Responding rather than Reacting to the Unexpected

Human beings are comfortable with the predictable and disturbed by the unexpected, because the mind itself operates very much like a sophisticated machine.   Machines function smoothly within certain predetermined lines of action and with a select group of inputs.  For example, if we put the wrong type of fuel in our car, there will be problems.  If we drive on a railway track instead of an asphalt surface, this will put stress on the car and cause a breakdown.  Unlike organisms, automobiles have an extremely limited capacity to adapt.  The body-mind also has limited adaptability, although its capacity is virtually infinite in comparison with a car.  Nevertheless, the mind is programmed to react to the unexpected as a threat to survival and resist.  This is an ancient programming.

Paradoxically, if there is one thing we can expect it is the unexpected, and so the mind’s resistance to it flies in the face of everyday reality. Our lives will become easier and more pleasurable if we let go of our automatic tendency to react and recoil whenever the unexpected occurs.  No mental programming is final or absolute, and can be altered or dropped through a conscious effort.  Simply choosing to expect the unexpected at any time and under any conditions will put us in a state of perpetual preparedness for the unanticipated.  Expecting the unexpected removes the shock of the unexpected when it occurs.

Meditation, Self-enquiry and Transformational Breathwork is the most effective means for dealing with our fear of dramatic change.  As we become Self-aware we find ourselves more detached from the ebb and flow of circumstance.  With meditation we identify less with the body-mind and increasingly with the Self.  It is the body-mind that is subject to the pleasures and pains of life, whereas the Self abides eternally within itself as sat-chit-ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss).  Being more attuned to the Source of life we begin to recognise that even the unexpected is expressing a purpose that is greater than the mind’s limited ability to grasp.  In other words, we learn to trust and surrender.  Instead of recoiling from the unexpected, we observe and inquire, ‘What is its message?  What do I have to learn from it?  How can I embrace it in a way that supports my purpose?’  In this yoga of action, we remain open and expansive, lightly touching the world and gracefully moving forward in our chosen direction.