You define your own experience

There are 3 concepts that exist. There is the experience, then there is the person experiencing and finally there is the unique experience of the experienced event. If I have lost you already, I do apologise. Let me express it a little differently. There is an event, there is you who is experiencing the event and then there your perceived understanding of what you had just experienced.

So what we have here is an inside and outside and a window which separate these two worlds. The event or the experience does not exist without you or your own perceived understanding. This means that without your input there is no output. The outer world is created by you through you.

10 people can participate in the same event or experience and all 10 will tell you 10 different stories of that 1 event. This is actually very true, as at any given moment there are an infinite number of realities being experienced. Each person will claim to have the truth, but no truth is truer than the other. All truths are true but none is truer. It is important to understand this.

We develop our own perceived understanding through our thoughts, beliefs and stories. The highlight of those 3 are our stories. We have a story about the event and this defines our experience. Let’s take a powerful example. You see a drunk man walking on the road. Immediately you remember your dad used to drink when you were little. When he did this, he would fight with your mum. Your dad never used to contribute to the home and used on his money on alcohol. So, you immediately the judge the man on the road, as a useless, good for nothing bum who cannot take care of his family. You feel annoyed, irritated and extremely angry. Your mood for the entire day is spoiled. Jake, your best friend was standing next to you. He recognises this man, and remembers overhearing him telling his dad, how he had been retrenched from work and that his wife had just ran away from home. Although Jake does not condone the man drinking, he can understand why this man is in his current position. Jake feels sad and a tear roles down his cheek. The man’s wife who ran away was standing next to Jake knows why this man began drinking, and the reason is…

Now I could tell you this reason, and I could tell you how this man’s wife is feeling. But I could also tell you the story and feelings of the 12 other people standing on that road that day. I am sure by now you understand what I am getting at.

Your story defines your experience. Change your story about what is happening and you change your experience of what is happening. Change your story or your truth or the way you are looking at something and suddenly your entire experience of that is changed. Does the story have to be true? Well, as already mentioned, all truths are true, but none are truer. Ask yourself this important question though, is your story supporting you in feeling peace, joy, love, contentment or bliss? If not then change your story. The story leads to an interpretation, the interpretation leads to a set of feelings, the feelings lead to your experience. It does not matter what is happening on the outside, if you engage with the outside with a new set of rules on the inside. Experience is not what happens to you. Experience is your how you respond to what happens to you. You choose your experience at any given moment. It has nothing to do with the outside world. The outside world only exists because you and your story exists. In fact the outside world only exists because your senses are stimulated by the various stimuli that exist. Remove all 5 senses and the external world collapses. It fails to exist to you. Are you experiencing the world by its various stimulations or are you defining each moment by your story? The answer is both. However the latter will define your end experience.

This entire message can be summarised by one of my favourite quotes. “You do not see the world as it is, but rather as you are.” Unknown.

Love,
Mohan H
www.hiteshsurujbally.com