One of the biggest challenges we face as humanity is dealing with the onslaught of deception that is attempting to control us or rule our lives in so many ways. We seem to be more confused now than we have ever been. It’s not so much that there are more opposing viewpoints or ideologies now than ever before, it’s that we are more consciously reminded of them through the current social media platforms and a more diversified news base. If we are to find and hear truth, we are being forced in a sense to rely upon our own judgements and instincts in order to perceive accurately what we are seeing and hearing. It is critical for each of us to learn how to trust our own impressions in many cases, as this may be the only reliable tool we have. This is very important and necessary, for we must ultimately understand that the most valuable learning and knowledge we hope to obtain will come from inside us. When all is said and done, even if what we believe to be true is incorrect, we will be impelled to find out through our own experience. This is the only way we can understand ourselves and the reality we wish to live in. Having said that, we will unfortunately still pay far too much attention to the miasma or fog that is happening in the outside world. Our goal is to learn how to decipher what is what in order to have some basic clarity, and this is most certainly a difficult process for all of us. We can begin by accepting that we are being deceived by others at times and this brings in such a deep feeling of violation and vulnerability, of which we hope to avoid in the future. We must keep in mind always that our thoughts and our beliefs belong to us, and we are therefore responsible for them. If these beliefs no longer serve us, we must make those necessary changes within. There are basically three areas or types of deception we have to contend with and eventually understand. Let’s take a look.
Unintentional Deception
If you look at the above image, there’s a guy taking a walk, deep in thought. Perhaps he’s trying to figure something out. He’s gazing off in the distance at the view before him, but there seems to be a fog or mist that is obstructing him from getting a clear picture. It’s beautiful, nevertheless, as the sun is doing its best to come through anyway and dissipate this fog. This is a great analogy or metaphor to what is happening in our minds at any given moment. When we find ourselves in a state of confusion, it is difficult to see what the truth is or if we are in fact receiving the correct information. We are not intentionally being deceived by others, nor are we intentionally trying to deceive ourselves by being in this state of confusion. It is our job to sort through it all and decide what we want to believe. The good news is that our intent is to discover the truth, so we can feel more secure within our minds and function more effectively in our life and the world. We cannot know everything, so it’s important to be humble, take a risk and reach out. We need to be careful, however, and not assume that what we are seeing or hearing is accurate. The very best way to know what right is, is to feel what is right. We need to ask ourselves some simple questions, then. Does the information we’re receiving make sense to us? Does it have anything to do with us in our everyday life? Can what we’re hearing be practically applied in our life to improve our situation? Will it help us gain understanding, so we can feel calmer and at peace? If we can’t seem to figure it out, we may need to rely on past experience to some extent in order to get started. That’s ok. If it’s time to learn something new, then all we can do is try it on and see if it works. With so much opposing information out there, at some point, we’re going to need some validation. The only way to know something for sure is to prove it within our own experience. Do we have to prove anything to anyone else? No, they need to find out in their experience. People have a lot to say about a lot of things. What is real and what is true must have value for it to mean anything at all. We need to always keep in mind that whatever truth we have inside us is only a portion of the entire truth. Our attitude is one of wanting to know more. We walk, we learn, we live. This is our journey.
Intentional Deception
Unfortunately, there is a lot of intentional deception on the part of many happening in our world today. This makes our efforts to understand ourselves all that more challenging. There are people who want us to believe what they believe so that their reality, or lack thereof, becomes ours. Why would they want to do this? Well, in most cases, they are simply attempting to control us because they want something from us. It’s a jungle out there, so we’ve got to pay attention! I know, we want to believe that everyone is basically good, but we need to be realistic, and be aware, that there are those who will take whatever they believe to be theirs. In all honesty, some people unfortunately believe that everything is theirs, including us. If we decide that we do not want to be taken from, then we must practice standing in our own integrity. When we feel in our gut that something is wrong or something nefarious is going on, we need to trust that impression. If we sense that someone is trying to take advantage of us, we are probably right. Now, don’t go too far and head into paranoia. Nobody can exist there and be healthy and successful. Generally speaking, most people don’t understand what they’re doing or why. In that case we may just need to give them a gentle loving reminder. Who we need to be more aware of are the ones who know exactly what they’re doing and why. Unfortunately, many of them are in positions of power and influence. This is why we need to be cautious and thoughtful before we accept anything as truth. Does their language, messaging and philosophy only benefit them, or does it benefit us. We must be careful not to believe we can tell the difference. The well-developed art of manipulation and deception runs wild. Don’t worry too much, though. These people, with bad intention, are building their own trap. Those of us with loving, truthful intent are growing day by day. This we must keep in our minds and hearts as we move forward.
Deception from Within
It may be surprising to many of you, to know the most powerful type of deception of all is that of our own ego. Yes, our own minds do indeed play tricks on us all throughout the day. This is the area we must work on the hardest, for if we gain clarity in our own minds, the outside influences will have less impact and relevance. This is an ongoing project we all need to engage with, and it is an arduous task for sure! Most of us are aware that we have an ego. If we’re aware of that, then there must also be another part. There is a higher level of understanding that lives in our mind as well that we can tap into with a little practice. From a practical perspective, we can begin this process by understanding that just because we have a thought, doesn’t mean it’s true. This we often forget. Most of the thoughts we have throughout the day have absolutely no relevance to what we’re trying to accomplish. In fact, many of them will eventually lead us astray if we give them too much attention. If the thoughts and information we receive do not apply to our practical, everyday living, we must let them go. This is unfortunately not as easy as it sounds. Have you ever noticed you wake up and feel pretty good, and later in the day you all of a sudden feel like a piece of crap? This is an indication or reminder of the thoughts you’re entertaining and where they’re leading you. Don’t worry, you can get back on track and change your mind! It’s the thoughts that bring us a sense of peace and well-being that we need to pay more attention to. These are the thoughts and beliefs that support our goals and our desire to improve our life and condition. It takes time and patience to get comfortable in developing this skill, but we must practice and stay with it if we intend to be successful. It is our own higher level of understanding that will bring us these things. Finding a way to allow this in our experience is the best thing we can do for ourselves. As I have said many times, the outer world will change when we change what is happening in our own minds. This we must do if we ever hope to feel better on a regular basis. Again, if what we’re receiving, whether within or without, doesn’t make sense or have practical value, we need to let it go and move on. We only deceive ourselves.
Thanks for tuning in, everybody. I think it’s time for all of us to lessen our time spent on the internet looking for answers. Most of the time, it will only add to our confusion and uncertainty. Let’s get busy improving our situation by living our life practically, with the attitude of learning and growing. The answers we’re looking for will come when we’re ready and willing to accept them. This will happen within our actual experience. This is how we know.
All my love and support, stay safe and be well