A Foolish Consistency Is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds

Being one of the most famous quotations of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" can illustrate the underlying theme that is underpinning the social ills and human suffering of our times.  Rooted in many of us is the deep conditioning which prevents us from living a life that allows true self-expression.  Unconsciously, we have chosen to conform as a human species.  We identify so much with the collective based on the fear that being the odd one will render us helpless and isolated.  By having this false perception of separation, we have given up our birthright to be happy and genuine people.  The irony is that by choosing to be consistent, there is no satisfaction and fulfilment in life. That is not to say that we all should live as selfish beings.  But by rigidly conforming to customary or popular ideas, we are implicitly making the judgement that the inconsistent is incorrect and thus living to the expectations of others.  We are all capable of achieving happiness.  The key to this is to free ourselves from a fixed mindset or habitual thinking and allow ourselves to live up to the potential of who we are as individuals.

Life is fluid, unstable and impermanent, that is just the nature of it.  The same goes with our thoughts and beliefs.  There is no chance to have a fixed and consistent of thinking as you will be deviating from the Truth.  Going with the flow requires the courage of introspection.  When one can re-discover the inner self, then there will be ample space for harmony, authenticity and hence, happiness.

The Other Shore

Invite space into your world
Drop prejudice and judgement
Give up a fixed and deluded view-
Of an objective reality with intrinsic existence
As all phenomena in their own being are empty
Free the self and remove mental afflictions
Rejoice in the endowment of wisdom, bliss and compassion
Step ashore oarless and rudderless
And forgo the awakening upon disembarkation

Tikun

Tikun in Hebrew means fixing or rectification; in other words, a spiritually correction.  We have all come to this life with some tikun brought from the past which we have not yet reconciled with.  Before we can see the divine nature in ourselves which promises happiness and abundance, we need to take the first step in spiritual discovery - identifying our obstacles and understanding how they are caused by our belief system which has thus created a distorted reality.  It is a life-long process of removing the stranglehold.  If we stay in the loop, then whether you are conscious of it or not, you have already chosen to be debilitated by the same negative pattern over and over again.  We have all created our own reality.  If you know that you have such a power, would you choose to create love and compassion rather than fear and pain?