Image from Lucy's album
You know, the original meaning of ‘control’ back in the 14th
Century was ‘check’, ‘verify’ or ‘regulate’ (as related to account keeping). It was only in the 15th Century
that this word took on the more restrictive meanings of ‘restraint’, ‘prevent’
and even ‘eliminate’.
I like paying attention to words, how they are used, the
impact they have and importantly, the inner (mental and emotional) realities
that give rise to them and the outer realities (situations and events) that
they help create.
Take for instance the words ‘Just do it’. Three simple, everyday words with which Nike
has successfully seared into the consciousness of a few generations the very
positive and desirable association with their primary product – shoes!
On the face of it, what on earth has ‘Just do it’ got to do
with shoes??? Yet, you’ll agree, I’m
sure, that it’s hard to either say or hear those words without also thinking of
that blockbuster brand or one or more of its famous poster boys/girls (Michael Jordan
springs to my mind).
‘Just do it’ was inspired by the words, “Let’s do it”, which
Gary Gilmore stoutly said when asked by the prison chaplain for any last words
minutes before his execution in 1977!
Who would’ve thought that those words would spearhead a marketing
strategy that still brings in the bucks!
The success that Nike gained through this inspiration was
phenomenal. With its evocative
advertisements, ‘Just do it’ took on unprecedented meanings for millions of
people whether or not they purchased Nike shoes.
It fueled a spirit of daring and freedom by throwing down
the gauntlet with those three simple words ‘Just do it!’. And if you did decide to take the challenge
seriously, well, all you’d be ‘competing’ with was... a pair of shoes. Too easy? You
bet J.
Although Nike was advertising shoes (or so you’d
think), it was in fact very deliberately (and cleverly, I might add), creating
a new reality – one in which everyday people like you and I could feel the
towers of greatness rise within us and smell the delights of success by ‘just
doing it’, ‘it’ suggesting whatever it was you wanted to achieve in life! Clever or what?
Now, it may seem like I’m doing a mini analysis of a
marketing strategy but I can assure you that it is incidental to my main point,
that being the power of words to create our reality.
Of course we know that the words in themselves have no
power. It is the meaning that is intended and the meaning that is interpreted that
has that power.
Those meanings are often drawn from a deep and long history
over which words have been shaped and reshaped by collective and individual
meaning making.
A word is a symbol pointing to a story, sometimes so vast
and rich in its dramas, characters and unexpected twists and turns.
A one letter word like ‘I’ or a three letter word like ‘you’,
for instance, points to unfinished stories, dripping in possibilities yet also
carrying what might appear to be well-defined and irreversible ‘pasts’.
All this to say that words, numerous and readily available
as they often are, are important and to be used with care, or as I prefer to
say, mindfully.
And this brings me to the word I set out to tackle at the
start of this post. The word ‘control’.
How often have you heard someone say, or said or thought the
following yourself?
‘I lost control’
‘I feel I have no
control over the situation’
‘I hate not being in
control’
‘I need to be in
control of…’
‘S/he is such a
control freak’
In his book, The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield writes
about ‘control dramas’ in reference to the way people relate to one
another. Those who feel the need to ‘control’
others find a myriad of ways to do so both overtly and covertly.
Often when we speak of control, we speak from a basis of power and
powerlessness where there is an uneasy tension between the two. One person/party seems to have more power and
can therefore ‘control’ i.e. restrain or curb or prevent the behavior and
actions of another person/party.
Consequently, when we speak of wanting to regain control or
maintain control or even have control, we are seeking to impose on our
immediate sphere of influence, some holds
or restrictions by which we can feel safe and protected.
Sometimes, these holds or restrictions are imposed upon
other people such as objecting to a person speaking their mind or limiting
their use of space to a certain area within a shared dwelling place or
criticizing their work.
Sometimes, these holds or restrictions i.e. forms of control
are imposed in an overt manner, written or spoken, or they may be done more
covertly through silent withdrawals, refusing to comment or even acceding to
another’s demands no matter how unreasonable or undesirable they may be to us.
But trying to ‘control’ yourself, or another person or
situation is really an act of
restriction and constriction. Whether
you do it overtly or covertly, your motivation is to protect yourself and self—protection is always a restrictive and
constrictive action fueled by fear which is in turn driven by the
illusion of separation.
Now I have written about the illusion of separation and its effects in previous posts such as
this and this.
What I’d like to invite us all to consider here is an
alternative. In particular, a LOVE based alternative.
Firstly, it’s important to acknowledge that we all feel
threatened and powerless (and more often than we are aware of). Once again, I’ve already explained why we
feel this way in previous posts such as this
and this.
Some of us like to explain our need for self-protection and
consequently our feelings of fear in terms of our evolution as a human
species. Certainly most scientists do.
But, as you may have noticed, alongside this aspect of our
evolution which we are told is hardwired into the limbic part of our brain, the
prefrontal part of our brain has also evolved.
This part of our brain, which is the last part of the brain
to mature, is responsible (and that itself is a wonderful word – response +
able) for handling the more complex aspects of our thinking and behavior.
In other words, we have the capacity to override some of the more primal instincts that
we have acquired.
More importantly, we have the ability to self-reflect and self-observe. And this ability to self-reflect and
self-observe gives us the powerful ability to change our thinking and
consequently, create new
realities!
When we self-observe, something we do in meditation, we become
self-aware.
Awareness
is a remarkable experience. It is the
experience of our ultimate reality and this is how we experience our
interconnectedness, our formless reality, our limitlessness and our creative
nature.
Awareness
is the experience of what some may call the ‘unified field of consciousness’ in
which ‘energy’ (yes, a word, a symbol that we use) flows freely when it is
unimpeded by the vibrations of THOUGHT, and more powerfully, by FEELING.
Yes, thought and feeling!
Energy is directed to thoughts and feelings and to their
strongest vibrations which result in the physical and external manifestations
of those vibrations.
When fear is the strongest vibration that we hold, energy
will be drawn to it and will result in its restrictive and constrictive physical/external
manifestations, first in our bodies and then in our words and actions.
You find yourself getting tense, the muscles in your body,
in your face constrict. Your words are
uncreative, reflecting the internal dialogues you’ve been rehearsing. Your actions are self-protective, causing you
to either attack or retreat.
When we seek to control, we place our thought and feeling
vibrations of fear in the naturally free-flowing energy field. We are then destined to experience the less
than satisfactory and often painful outcomes of this restriction and constriction
of our naturally free flowing energy.
So, what is the LOVING ALTERNATIVE?
Well, first I think we need to ask the question:
Do we need to
control?
Is there another way of moving from a state of powerlessness
to a state of power, bearing in mind that our NATURAL STATE is one of true
power.
Yes, of course there is!
It is the choice of LOVE – the ultimate and insurmountable
energy state!
Well, then, what might be the response of love?
Quite simple. It is the response that
fills you with joy, with peace, with a feeling of freedom and expansiveness, a feeling
of deep power and poise J
Now, exactly what is that response?
Ah huh, I wish I could tell you but that is something that
you will have to allow your inner wisdom, your free, unconditioned, natural, clear-water
mind to guide you in J
You see, there are many possible responses of love.
Well, of course there are, for love is the infinite field of
possibilities!
In one instance, it may be to move yourself physically into
a place of joy or openness like your garden or your favorite room.
In another instance, it might be to make a joke.
In another, write or cook or work on some craft.
Oh, but wait! Wouldn’t these be forms of withdrawal and/or
denial?
ONLY IF THAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION.
Withdrawal and denial are ways by which the fearful mind
seeks to impose control.
But if your motivation is to RETURN TO YOUR NATURAL STATE OF
PEACE AND JOY AND POWER AND LOVE, now that THOUGHT and that FEELING have
completely different vibrations
to the feelings of withdrawal and denial!
Consequently, energy gets drawn and reorganized in different
ways in your body, in your words and in your actions.
You smile. The muscles in your face and body relax. You feel light. You engage in something creative rather than in
addictive behaviors. You have no
ill-feelings towards the other person/party.
You don’t set out to fight anyone or anything. Instead, you become more acutely aware of
your oneness, your interbeingness, your natural state of harmony and wellbeing!
Try it and let me know if it doesn’t make a major difference
to the way you deal with your feelings of powerlessness!
In my next post, I shall talk about other words that we
frequently use and which may either hinder or help our ability to create our
desired realities. If you like, you may
wish to reflect on some of them:
Reality
I, You
Love
Can’t/Can
Want/Need
Success
Fail
Lazy
Bored
Earn
Deserve
Justice
Freedom
Happiness
Honesty
In love, Lucy
