By Carol S. Hyman
We live in challenging times for which we have responsibility. Human beings deliver into this world a great deal more than genetic material; we convey within us attitudes, inclinations, and the unfinished business of previous generations. Lack of awareness about what we carry perpetuates age-old conflicts.
But the nature of our awareness, when it is properly trained and put to good use, gives us the power to meet not only the challenges we face presently, but to alleviate the suffering of future generations. When we don’t know this, we fail to fulfill our beneficial potential and, in our ignorance, bring even more misery to ourselves and others.
But an evolutionary vanguard is emerging. People who realize the power of good that is the natural essence of the human heart can learn how to cut through confusion so they deliver benefit into this world. Call those inclined to do the hard work of meeting the challenge of living in this moment Human Vehicles. Human Vehicles learn to direct and sustain our attention toward our purposes, detect the patterns that exist within us and around us, and discern the behavior we can engage in that will bring the greatest advantage in any given moment.
We do this by applying mindfulness, a skill inherent in all of us but largely latent unless we train our minds.
Are you up for the challenge?
Ten Signs You Might Be Ready to Train as a Human Vehicle
- You start to suspect that the intermittently vague or vivid sense of longing that propels you toward most of what you do is never going to be satisfied by doing – or getting – more stuff.
- You notice your attempts to blame your dissatisfaction on somebody or something else and complain about it are starting to sound a tiny bit tedious or hollow, even to your own ears.
- You can’t shake the nagging feeling that you’re actually here on the planet to do something significant but can’t figure out where to start.
- You wonder who you really are.
- You begin to suspect that opinions are like flatulence: everybody is afflicted, everybody likes their own better than anybody else’s, and mostly it’s just a lot of hot air.
- You realize that you don’t know what you don’t know, and so you’re a little slower to swear to what’s what.
- You feel sick of spinning your wheels and would sign on for whatever hardships the long haul might entail, if you actually had confidence things were going anywhere.
- You can’t fully back either contender in the bout between Science and Religion. Your brain won’t ignore evidence, your heart says life isn’t a random accident, and your gut tells you there’s got to be some point of view that reconciles the two.
- The idea of gaining advantage at the expense of somebody else makes you uneasy.
- You’re ready to accept responsibility for what you deliver into this world.
If more than a few of these describe you, Applied Mindfulness Training can help you make the most of your human resources. You too can deliver the goods!
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