Your machinery thinks it is YOU

What is automatic cannot be you

​

Almost everything "you" think that you think (and say), of what you believe and think you believe, of what you feel and think you feel is an expression of your machinery. It is almost entirely automatic. And what is automatic is not you.

​

​

Our machinery is a very important part of what we have

​

This doesn't make it good or bad. Much of our machinery operates in ways that get us what we want and supports us in our life and in our relationships with others. We need our machinery. We could not do without it. But, because the machinery has come to believe some things that aren't true or helpful, we may find our machinery fighting within itself or fighting with the machinery of others.

​

Sometimes I coach someone regarding their chronic upsets with another person. I ask them to notice the automaticity (and righteousness) of their machinery as it stimulates and reacts to the machinery (and righteousness) of that other person. In lightness, I will say to them, "You're like two dogs fighting. I wonder which dog is the bad dog and which dog is the good dog (victim dog)?"

 

I could have easily said to them, "You're two machines fighting. And each machine thinks it's right and the other machine is wrong. Interesting, don't you think?"

​

​

Ways that our machinery creates suffering

​

Each of these automatic thoughts/speakings below are expressions of the machinery at war within itself or with the machinery of others:

​

"I should work harder." Translation: my machinery (the Next part) thinks it should work harder and there is something wrong with another part of the machinery (the Now part) if it doesn't work harder, even though what is "hard enough" is not well defined and no alignment with your Now has been created.

​

"You never keep your word with me." Translation: my machinery (the Oneself part) mistakenly believes that you have never kept your word with me and it also believes that blaming your machinery (your Others part) is the only way it has to get you to keep your word with me more often.

​

"I have an obligation to my family." Translation: my machinery (my Now part and my Others part) is not willing to feel the fear of the probable blame from my family and society if I do not fulfill the commonly agreed upon expectations of my family and society.

​

These are just a very few examples of the thousands of toxic ways in which your machinery can impersonate you. And your machinery believes that it is you. But the machinery is automatic. Yes, it is your machinery, but it is not you. 

​

​

But what are you, if not your machinery?

 

Let me point to a "part of you" that has the ability to observe and listen to your machinery with compassion and curiosity. That "part of you" also has the capacity to make non-automatic choices to take a few new physical and/or mental actions. These curious and compassionate observations and choices can modify or replace the unresourceful beliefs and actions of your machinery, step by step and over time.

​

​

This is who you are:

​

You are the observer, the observer of the world, the observer of others, the observer of your machinery, whether it is aligned within itself or fighting within itself.

​

You are the observer of the machinery's thoughts, its feelings, its sensations.

​

You observe with curiosity and compassion.

​

If you fight with your machinery, that is not you fighting. That's your machinery fighting within itself. Observe the fighting. Come back to being and noticing who you really are.

​

You are the curious and compassionate observer.

​

Surprisingly, if you curiously and compassionately observe your machinery, even without trying to change its dysfunctional behavior, your machinery will "improve," step by step. Interesting, don't you think?

​

​

Creating a new habit for your machinery to notify you to remember that you are not the machinery

​

You can even create a new habit of the machinery to send a notification to the real you to remember to watch your machinery with curiosity and compassion. Use kickstarting a mental habit to install that habit.