How the con artist cons us
out of the life that we want
The illusion that fear is something to be afraid of.
When we stay with sensations of fear and dread in the body we see they are the same as the sensations of curiosity, anticipation and excitement. When we stop believing that we’re afraid of the dark we become the one to switch on the light and dispel the illusory monsters. The safest place for us to be is HERE. Anything can happen; but we will always be with it with compassionate awareness.
The illusion that we are not good enough, losers and failures.
We have internalised hateful messages about who we are. The truth is we are sincere, trying our best, unique expressions of Life. When we stop consulting the con artist to see who we are, we discover that we are all sorts of wonderful.
The Illusion that we and not the con artist are in control of our lives.
The mere suggestion that some internal, hateful, survival system is in charge of my decisions and actions will elicit a sniff of disdain, a rolling of the eyes, and murmurs of conspiracy theorists, all leading to outright disbelief. ‘Oh ok, I’m a puppet being controlled by ‘dark forces, yeah right’ However we can all attest to the anger, resitance and acting out when ‘my’ control, ‘my’ autonomy, ‘my’ point of view and what ‘I’ think is right is questioned.
We did not make life, we cannot control it. Life grows trees, carves canyons, whirls planets, it can also wash dishes, pay bills, write posts and do dances. Life is more accurately living us. When we let life live us, and stop resisting it and swimming against the current, stop listening to how the frightened, controlling con artist thinks it should be lived, we can peacefully watch and feel it flow.
The illusion of separation from each other and nature.
We may feel singled out, set apart, isolated, segregated, the only one, shut away, cut off at one time or another. It’s a lie. We are all part of Life. Nothing exists without the others. Einstein said you either believe nothing is a miracle or every thing is. All of Life is a miracle.
The illusion of permanence.
“A woman walked across a field and saw a tiger. She ran away, and the tiger ran after her. She came to a cliff and swung herself over the edge, clinging to the root of a wild vine. The tiger growled from above. She looked down and saw a tiger pacing below. Just then two mice came along and little by little began to gnaw away at the vine. The woman saw a luscious looking strawberry nearby. Grasping the vine with one hand, she plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!’
Most of us are living like it will never end. Buddha taught that Life is flux. All forms are transient. Stars burn and collapse, civilisations rise and fall, species evolve and go extinct, we grow old and die. And yet this truth rarely touches how we live our lives. A false sense of continuity lulls us into postponing living NOW for a vague belief that there will be time to live later.
We are not materially different from the ‘evil villains’, but because they have more money and power when they listen to their own internal con artists who deceive and cause them to act out in fear and anger, it’s more obvious to the rest of us.
Just like with safety belts; awareness of our own con artist first is essential before trying to fix anyone else!
Everything we need to be happy is right here, it’s just that we’re not.
Namaste,
Jo
Adapted from Cheri Huber ‘The Big Bamboozle’ How you get conned out of the life you want and what to do about it.
My son would have found the icky parts of the strawberry and not eaten it. But your point stands. :)
Typo 'Just hen two mice came along' -> 'Just then two mice came along'
Sweet! Thanks. xo