Redefining relationships

This is a subject that I think is very suitable for this board.

As we go through this learning and growing process we still have to interact with the "real world." We have to interact with the people that aren't changing as fast as we are. When we are changing we will be tempted to make the decisions of our old mentalities and personalities. In turn, when we change, it should be our goal to be as true as possible in all situations and acting any other way would be suppressing our true selves.

We have been molded by the external forces in our lives up until we woke up (when we realized that we are more than the image we have created of ourselves.) Breaking free of this programming can be difficult. It's like we are inside an eggs ready to hatch. We have to push and break the walls that the external forces and ourselves, (we let these external forces rape us in a sense,) have created. When we meditate we do this. We analyze the thoughts we have, the reasons we have them, and come to the conclusion to abandon those thought loops when they come into existence. These programmed thought loops have inertia though and it takes time before they are completed destroyed.

Okay, so we meditate and we break these thought form loops and permanently prevent many of them from happening again, but when we aren't meditating, (though I think we should also be,) we are often dealing with the "real world" that still has expectations of us. We have a choice of getting laughed at and persecuted, (not to the extreme I hope,) by our "friends" and family by making different choices and going beyond our old boundaries. For example, if you are in a social group that is making fun of gays or some other group and before you used to laugh to avoid having them think you yourself are gay (even though you aren't,) it would take courage to avoid that social group entirely or be bold and not laugh.

Sometimes we can feel claustrophobic in environments that don't support freedom of thought and speech. It is best to avoid them, yet when we have to deal with them it can also be good to take a leadership role. This is something that takes a lot of confidence.

Our old relationships used to be based off something different. When we change, we in turn change or cut our relationships with people. Just know that this is perfectly normal and that mistakes will be made. We can sometimes overcompensate for our old patterns of thought when we try to correct them. Maybe even get used to making mistakes, but learn from each one you make. Don't guilt trip over them either and allow emotions to run their course during meditation with deep rhythmic breathing.

I guess I didn't have a clear intention when writing this. I just hope that it will have the effect of creating helpful thought provoking ideas.