Learning is important. The value we place on education is evident all around us: from educational leaders hailing it as the cornerstone of society, to business leaders saying we need a more sophisticated workforce. Yes, learning is empowering. When I was first introduced to spiritual teaching, I tried to learn as much as I possibly could about spiritual principles, about spiritual practices, about metaphysical laws and truths. All this was very valuable for me; I needed to learn in order to grow in consciousness. So why am I talking about the stories we might need to “unlearn” and live beyond?
When I was in my 20s and in early recovery, I was examining painful incidents of my past in order to resolve what still seemed unhealed. I remember calling my two sisters to have them corroborate the details of certain childhood happenings. To my surprise, they both recounted different versions of the same events, which seemed equally correct for each of them. As a matter of fact, in some cases they were entirely different stories. It occurred to me that the three of us had three different yet equally real experiences of the same occurrences. We all had different experiences of our childhoods, and therefore we have created different stories about ourselves and the world at large. Because of this experience, I now realize that it is an important part of our recovery to question and live beyond the stories we have been carrying around about ourselves and the world, sometimes for years, maybe even decades.
With clear vision, we see that it no longer serves us to cling to any story that keeps us feeling stuck and limited. What would be the benefit of continuing to perpetuate stories that are not in alignment with the truth that we are all essentially whole? The fact that most of us are still living in a state of forgetfulness of that fundamental truth doesn’t change that reality.
As we shift our perspective about who and what we truly are, that in turn shifts the nature of the world we inhabit and our experience of others.
The world becomes a more loving place because we have become more loving, openhearted human beings. And all we did was come into alignment with what was already true. This is what it means to live beyond our stories—about ourselves, others, and the world.
