Chapter 17: Mechanical CreaturesWe can by no means deny that the Law of Recurrence is acting in each moment of our lives.
Certainly, every day of our lives, there are repetitions of events, states of consciousness, words, desires, thoughts, and acts of will, etc. Obviously, when one does not observe oneself, one is unable to be aware of this incessant daily repetition. Clearly, he who has no interest in observing himself, neither desires to work in order to achieve a true radical transformation. |
To top it all off, there are people who want transformation without working on themselves.
We do not deny the fact that everyone has a right to real happiness of spirit, but it is also true that such happiness would be more than impossible if we did not work on ourselves.
A person can change intimately, when he truly manages to modify his reactions before the diverse events of daily life.
We cannot, however, modify our way of reacting before the facts of practical life, if we do not work seriously on ourselves.
We need to change our way of thinking, to be less negligent, to become more serious, and to face life in a different way, in its real, practical sense.
However, if we continue just as we are, behaving the same way every day, repeating the same errors with the same negligence as always, any possibility of change will, in
fact, be eliminated.
If a person truly wants to arrive at an understanding of himself, he must begin by observing his own conduct in the face of the incidents of a particular day of his life.
We do not want to imply by this that we should not observe ourselves every day. We only wish to state that self-observation must begin with a first day of observation.
Everything must have a beginning, and observing our conduct on a particular day of our life is a good beginning.
Certainly, the best we can do is to observe our mechanical reactions in the face of all those small details in the bedroom, lounge room and dining room of the house, in
the street, and at work, etc., etc., etc.; that which one says, feels, and thinks.
What is important is to see how, or in what manner we can change these reactions.
However, if we believe that we are good people, that we never behave unconsciously and mistakenly, we will never change.
Above all, we need to comprehend that we are machine people, simple marionettes controlled by secret agents, by hidden “I’s”.
Within our person live many people. We are never the same. At times a stingy person manifests in us, at other times an irritable person, in another instant, a generous, benevolent person, later on, a scandalous or slanderous person, afterwards a saint, then a hypocrite, and so on.
Within each one of us, we have all kinds of people, “I’s” of every type. Our personality is nothing more than a marionette, a talking doll, something mechanical.
Let us start by acting consciously during a small portion of the day. We need to stop being mere machines, even if only for a few brief minutes a day. This will have a decisive influence on our existence.
When we self-observe and do not do what this or that “I” wants, clearly we begin to stop being machines.
A single moment in which one is sufficiently conscious to stop being a machine, if done voluntarily, will tend to radically modify many disagreeable circumstances.
Unfortunately, every day we live a mechanistic, routine, and absurd life. We repeat occurrences, our habits are the same, and never have we wanted to modify them. They are the mechanical rails around which the train of our miserable existence revolves, and yet, we think the best of ourselves.
Wherever you look, mythomaniacs abound; those who believe themselves to be Gods; mechanical, routine creatures, personages from the mud of the earth, miserable puppets moved by different “I’s”. Such people will not work on themselves.
We do not deny the fact that everyone has a right to real happiness of spirit, but it is also true that such happiness would be more than impossible if we did not work on ourselves.
A person can change intimately, when he truly manages to modify his reactions before the diverse events of daily life.
We cannot, however, modify our way of reacting before the facts of practical life, if we do not work seriously on ourselves.
We need to change our way of thinking, to be less negligent, to become more serious, and to face life in a different way, in its real, practical sense.
However, if we continue just as we are, behaving the same way every day, repeating the same errors with the same negligence as always, any possibility of change will, in
fact, be eliminated.
If a person truly wants to arrive at an understanding of himself, he must begin by observing his own conduct in the face of the incidents of a particular day of his life.
We do not want to imply by this that we should not observe ourselves every day. We only wish to state that self-observation must begin with a first day of observation.
Everything must have a beginning, and observing our conduct on a particular day of our life is a good beginning.
Certainly, the best we can do is to observe our mechanical reactions in the face of all those small details in the bedroom, lounge room and dining room of the house, in
the street, and at work, etc., etc., etc.; that which one says, feels, and thinks.
What is important is to see how, or in what manner we can change these reactions.
However, if we believe that we are good people, that we never behave unconsciously and mistakenly, we will never change.
Above all, we need to comprehend that we are machine people, simple marionettes controlled by secret agents, by hidden “I’s”.
Within our person live many people. We are never the same. At times a stingy person manifests in us, at other times an irritable person, in another instant, a generous, benevolent person, later on, a scandalous or slanderous person, afterwards a saint, then a hypocrite, and so on.
Within each one of us, we have all kinds of people, “I’s” of every type. Our personality is nothing more than a marionette, a talking doll, something mechanical.
Let us start by acting consciously during a small portion of the day. We need to stop being mere machines, even if only for a few brief minutes a day. This will have a decisive influence on our existence.
When we self-observe and do not do what this or that “I” wants, clearly we begin to stop being machines.
A single moment in which one is sufficiently conscious to stop being a machine, if done voluntarily, will tend to radically modify many disagreeable circumstances.
Unfortunately, every day we live a mechanistic, routine, and absurd life. We repeat occurrences, our habits are the same, and never have we wanted to modify them. They are the mechanical rails around which the train of our miserable existence revolves, and yet, we think the best of ourselves.
Wherever you look, mythomaniacs abound; those who believe themselves to be Gods; mechanical, routine creatures, personages from the mud of the earth, miserable puppets moved by different “I’s”. Such people will not work on themselves.