Conscious Choice: Change Yourself, Change the World
by
Sunny Massad, Ph.D. and Roshani Shay, Ph.D.

We are continuously assaulted not only by the noise and activity of the world around us, but also by the constant rant of our own minds. How each of us chooses to live as individuals ultimately affects what we, as a society, become. The state of the world reflects the state of our minds. When we are conscious enough to notice that our attitudes or behaviors are destructive, human beings have the ability to change. Expanding your scope of consciousness to include a broader perspective than just living for the purpose of instant gratification or external validation will enhance and inspire the way that you live and work. It also has the power to change the world.

The cultural and personal crises we are now facing are provoking a revolution in higher consciousness. Despite the productivity that can result from relentless tail chasing, other fallouts, like compulsive consumption, habitual television watching, distracting entertainments, or wear and tear on the body can suck time and energy from your life. This can creep up on you. You don't realize that it is happening until one day you wonder where your aspiration to spend your time wisely and find balance in your life went.

Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now , contends that we are presently involved in a profound transformation of consciousness. Theologians say that at the heart of our unrest is a desire to know the meaning of life. Psychologists whittle that down to a desire to at least know the meaning of our own personal existence. It is highly unlikely that life's purpose will be revealed in a divine vision while you are surfing the net.

Our collective survival requires an evolution in consciousness. Abraham Maslow claimed that once people's “lower” needs for creating security and belonging were satisfied, a quest to find greater fulfillment would drive the next phase of their lives. He believed that once people became psychologically “healthy,” they would function well in society. They would seek a life of meaning and purpose and thus contribute to the greater good. On the contrary, it seems that as more people in the world become more secure and affluent, the quest for personal fulfillment is played out in a myriad of distorted forms, ranging from extreme sports to the relatively new pattern of having multiple partners. Dissatisfaction, however, is pervasive. Therein lies hope.

Until you hold yourself accountable for your own actions, feelings and attitudes, your life will seem to be out of control. Do you make a habit of excusing inappropriate behaviors, whether they are yours or those of someone that you love? Are you a victim of an inappropriate system for coping? It is easy, and even “normal,” to blame other people and events for the way you feel. We often hear declarations such as, “You make me mad,” or “She drives me crazy.” It is uncommon to take responsibility for your own thoughts, feelings, and even your actions, and common to attribute your dissatisfaction to someone else's behavior or to a situation.

It is true that you may not choose each and every situation in which you find yourself, but you can choose how to respond to those situations. The behavioral responses we choose depend upon the way that each of us chooses to think. Inspire yourself to take responsibility for your own life. Become more aware, more conscious of what you think, do, say, of how you respond in each moment. Realize that your purpose is not really something to be identified, understood, found or even achieved; but simply lived every day. And remember that what you choose to do as an individual ultimately affects what we, as a society, become.

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