The Power of No

As I write this we’re putting a wrap on November and heading into the frenzy of winter holidays, American Style.

Just insert yourself into your favorite Hieronymus Bosch painting, dole out a few Santa hats and candy canes and that’s pretty much what I’m talking about.

It’s the perfect time of year to practice saying no. Not an apologetic no, the one where you have to qualify and explain and justify and negotiate (to yourself or to others). Look inside yourself, past the people pleasing, past the lack of personal authority and find that uncompromising no. The no that owes no explanation.

It’s not a defensive no. It’s not a no that contains a subext of “I don’t give a giddy fook how you feel about this.” It’s a no that is so secure in itself, in the authority from which it comes, that it doesn’t need to defend itself, even internally.

Spend money, eat, drink, drive here and there, shop, shop, shop, Secret Santa, obligatory cocktail parties, cook, bake, look for parking, people you don’t like, situations that drain you, what am I doing? Why am I here? Frenzy. One more party. Last minute gifts. Sugar. Booze. Social Media immersion hell.

And yet…for us in the Northern Hemisphere at least…it’s winter! Winter is pure magic. Winter is the depth of the heart’s delight. Winter holds the promise of what’s next, but yet unseen, unknown. Winter holds the whispers of lives past and yet to be lived. Don’t squander your winter magic, people.

Find your no. Get used to wielding it…it takes some skill to do it well.

It takes time for people around you to adjust to this, perhaps heretofore unknown, no. It can feel really uncomfortable at first, for you and for everyone else. So be patient with yourself and with them.

Using the uncompromising no internally also takes some getting used to. Sometimes it’s ourselves or our reflexive tendencies we need to say no to. Are you indulging in food or booze that feels good for five minutes and then just makes you sick? Are you indulging in soggy old-era emotions, habits or attitudes? When you say no internally, watch to see if there is any reaction.

This can range from negotiating with yourself, justifying your no, or even feeling smug and oh so self-congratulatory. Can you say no and then drop the whole thing, immediately? This kind of no that I’m talking about has nothing beyond it — you’ve dropped any possibility of whatever it is you said no to and so it doesn’t exist for you, it no longer has anything to do with you.

Say yes to everything you love, or to things you truly want or need to do, or even frivolities you truly want to engage in…this isn’t about being grim after all.

But do learn to say no-full-stop. The no that annihilates. The no that is true. And carry this forward beyond the holidays…see what happens!

“It is better for me to offend him once, than myself every day. That would be perpetual slavery.”

Montaigne
Essay: Ceremony of Interviews Between Kings

More Basic Human Series

Center of Awareness

Are you on or off your throne? Your consciousness has a location and it matters where it is.
Where are you? In any given moment, in any given interaction? You can think of it as your HQ, if you like. I think of it as my seat, or my throne.

Relaxing into the Paradox

All of your so called waking hours, the mental apparatus is arranging and rearranging the furniture, so to speak, to create your unique experience of reality. In this 3D reality, the rule is either/or. When it comes to paradox, the mental apparatus kind of seizes up. The mental apparatus has a certain scope of functionality, of utility, and paradox is firmly outside that scope.

Bombardment Tactics

What happens when the Programs fight back? Imagine you are playing tennis with the Programs. You’ve got a nice volley going—they hit the ball to you, you are able to see it, position yourself through these techniques you learn in the Peerless Series and hit it back. Back and forth. Then, they will up the game and do a bombardment.

Developing Agency: becoming someone you can trust

You need to develop personal accountability if you are ever going to trust yourself. One of the ways we give up authorship and sovereignty is by not being internally trustworthy. What happens when you make a decision to do something or refrain from doing something, and you don’t follow through on that decision?

Inner Dialogue vs Outer Diaologue

Normal is not the same as sane. What makes you different from the crazy homeless lady, dressed in rags, talking nonsense day after day? She’s having an animated dialogue with herself, and if you actually stop to listen to what she is saying, it’s usually rather unpleasant. We are all grateful not to be so afflicted, but how different are you, really? From my perspective, not much.

Negative Self Talk: The Inner Dialogue

Is your inner talk show host a bully, critic, heckler, naysayer, worrier, doom monger, hysteric? What’s playing in that pretty head of yours? One of the inconvenient effects of enlightenment was the ability to perceive the inner dialogues of people around me. This made the world suddenly a much more violent, cruel and aggressive place. We polish up our exteriors to a lustrous shine, but our interiors are loud, turbid and less than benign.

Boredom and distraction on the spiritual path

Most people have no idea how their minds actually work. If you aren’t using your mind intentionally, something else will use it for you.
When you gain insight, receive valuable instruction, or learn techniques to help you deprogram, the very Program you are trying to dismantle will throw up some rather predictable obstacles.

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