Moving Through Life Hypnotized?
I saw last week for the second time the movie, What the Bleep Do We Know? I highly recommend this amazing exploration of how the Law of Attraction works vis a vis Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics. It’s fascinating.
A scientist in the film made the astute observation, “We are hypnotized by our environment.” This is a topic worthy of exploration.
I wouldn’t dare to theorize what he meant by this. What it stirred in my mind was how much we approach each day expecting everything to be nearly identical to the day before. In fact, our expectation of sameness is so strong that many of us become extremely agitated when it doesn’t fall into place. If we encounter something radically different, even if it’s pleasant, it upsets us.
There are few people who, if stopped on the way to work by a happy parade with clowns and lively music, would surrender to the circumstances and thoroughly enjoy the parade. The few adults among us who would see this as a “happy accident” are often reviled when they should be held as precious. Those who see the wonder of life are messengers to us all. Unfortunately, most of us begin to lose that around the age of seven.
Instead of being delighted by the parade, most of us would be drumming our fingers impatiently, wondering who came up with this “lame-brained idea” and when the idiotic thing would end so we can get to work, darn it! Ironically, these are often the very same people who can’t stand work and yet, here they are with a perfectly good excuse to delay getting there and instead, they’re annoyed!
When we become hypnotized by our environment, we expect sameness and most often, that is what we get. Remember, the Law of Attraction says, “You attract more of what you focus on.” If your focus is hazy, at best, a hazy existence is what you will attract.
I’m not talking about contentment, by the way. Those of us who are content are very aware of those circumstances and events that are at the heart of our contentment. What I am talking about is walking through your life with blinders on. You needn’t bother to look around and be aware of anything because you’re absolutely sure of what will be there when you do. Here are some signs that you may be hypnotized by your environment:
• You cannot remember the last time you had a really good idea;
• You haven’t had a deep belly laugh in recent memory;
• The only things that excite you are things that make you angry;
• You know more about the lives of characters in stories you read or see on TV than you do about the lives of your co-workers or loved ones;
• You can’t remember the last time you smelled something so wonderful it caused you to moan with pleasure;
• Every speed dial on your phone is for fast food.
I heard an interview on National Public Radio with an educator who was talking about “mindfulness.” She mentioned studies that have been done of people who dislike something – let’s use Rap music as an example. When they instructed these people to identify 3-5 specific things they noticed about Rap music, they found that the intensity of their dislike notably decreased. In other words, the more “mindful” they became about specific characteristics of the music, the less it sounded to them like unpleasant noise.
The same is true about life. The more we become mindful of the changes happening all around us, the less change threatens us. Once the sleepwalking ends and awareness begins, life becomes much more exciting and interesting and change is transformed into something we expect and embrace.
Therefore, I’m going to instruct you to snap your fingers three times. With each snap, you will begin to bring yourself back into the world. On the third snap, you will become fully awake, alive and energized.
Begin now.
