Byron Katie has a simple exercise: When you wake up in the morning, don’t get up. Wait and see what happens, and find some curiosity about it. (Paraphrased.)
When I do this, I find that my human self gets out of bed on its own, and at the right time. It has an innate wisdom that makes it get up when the time is ripe. It happens without any conscious planning or effort or use of will. And it’s often surprising. One moment I was in bed, the next standing on the floor, and there was no planning or effort or will involved.
This helps me see that my human self lives its own life and that it has innate wisdom and kindness.
And I can do this in other areas of life as well. I can wait, notice with curiosity, and see what my human self does on its own.
When I get out of my own way, my human self is more free to live from wisdom and heart.
There is, as usual, a lot more to say about this.
For instance, our human self is always living its own life. It’s just that our mind adds a layer of identification so we think and feel that “I” did it. When we find what we more fundamentally are, it’s more obvious that our human self is living its own life. Words happen. Actions happen. And there is no involvement of an “I”.
The only difference is that the strange loop that creates a sense of “I” or “doer” goes away, or at least is not invested with a sense of reality. The charge goes out of it.
INITIAL DRAFT
EXERCISE FOR FINDING TRUST IN LIFE AND OUR HUMAN SELF
Byron Katie has a simple exercise: When you wake up in the morning, don’t get up. Wait and see what happens, and find some curiosity about it. (Paraphrased.)
When I do this, I find that my human self gets out of bed on its own, and at the right time. It has an innate wisdom that makes it get up when it’s the right time. It happens without any conscious planning or effort or use of will.
This helps me see that my human self lives its own life and that it has innate wisdom and kindness.
And I can do this in other areas of life as well. I can wait, notice with curiosity, and see what my human self does on its own.
When I get out of my own way, my human self is more free to live from wisdom and heart.
….
I also have a question for myself about this exercise. Will, for instance, strong depression make our human self stay in bed for too long (so we miss appointments, etc.) if we don’t use our will? When I explore this for myself, the answer is “no”. Our human self will likely get up at some point.