What Matters?
"The most important thing we can ever do is realize that everything we do matters." Jane Goodall
By "do", I'd include not just physical actions, but also thoughts and speech.
There are different levels or qualities of thought. One is the "self-talk" the mind pumps out automatically. Another is our choosing to engage with this self-talk (when we "serve tea"), which in turn gives rise to "thought proliferation". There are of course also more skillful thoughts.
Ultimately, the quality of anything we do depends entirely on our level of consciousness - our state of being.
Most of us are so familiar with a noisy old fear-based operating system - egoic consciousness - that we unquestioningly assume mirrors precisely who or what we are. Our self-concept and worldview are typically based on what egoic consciousness is capable of perceiving & understanding. This is problematic on many levels. Existence is incredibly huge & complex, in constant flux, and full of paradox, while the ego is all about controlling the environment. So in egoic consciousness, existential fear is always felt to a greater or lesser degree, giving rise to a constant striving to control the uncontrollable. We struggle continuously through aversion (trying to avoid) and clinging (trying to obtain & keep), based on the delusion that we're separate from, & in adversarial relationship with, everyone & everything.
Sadly, most of us unquestioningly assume that this level of consciousness is not only our identity, but also the peak of human achievement, so when it fails to make us happy, we're left with nothing but cynicism and a shaky pride (in what we assume we are & know).
“From the discovery of … deep, mythic undercurrents in one’s life, and the revelation of unsuspected levels of meaning, comes support for healing and the self-reflection that leads to understanding.”
Metzner R. “The unfolding self. Varieties of transformative experience.” Origin Press, Novato CA, 1998.
Relatively few of us know about the monumental transformation from egoic (personal–verbal) to transpersonal–postsymbolic consciousness that can occur in adulthood.
And among those who know about it, very few practice to facilitate actual transformation.
See:
and
http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2016/02/role-of-transpersonal-approaches.html
