Rules and Filters

Everyone’s mind has rules and  filters layered upon us by life and by our teachers, and by our contact with the other people in our lives. These rules and filters tell us what we can and cannot do, what we can and cannot be, what we can and cannot attempt.They are the basis of our self-limitations. For instance, I may have an architectural idea. My rules and filters tell me I an not an architect. I have a concert idea. My rules and filters tell me I am not a good enough musician to pull it off. I have an art idea. My rules and filters tell me I do not have the skills to accomplish it.

It may take a major blow to our lives to open the gates in our minds so that we can proceed in the direction of our callings and set aside the rules and filters for some area of our lives; to accept the ideas that bring us to our joy in life, to declare ourselves willing to risk time and effort and emotional energy for love and accomplishment and fulfillment, to willingly engage in the creativity that makes time seem to vanish for us.

When we are able to accept the urges of creativity in ourselves, and able to override our rules and filters, we are transformed. Any sense of boredom is gone, replaced by challenge. Any sense of uselessness is gone, replaced by flow, and we discover a reservoir of strength to overcome negative self-evaluations, and relegate them, at least temporarily, to the compost heap of creativity where they belong.

Negative self-evaluations are voices that can be transformed. The energy of the limiting and shaming voices can be used instead to create positive and encouraging voices because this energy is our own energy, even if we think we have lost it. We can create positive voices in ourselves, affirming, loving, caring voices. We can give these voices validity and strength and living energy, and we can learn to accept praise and encouragement from those around us.