This article was written to empower you. It is meant to awaken you to your highest power, which resides in how you direct your attention. What we pay attention to we create more of. This means that when we reclaim our mind from the superficial distractions which have been manufactured to keep us sedated, we claim ownership of our power.
Read this article if you want to learn how to unlock your creative capacities. I wish I had read something like this years ago, so I’m writing it now and putting it on the internet so readers will benefit from my experience.
Here it goes.
Listen To The Words Of Terrence McKenna
Terrence McKenna was an ethnobotanist who advocated for the enlightened use of psychedelic plants in expanding human consciousness. He was an eloquent speaker and wrote on a wide variety of subjects ranging from psychedelics, shamanism and language to culture, technology and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.
Throughout his life, Terrence lectured passionately about the use of psychedelic drugs to directly experience altered states of consciousness, stimulate the imagination and re-establish a harmonious relationship with nature.
This is a short excerpt from one of his lectures:
What do you think about Terrence’s words? Have you ever taken the time to reflect on how our culture influences our perception of the world?
I find the subject of culture fascinating; it shapes everything we think and do, yet so few of us ever embark on an inquisitive journey of culture and it’s influences.
In a world that remains marked by polarization, scarcity, competition and disease, I believe our culture should be put under the microscope of criticism.
The question is: Does our culture teach us to value things which lead to a happy and healthy life?
I believe the answer is currently no. By and large our culture teaches us to value unconscious consumption and restless conformity. All of which prevent us from living the full joys of human life.
How We’re Distracted From What Really Matters
In the video you just watched, Terrence is advocating for a cessation in the consumption of our culture. “Our culture” being western culture (whatever that means, since globalization has blurred cultural lines). I am aware that by watching the video we are engaging with culture, so there’s a contradiction there.
But I believe that Terrence is not saying that we should stop consuming all culture, which would be impossible because humans are cultural beings. I believe he is saying that we should look at our culture as objectively as we can and decide whether consuming it serves us or hurts us.
I have a few questions for you. Are you living a happy and fulfilled life? Are you actively working towards dreams which emanate from the depth of your heart? Do you wake up every day excited to create?
Do you know anyone who does?
These Are Essential Questions!
We become what we consume. We become the media we watch, the music we listen to, the books we read and the people we surround ourselves with.
How often in the media we consume do we see happy, fulfilled people making choices which are right for them? Does our media regularly show people who value truth? Who forgive those who hurt them? Who take the time to purify their minds so they can make choices from their heart?
Now take the media you consume and lay it over your own life circumstances.
When you look at your immediate circle of friends, do you see people who inspire you? Who are living their best lives and are taking every day to create a life on their terms?
Do you see role models? Do you see people who make you think “That’s how I want to be!”
Or do you see more of the same tired old results which so many of us are experiencing: exhaustion, boredom, stress, dis-ease, anxiety, strife, confusion, conflict…
Are you currently living life on your terms? Or do you feel like you’re missing something, like you’ve sleepwalked into a mass-market life?
Would you believe me if I told you that by consuming the same things everyone else consumes we are creating for ourselves mass-market life circumstances? The same jobs, the same ambitions, the same one-size-fits-all life?
Well, we are.
Our Output Reflects Our Input
As within so without. If we are consuming the same things as everyone else we are going to produce the same things as everyone else. We will not create anything new. It’ll all be the same, derivative, plastic, drivel.
Terrence goes on to say that when we worry about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton then you are disempowered.
How right he is.
Because our attention is creative. Terrence says that the nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe. What is happening to us now is our life. We are each unique beings following our unique experience. Focusing our attention on the screen and investing our emotions into it cuts us off from our immediate experience. It robs us of our creative power.
What Is Real?
You.
You and your friends and your associations. Your highs, your lows, your plans, your dreams and your orgasms.
That’s what’s real.
Why are so many of us living lives which we’d rather not live? Could it be because we’re not choosing for ourselves but we are choosing what others want us to choose? Could it be that our culture conditions us to mediocre conformity?
How would that even be possible? It’s simple. By controlling the flow of information (culture) the few can control the many. Did you know that in 2012 ninety percent of the media consumed by Americans was produced by 6 companies. It’s probably even fewer companies today. Let that sink in.
Maintaining the status quo is a simple affair: ensure people consume the same information and they’ll all have the same thoughts.
By keeping our attention distracted from what matters the people who benefit from our distracted confusion get to remain at the top.
When people are focused on confused nonsense all they’ll create is confused nonsense.
Because our attention is creative.
How Our Attention Is Creative
I have written several articles which support the idea that where we put our attention determines what we get in life:
- Why Appreciation Is Important – What You Appreciate Appreciates
- Your Thoughts Become Things – Choose Wisely
- The Treasure Of Time – Why Peace Creates More Peace
Our attention is creative. Whatever we give our attention to, we create more of. This is a universal human law. If we want to live a unique life, a life on our terms we must be selective with our attention.
Because every time we focus on our attention on something we are making more of it. This includes every thought, every emotion and every bit of media.
This is our task for this era; reclaiming our mind. When we reclaim our mind we begin to master our creations.
How We Can Reclaim Our Mind
Meditation. Meditation is the most powerful way I know of by which we can reclaim our mind. To unstick it from all of the conditioned patterns of thought.
If we fail to train our mind then we are easily manipulated. It’s no surprise that as our technology has developed it has become more and more intrusive in our lives. The invention of the radio allowed selected viewpoints to be piped in directly into people’s homes. Then television came along, and since humans are primarily audiovisual creatures, it enthralled us even more than the radio.
Today we walk around with little rectangles which intermittently pull our attention towards them through sounds, lights and vibrations.
Pretty soon we will have fully dimensionalized virtual realities designed to engage every one of ours senses in the optimal way to engage us.
By ignoring that our attention is creative we allow ourselves to be bought and sold through the technology we use.
I’m not advocating for the elimination of technology. I’m talking about responsible use. Well-used technology has the capability to uplift our productivity and unlock new avenues of creativity. But because so few of us are aware that our attention is creative, we surrender our power to our technological overlords who seek to conserve the status quo.
These people profit from our ignorance.
It doesn’t make them bad, but it does make us weak. And the weaker we are the less capable we are of manifesting our dreams.
How I Reclaim My Mind – And How It Helps Me
First, I meditate almost every day.
Second, I am a fierce guard of where I put my attention. I am aware that whenever I consume content I am allowing it to influence my future life circumstances. I watch as little news as I can. I watch as few shows/Hollywood movies as I can. However, I’ll admit that when “big” events happen in the world I can fall prey to watching the news religiously.
But I always come back to guarding my attention. I do so in the following ways:
- I don’t check my cellphone notifications until after 2 o’clock in the afternoon, once I’ve finished my most important work.
- The same goes for listening to music or watching videos.
- I select my reading carefully, only consuming books which feed my curiosity and challenge my thinking. Along with entertaining me.
- When I’m with the people I love I give them my full attention. Our relationships are what matter; they’re what keep us happy and healthy. By focusing on them and treating them with the respect they deserve we empower ourselves and those with whom we share the relationship.
- I dedicate time to being in nature. Nature purifies the mind and frees the spirit. Nature deconditions us and reconnects us with our primal, brilliant selves.
Guarding our attention and directing it where we want to go is the most effective way of creating the life circumstances we want to experience. By being selective with my attention I can focus all of my energies into creating the life I desire. I’m not perfect, but I am better than I was before. And as I improve, my life circumstances are progressively becoming more abundant, relaxed and loving.
Because that’s where I focus my attention.
But There Are So Many Distractions!
If you’ve lived a life of chronic distraction and manipulation, you cannot expect yourself to master your attention from one day to the next. It takes time.
And it takes effort. If you’ve lived life compulsively checking your phone, reading news, watching television shows or the like, it will take great great commitment and persistence for you to be able to set aside the distractions to focus on what matters to you.
But the reward is your unique life. A life reflecting the uniqueness of your spirit. I would say that’s more than worth letting go of cultural programming, wouldn’t you?
The good news is that if you’re reading this article you have stumbled upon content which will empower you. By reading and rereading these articles you will awaken a power within you. I know this because I am empowered, and we take on the qualities of the people who create the content we consume.
Like the content in this website there is much, much more. It’s only a matter of finding it, but it’s all out there. Instagram is a great tool, when we know how to use it. I follow accounts on Instagram which create content that empowers me. So every time I open my Instagram account I am reminded of my creative power, of the relaxing power of my breath and of my capacity to achieve my dreams, among other things.
Your Mind Is Yours, Take It Back!
I hope this article got you thinking about how you use your attention. Our attention is the only thing we have full control over, really. While we can’t control what comes into our life, we can we can always choose where we put our attention. In this way, we actually can control everything that comes into our life, because we can always choose to focus on the positive side of things.
Almost everything has a positive and a negative (except for love, peace and joy). This includes illness, poverty, joblessness and heartbreak. By mastering our attention we can choose to focus on the positive while traversing through life’s “negatives.”
What I say is: “Focus on the positive. Learn from the negative. Accept them both.”
By choosing to focus on the positive we create it. That’s why the practice of gratitude is so empowering. By learning from the negative we educate ourselves and empower ourselves to make new choices.
And by accepting them both we allow ourselves to be at peace with what is.
So I invite you to reclaim your mind! By doing so you reclaim your power! And more power means more freedom.
To our wealth and success.
Powerful article and such an important read for everyone. It is very true that you need to train your mind to take on positive habits and practice daily, I like the part about ‘guarding my attention’ such as dedicating time in nature… I have taken many notes here and what an inspiring read 🙂
Hello Farah, thanks for stopping by Explode Your Wealth and leaving a comment. Being aware that our attention is the one thing we have full control over frees us from the confusion of an aimless existence. It’s in our best interest to fortify this awareness every day.
Glad that my writing could inspire you. I aim to serve. If you have any questions feel free to comment or send an email, I do my best to respond within a day.
Erick