I’ve been taking an ancient theosophical course. It has no agenda or time frame, which allows the student to learn, live and process these studies within their own time frame. I’m regularly reminded (by my wiser self) of the first article I was asked to read, “City Without Walls” by Elizabeth Duffie, and the subsequent thought paper I wrote.
The “City Without Walls” describes a beautiful city. This city is full of happiness, love, trust, joy, art and culture; a community where integrity and thoughtfulness prevail. There’s no theft, harm done to others, negativity, nor are there protective walls, guards, security or police, for they aren’t deemed necessary. Sounds pretty wonderful. One day an invading force arrives. What are they to do? Give this invading army lodging in their best hotels? Your imagination must be drumming up quite a bit at this point (I know mine certainly was).
My thought paper discusses shifting to the esoteric meaning of this story; protecting something precious—the inner self. As previously mentioned in my writings, the subconscious mind is a vast storehouse of our every experience. The subconscious mind does not question what it’s presented with. It doesn’t question whether the information being presented is right|wrong, good|bad, healthy|harmful, true|false. It simply accepts that which it receives. Therefore, in our daily experiences this subconscious mind is always “thin-slicing,” filtering, or shifting our metaphorical kaleidoscope, based on its gathered information. This may have a profound effect on the responses and decisions one makes, and how one “moves” in the world. Even though we know that the conscious mind is simply a tool for use in our daily lives (we are not our mind), it can still be deeply influenced by the subconscious mind. In any given situation we either pivot from Love or Fear. How can we diminish fear in our lives, minimize it and give it little or no power?
So the thought I would like to invoke within you is “Do you employ a metaphorical Gatekeeper?” Let’s look at this in a bit more detail. What follows next takes courage, strength of character, and determination, and it will ultimately bring you a sense of well-being, peace and quietness of the mind, body and soul.
While I willingly and knowingly “slide around” with this on occasion, that wise inner voice continuously and gently sends reminders. Life is meant to have copious amounts of fun, lightheartedness and joy. I relish reading a good “arm chair adventure,” or watching a movie that may be suspenseful and dramatic, or sharing witty and ridiculous conversations with friends (all with good intent). But I also know when I have let the gatekeeper become lazy; I know this by how I feel when I wake in the morning and how I perceive the unfolding of a given day.
The Metaphorical Gatekeeper checklist for a clear subconscious
What do you choose to read? Is the content positive, uplifting, encouraging, nourishing, necessary, and/or enlightening?
What do you choose to watch on television? Are the programs you’re watching positive, uplifting, encouraging, nourishing or enlightening? Or are they negative, heavy, fear based or is the content based on fearmongering?
What you choose to listen to? Are the words uplifting and do you feel light-hearted and peaceful, or do they stir up negativity and unhappiness further spiraling you to places that are not beneficial?
Who do you choose to have conversations with? Are these conversations fear based or love based? Do they bring you resonant connectedness and inspire you during challenges or times of celebration? Do you leave feeling loved, cherished, understood and happy?
Who do you choose to spend time with? Are these people supportive, caring, and loving? Do you ever feel diminished, disrespected, or drained of energy when you depart?
What environments do you choose to spend time in? Are they loud, harsh, and full of negative images and conversations? Or, are they uplifting and filled with things that make you feel good about yourself and the world you live in?
What type of environment do you choose to work in and what is the “tone at the top”? This one is a no-brainer; I’ve worked in some amazing environments and those that were absolutely dreadful. Do you thrive at work or do constantly have to drum up enthusiasm and shift your headspace to get through each day?
What thoughts do you choose to give rein to? Are you able to swat away or dismiss thoughts that are not loving, kind or positive to others and the self (a reminder here that the mind is simply a tool for use—I ask myself who has control of the steering wheel here)?
What do you choose to view or look at? Do you allow yourself to look at images that are dark, horrifying, negative or ones that create a space in you that you dislike or know may not be beneficial to your well-being?
When thinking of the above, remember that the subconscious mind pulls everything in! Wherever we are, and whoever we are with, we tend to filter out a large majority of what is around us. Most importantly, the subconscious mind hears everything that can be heard by the ears, sees everything that can be seen by the eyes and can sense everything emoted from others; even if “you” do not (much having been filtered out), or you do not want to admit that you have (falling unconscious in the moment as it were). The subconscious mind does not differentiate.
A Gatekeeper at the metaphorical gate; not a bad idea at all!
Live consciously.
[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]by Janine Algar
