Our neighbors at our mountain cabin now have flock of hens and a rooster. Just the other day, as I was sitting on the screened in porch doing my morning meditation, trying to calm my racing mind and settle into silence, the rooster crowed, and the rooster crowed and then again the rooster crowed. That blasted rooster is on autopilot, impulsively, instinctively doing what he is used to doing…..so he crows and he crows and he crows.
I began to think about myself and what in my life is like the crowing of the rooster. Where are my actions or reactions on autopilot? What do I do in my life that is as automatic as the rooster crowing? I was reading the other day that any pattern of thought or action that is repeated many times can result in neurosignature, or “brain groove”. When we do or think the same thing over and over in response to stimuli our brain creates a pathway of interconnected neurons, or a “brain groove”. So instead of actually thinking about what we do or how we think about a particular issue we are on autopilot, we are in effect the crowing rooster.
Where have I allowed negative “brain grooves” to encroach on mindful thoughts and behaviors? I just finished reading Paulo Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello, where the teaching about raising spiritual awareness stressed the need to step out of the ordinary reaction to the rhythm of life and do what actually feels discordant as a practice to feeling the Spirit’s presence. Perhaps that is why so many of the great mystics truly marched to a different drummer.
This week I will pray for illumination, for increasing awareness of where in my life I have a crowing rooster that needs to be examined, that needs to be brought into my prayerful awareness. I will mindfully choose my actions and my thoughts, even if they feel discordant so I get rid of some of those blasted crowing roosters in my life and step more fully into the presence of the Spirit.
I have also heard about those negative "brain grooves" and have even been doing some work to try to create some positive ones. It's encouraging to know that this CAN be done, though it's something that takes time. Habits are also an area where those brain grooves are created, but then again, going on autopilot is very much like, if not IS, a habit.
ReplyDeleteWayne Dyer tells us that getting out of our comfort zone is good for us, and I understand why. Let's keep the good habits, but check out those places where being uncomfortable can be beneficial to us.
Thank you, Karen, for the encouragement: my family would be happy if I'd stop crowing so much. I DO need to "step more fully into the presence of the Spirit." It would be a refreshing change ... little by little. A