Inquiry: That was a lame, dime-a-dozen, story

That was a lame, dime-a-dozen, story. (Any number of movies I have seen, especially the action and suspense ones. I remember it came up quite strongly when I saw The Departed, and now most recently when I tried watching the most recent James Bond movie on DVD.)

1. True?
   Well… feels true when I fuel that story.
2. Sure?
   No, not at all. It is just what comes up for me at the time. It is not inherent in the movie, but comes from me.
3. What happens when I believe that thought?
   • I feel I am wasting my time. That I want to be somewhere else. I sometimes leave the movie theater or turn off the DVD.
   • I feel right. That I see something that the script writers should have seen and done something about.
   • I compare the movie with my favorite ones (for instance the Jason Borne movies when it comes to action movies, and then a large number of movies in other genres), and it doesn’t come out favorably.
   • I feel that I have better taste. That I am in the wrong place. I go into stories about how the movies in the movie theaters in Norway are far more interesting than here in the US.
   • I see going into a rigid view, arrogance, the discomfort that comes from it, and the added discomfort from seeing it all happening and knowing it comes from being caught up in a blind belief.
   • I feel ashamed, while still being caught up in the initial story.
   • I experience separation… with myself, the movie, the others watching the movie, the movie makers, life.
   • I see that this belief comes up proportionally to how seriously the movie takes itself, and how good others think it is. If there is some self-irony and humor there, or others don’t see it as very good, I don’t go into it much if at all. In the first case, the ones making the movie see it too. And in the second case, others are doing the job for me of putting it down, so I don’t need to do it.
4. Who would I be without it?
   • Clear. Free to stay or leave, free from reactivity. Able to appreciate the story, the movie, those watching, without needing to stay. A sense of us.
   • A great sense of freedom and even enjoyment, independent of the story in the movie.
   • It is just life playing itself out… the movie, the audience, me staying or leaving. And it is all pretty interesting and even enjoyable.
5. Turnarounds.
   • That was not a lame, dime-a-dozen, story.
     • No, not inherently. There is nothing inherent in the movie, built into it somehow, that says it is lame. It is all my ideas about it, and those are not even shared by everyone. (Even everyone agreeing wouldn’t make it inherent to the movie.)
     • Some folks obviously enjoy it, so for them it is not a lame story. (Or maybe it is, but they allow themselves to enjoy it anyway, being smarter than I am when I believe my story!)
   • I am a lame, dime-a-dozen, story.
     • Yes! I didn’t see this turnaround until now, but this one hits home much more than the initial belief.
     • My life is a dime-a-dozen story, which is beautiful in its own way. I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is part of the universal and shared human experiences. What can be more beautiful than that?
     • When I go into beliefs, I replay stories that innumerable people around the world have gone into for millennia. There is nothing new there. Specifically, there is nothing new in making my own beliefs right, and being arrogant about it in different ways.
   • That was a great, unique story.
     • Well, that is true too. Some people see it as great, and that is as valid as my initial story about it. I can even see and understand why they see it that way, if I am open to it.
     • Each story is unique in its own way. Each one brings something slightly new and different to it. When I attach to my initial story, I am less able to see and appreciate that.
     • I can always find myself in it, use the story as a mirror for myself, and in that way, it is always a great story. It helps me see more about myself. (The story, the characters, the events.)
     • It helped me see and inquire into this beliefs, so in that way it was a great story too.
   • I am a great, unique story.
     • Same as above. My life, and my (always changing) story about my life, has its own flavor, as do each life and each story. When I hold onto the initial belief, I am less able to see and appreciate that.