When we first learn about these teachings and we start to understand that we are the one generating it all, there can be a tendency to try to control every single thought that goes through our head, and to stop having any negative reactions, so as to avoid giving life to things we don’t like.
While this does seem to make sense from a logical point of view, in practice it can be very frustrating. If you’re trying to stop yourself from reacting negatively, and then getting upset at not managing to stop yourself, and then worrying about what effect this is going to have, and then reacting negatively to having had that thought, you can see how the whole thing can quickly spiral into one big mess.
So how do you get out of that cycle if you find that you are reacting negatively?
The answer is to not fight it, to allow yourself to have that negative reaction, to not make it into a big deal.
I can hear all the ‘But, but, but … Won’t I be creating more of whatever I’m reacting to if I react to it?’
Well yes, technically that’s correct. But remember that you’re always giving life to what you’re imagining NOW. So it doesn’t matter what you did two minutes ago or a week ago or a lifetime ago, because you can always change things by changing what you’re assuming right now. You are always in the driving seat. You’re not a victim of what you chose yesterday. You get to adjust your route every single second if you want to. You are ALWAYS in control.
Knowing this, you are free to react as much as you like, to mess up as much as you like, to make as many mistakes as you like. You can let yourself act freely and naturally. You don’t have to be on alert all the time. You don’t have to be on guard. You don’t have to be careful. You can let your hair down and play and have fun, because no matter where you end up, you can always get yourself out if you find that you don’t like where you are any more.