Being out of Patterns Wakes Me Up

Being out of Patterns Wakes Me Up

I am a creature of habit and tend to do the same things or follow the same patterns in my daily life. Of course, some structure and habits are necessary to function in ordinary life. To practice the Work of becoming different and more conscious, however, it is practical and useful – and even fun at times - to set aims that put me out of patterns.

Mechanical efficiency is not virtuous; it displaces conscious virtue. ─ The Teacher

One quick aside. A curious thing I have noticed is that when I try to interrupt mechanical or habitual patterns, the machine thinks it is making a correction and resets itself to the new practice, starting to apply judgment to the new structure. It is a useful verification to see that whatever the machine sets out to do, undo, or redo, it routinizes it, and then deems that new routine as what is normal, and therefore, what other people should also be doing.

Along this line of thought, I have also noticed a common foible that whenever I am doing housework, I then wonder why my wife is not doing housework too. When I am mowing the lawn, I then wonder why my neighbors are not mowing their lawns, too. Similarly, when I work on being out of patterns, I need to be careful not to do this same thing: descend into judging others about what I have chosen to do and not judge them for doing something else. Forgive me for my short digression here.

Being out of patterns means changing a routine to enhance observation and produce more opportunities for self-remembering. For example, for many years, I have been trying not to drive the same way home when returning from an outing in the car. What I mean is just make one slight route change, but nothing substantially different, just make a little change and notice the internal resistance and excuse-making for not being out of patterns. The machine wants to return to the norm. Make my journey home a little different, and that small act can have a profound effect on my understanding and even raise my state.

When I make small efforts, like being out of patterns, I am working against the mechanical tendencies of my machine. When I work against the mechanical patterns of my machine, I drive my “vehicle” toward the light. Sounds simple. If being out of patterns were as simple as just doing this, then everyone would wake up, and the whole world would be populated by conscious people. This, however, is not how it goes. Most people prefer patterns and do not value the state over mechanical efficiency.

For another example of being out of patterns, I try not to express the first thought that comes to mind when interacting with another person or responding to someone else. This is much more difficult than driving home by an alternate route. The reason is pretty clear to me that the expression of the first ‘I’ in response to someone is often an ‘I’ from my lower parts of the centers. By resisting that pattern, I stir my machine and evoke my higher parts. Being out of patterns helps to lift the veil of imagination and deep sleep. Do not get stuck in your intellectual patterns.

Life is unaware that it is mechanical and asleep and that, therefore, it is living a nightmare. ─ The Teacher

A final example applies this idea of being out of patterns to the emotional center. Whenever someone greets me, I try not to ask “How are you?” (Maybe you have noticed a similar but different pat phrase that your machine uses.) To be out of patterns, I must allow my emotional center to be content with a mere greeting and salutation rather than an automatic “How are you?” type question, which is not really a question. This effort puts the emotional center out of patterns. Doing so, I find that a more intentional emotional expression feeds my higher parts and connects better to other people. Stop the hurrying. Really greet the other person, eye-to-eye. Third eye to Third eye.

Everyone appears in this life in a vessel that is asleep. But the vessel carries a third eye that can awaken. ─ The Teacher

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Old Man and His Grandson, Domenico Ghirlandaio