been in. Once the thoughts started slowing down, I could see the absurdity of at least some of them. Once you can see your absurd thoughts for what they are, you just have to laugh.
Focus on What You Want to Create
Once you slow the roll, your mind is free to focus on anything you choose. So, I started thinking about what I want to experience – the feeling of pride in the service of our military, the joy of visiting our national parks, the freedom of being able to create my life without limitation. Then, I started asking questions, “How could I expand the pride I feel for our military?” “What would it take to honor them?” “How could I visit one of our parks now?” “What would it take for that to happen?” “How could I feel more support, nurturing, and sustenance in my life?” “What would it take to feel more self-empowered ?”
Who Is in Charge?
It doesn’t matter who leads your country and whether or not they represent your viewpoint or even keep their promises. No one can control your reality unless you give them conscious or unconscious permission to do so. So, why give anyone that kind of power over you? Instead of just talking about being a child of Divine, why not act like the sovereign being you are? Start focusing on how you want to feel, what you want to experience. Ask the Universe to bring this reality to you by asking empowering questions (“How….” “What would it take for…”). When you find yourself in an experience you don’t enjoy, just choose another. When you enjoy something and want to repeat it, ask yourself, “What would it take to have more?”