Letting the “Troublemaker” out of the Cage!
Once upon a time, I had dreams and the confidence to make them come true. I saw myself as limitless and unstoppable, built empires and conquered unknown territories with a wood stick, a paper hat and bubble gum. And I bet I was not alone.
Yes, once upon a time, we believed in possibilities and magic, our hearts were open; we took risks for the sake of discovery and explored worlds, real or imaginary, freely and without judgments. And then …
We grew up!
All that power, and sometimes life’s meaning, got lost in the process of giving ourselves to the wheels of logic making things predictability, very serious and supposedly safe.
Disentangling, Dissent and “Troublemakers”
Social stigma can definitely make us feel like troublemakers for disentangling ourselves from certain norms or expectations. Choosing to be an independent thinker can be seen as a challenge to the established order, making some people feel uncomfortable. Society often enforces norms through social pressure. This can take many forms:
- Negative comments or gossip
- Exclusion from social circles
- Being labeled a troublemaker or rebel
Let’s take for example disentangling from workaholism. In a culture that glorifies long hours, taking time for yourself can be seen as laziness. If everyone in your social circle spends a lot of time online, choosing not to can make you seem isolated or antisocial. Not wanting to buy the latest gadgets can send you to the bucket of “out of touch”, eccentric or worse.
A Healthy Dose of “Rebellion against Complacency?”
We are not a happy society, there’s so much suffering and frustration nowadays around the world, many live in apathy or worse, depressed. We followed the norm and expected that our hard work and abidance would render the desired outcome. Early dreams, gave way to the responsibilities of growing up and “living in the real world.” Anything else is just naïve, childish. Don’t be a troublemaker, don’t stir the waters, nothing good can come from it! Really? Is that what life is about? Bowing to circumstances and the roles we are supposed to assume, no matter the cost?
“Troublemaker” with a Vision in Mind
There’s a difference between healthy disentanglement and outright rebellion. Disentanglement is about choosing what works for you, not necessarily against everything society values. By being mindful of our perspective and choices, we can evaluate what is truly harmful or just a healthy disentangling from social expectations and unquestioned assumptions that are not serving us anymore.
Disentanglement is about taking control of our life, not becoming an outcast. Society’s disapproval can feel harsh, but it doesn’t have to define you. Focusing on that which aligns with our values and dreams, even if it means challenging some standards along the way, and surrounding ourselves with people who respect our choices and whom we respect and communicate effectively, offer us a solid foundation for a healthy and meaningful life.
I Tried Reasoned with the Adult… Let’s go back to the Inner Child
We all have a story to share and writing an ending that would make it memorable in our hearts and those we touch, is part of what compelled me to navigate the beautiful, maddening and sometimes incomprehensible adventures I have been piling up under the label of experience.
Although it has taken me several decades to realize it, the most profound truth is that the magic is never gone. Our life plan might seemed propelled by desires, drivenness, goal setting, survival instincts, expectations and achievement. All these are motivators in their own right, yet susceptible to the tides of fortune or misfortune, resistance and fear. Thus, I decided to change my approach and the lenses through which to perceive reality and the power of creation.
Growing Down
Coming from Academia, and being taught to hone my brain capabilities, I relied on reasoning and smarts for too long. Logical thinking is fantastic for many situations. It helps us analyze data, make informed decisions, and solve problems with clear steps. However, sometimes logic can be limiting, especially when dealing with complex emotions and the unknown — or when our desired life is taking a life time to reach us!
After trying every tool and process ensuring a quantum leap into fulfilment with mixed results, I decided to claim what little Me “knew.” Great spiritual masters and mystics have spoken about the truth since the dawn of time, but the adult in me dismissed it because it can’t be that easy, no? or “Who am I to think this way?”
I am talking about our true identity, not our personality, the name in the birth certificate or degrees, but the unlimited “I Am” who is one with the field of infinite potentials and sees life as an opportunity to express and expand joyfully. The one who explores life in wonder and unapologetically experiences the creative power it has been endowed with by and as the Higher Intelligence from which emanates. The one I sensed before I grew up.
Going through a transition demanding to redefine what I wanted from life and tired of dealing with setbacks and the discrepancy between how much I was putting in and how little I was getting out, I decided to use the so called “smarts” and questioned the way I have been looking at who I am and how does the universe works. Reclaim it now! … before habituation and fear turns one into a sleepwalking-flesh-AI-algorithm with limited data input complaining about the hellish loop of dissatisfaction and overused solutions.
Giving Ourselves an A
Ben Zander’s “Giving an A” practice, described in the book “The Art of Possibility,” focuses on shifting our mindset and fostering a culture of possibility within ourselves and our interactions with others. The Core Idea is to approach situations without the usual fear of failure or judgment by metaphorically “giving an A” in advance, meaning assuming the best in ourselves and others and envisioning the actions unlocking our full potential.
A+ f(X) * is the Mark in the Spiritual World
Our everyday experience of time as a steady flow from past to future got a shake-up in the bizarre world of quantum mechanics. Tiny particles can exist in multiple states at once (superposition), blurring the lines of possibility until a measurement forces them into a single definite state. This hints that the past and future might not be set in stone, but rather a spectrum of possibilities. Additionally, entangled particles can be mysteriously linked even across vast distances, suggesting a deeper reality where the traditional boundaries of time – past, present, and future – might be intertwined in ways we can’t yet fully grasp.
Did the little me know this? “Something” must have!
(*) tends to infinite
I Choose Not to Wait!
We complain about the lack of congruency and usefulness between what we learn in school and what experience throws at us. So much has change about how we understand the universe, our presence in it, the power we have as creators and the role we take in our lives.
I didn’t like physics when I was in school; let’s rephrase that, I found interesting some of the things it proposed, but I didn’t understand how to apply them beyond getting a passing grade. Today, I find it fascinating, and I am glad more and more people are connecting the dots between science and spirituality and the art of living.
The observer effect, a fundamental concept in quantum physics, refers to the notion that the act of observing a system influences its state. Before being observed, a quantum particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously (superposition). The act of observing/measuring “collapses” the wavefunction, forcing the particle into a single definite state. Many-Worlds Interpretation theory proposes that every possibility exists in a separate universe. So, when a measurement is made, the universe “splits” into multiple realities, one for each possible outcome, witnessing the branching of possibilities.
Some spiritual teachers believe we can manifest our desires by understanding reality as a vast “field of possibilities” that renders an outcome aligned with our intention and focus. But if there was more to all this, what if by claiming our Higher Self-identity and looking at life through the A+ lenses of a Divine Mind could bypass the “messy middle” –the human mind afflicted by doubts, fears and beliefs– and grant us paradise in earth?
That is a Physics course I would like to excel at.
The Big Me Messed Things Up!
As a kid I did not reflect on or research these ideas of course; I took them for granted. I never questioned the goodness of life or whether I was unlimited because I did not have to. I knew. Imagination was deeply connected to my inner knowing.
It might be that our Inner knowing finds natural to grasp such difficult concepts as quantum entanglement while embodying divine consciousness no matter our age. The child in Me holds a kind of knowledge that the adult envies. I just need to get the “big gal” out of the way and invite the expert mind to surrender to the quality of perception and vision of a beginner’s mind when the equation tends to infinite.
The thrall of intelligence and control is too tempting for the frontal lobe to relinquish power. It will say: “work harder, fatten the Myelin Sheath and make your nerve impulses more efficient! Stick to brainwave entrainment, that’s your magic bullet for a super intelligence that might give you answers.”
I confess that after years of training and self-actualization, my knowledge and problem-solving capabilities might have increased, yet my happiness and self-love seem to remain subpar. The insight I got after an intense “Dark Night of the Soul” was so simple that it blew my socks aways: that sense of limitlessness so full of joy and wisdom is already in me … I remembered it then, the energy alighting me when I was a kid, the certainty I fought tooth and nail for.
Catching up with my Inner Child’s Wisdom?
I have been experimenting with a new approach to spirituality, from “working up to Source” (however you call a Higher Power), I have moved to “working out from Source, or as Source.” The “working up to Source” approach was like climbing a ladder. It emphasized personal effort and struggle, with us mortals striving to prove our worthiness through the practice of self-improvement and following a linear journey with the expectation of overcoming limitations and reaching higher spiritual states. However, this approach created a sense of separation from Source where I was always reaching but never quite arriving. Exhausting!
On the other hand, “working out from Source” flips the perspective entirely. It sees perfection as already present within us. We are encouraged to recognize and express our inherent divine nature, often through identifying with our Higher-Self-consciousness (true selfhood). This approach emphasizes aligning with the all-encompassing power of Source as our inherent experience rather than relying solely on our human (little mind) efforts. It’s like realizing you’re already standing on the ground, one with the divine, instead of constantly trying to climb up to it.
I was always A+! One who didn’t need a “report card” to prove it and have been killing myself to avoid punishment or get the candy!
Dismantling the embattlement of years of self-recrimination and struggle has been a tug of war with logic and conditioning on one side and “what the heck” and a wobbly concept of faith on the other. At the center is the key that dissolves negativity and suffering by revealing our inherent perfection and unity with its immense power, recognizing our oneness with Source. This oneness echoes Jesus’ famous words, “I and my Father are one.”
Understanding this principle isn’t just an intellectual exercise, it’s a practical truth that when embraced, can transform our lives and bring freedom from the constraints and the illusion of separation the limited “small self” imposes. Our true infinite nature is free from fear and doubt because its knows itself to be A+ f(X) given by the same power we are a prefect mirror of.
The Divine “I AM” is the all-encompassing source of Being revealing the inherent wholeness and perfection within and our inseparable connection to a Higher Intelligence. In contrast, the “small I” represents the limited, mortal sense of self with its beliefs in separation, lack, sickness, and fear.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer to experience the fullness of life’s provision!
Spiritual Independence: The Inner Child Knows the Voice of Love.
It has been said that the force behind the Universe is Love and we are IT. Although my small mind finds it difficult to step away from her story or conceptualization of human love with its ups and downs, the Inner Child recalls moments of bliss, significance and joy that were deeply fulfilling. She didn’t have words or grammar to convey it, but words pale compared to the magic and wisdom distilling from those times of openness to the truth.
Thus, the adult today steps into an invisible sandbox to shape the miracle of life and contemplates creation through mullioned windows or tall turrets in sand castles that tend to Infinity.
Own the A+ f(x) identity and experience a profound transformation. Feeling whole is quite a fun and beautiful thing, even it our awareness blinks, the power remains.
