Defense permeates the process that directs my thoughts, feelings, and actions into manifestation. Because much of what I think, feel, and do in the bubble, happens below my threshold of cognizance, I am unaware of my defenses and their effects. I believe I’m doing the best I can and I work hard at being right.
Based on intention to understand, I’ve built a pretty solid case for this reality I believe and defend. With that level of proof in hand, I resist questioning it. Instead, I put perception of my reality on automatic with assumption. Ego, therefore, replaces observation and rational reasoning with assumption and bias.
The Frustration Loop
Unaware of the replacement, I travel along my imagined story-line cognizant only of threats to which I’ve applied a defense. As defense builds, fear grows to justify it, while cognizance narrows. In time, I build enough trust as a defensive wall around my hidden beliefs that I’m only aware of them as outcomes I cannot control. This, in turn, generates large amounts of emotional energy in the form of frustration.
Because I “just live” the reality without question, frustration builds with defense to the point that I risk unawareness of life itself. Struggles I feel because of that unawareness seem to come from outside my bubble. When I take responsibility for my thoughts, feelings, and actions, I sometimes catch the blame for negative outcomes. This causes me to want to defend even more. What can I do to escape this positive feedback loop of frustration?
Investigation into the source of my defense – my beliefs – may instill some cognizance into the manifestation program. Might that make a difference?
With a cognizance-evoking question, I can expose and then transform these hidden beliefs. After all, the job of the process is to manage my defense of what I believe, perceive, and know. Questioning can expose them to the light of awareness – leading to the possibility of a Third Degree of Awareness choice. The Aha Zone!
Introducing Cognizance with Awareness-Evoking Questions
What might happen when I introduce some cognizance into my process? That would mean questioning my ego assumptions and biases! Like:
- Who do I believe and obey?
- Who/what are my trusted authorities?
- What is really true or false?
- Is this true?!
- Why do I believe and obey?
- How is this true or false?
- How far am I willing to go to prove I’m right?
- Why do I trust my reasons?
- Could I trust and obey someone else instead?
- Why do I trust my reasons for trusting?
- How do I put my belief into action?
- What is my policy on this?
- What is the outcome of my beliefs and obedience to them?
- How else might I arrive at this same outcome?
- What would someone have to believe in order to arrive at this outcome?
- What does this outcome reveal about what I believe about me?
- Could this outcome say something else about me than what I perceive in it?
