Why I Like Posts That Contradict Each Other
I'm not my opinions—and neither are you
I find myself liking a post, then reading a comment opposing it and liking that too. If you check my likes, you won't understand if I'm left or right, pro-meditation or against, vegetarian or carnivore. (The answer: I'm joy-ivore.)
Why? Because I'm neither this nor that.
The Death and Rebirth
At the beginning of 2020, my life fell apart. I left my job, left my home, my wife flew away for an unknown period with our baby, I was left with a pile of fires to put out (conflicts and financial matters), and all I wanted was to disappear.
I didn't know it, but this was the death throes of the old ego before rebirth.
In the following years, I learned a new way of life that allows me to be more and more who I truly am and release what doesn't match who I am.
The Realization
I understood that I'm not this opinion or that one. I'm not a belief, and I'm not even a perspective. I'm not anything that comes from my thinking.
I think eating healthy is super important for body and soul functioning, AND I think it's good to occasionally allow myself a sweet dessert.
I think only peace brings peace, AND I think when someone threatens my life, it's important to do what's needed to protect myself.
From Confusion to Clarity
Once, such thinking would have confused me. It would have sounded like intellectual nonsense, clearly impractical. How can you take one confident step in life when entertaining such a mixture of thoughts?
Today it's clear as sunlight: because my decisions don't depend on my thoughts.
What freedom! How... scary at first, but then liberating!
Returning to Natural Function
As a child, I functioned optimally—learned things at tremendous speed while also deciding at tremendous speed. Though I had much to learn and life experience to gain, one thing I did really, really right naturally: I separated thinking from decisions.
- Mental activity (thinking, understanding, learning) happened on one plane. I understood the world and myself better and better.
- Decision-making happened on another plane: in the body. Every time I wanted something, every time I said "yes"—it came from "inside," with enthusiasm and full of energy.
That's how I choose apartments to this day. I enter, get impressions, check what needs checking and ask questions, but usually long before answering all questions, I already know inside whether this apartment is for me or not.
The Ping-Pong Effect
Today I live this way again. My mind is busy learning about the world, but I make decisions from my body.
I even physically feel during conversation the transmission between head and body, how there's a ping-pong movement from head to body and back to head. It feels like a superpower!
This separation, this division of roles, allows me the space and patience to hold multiple viewpoints—multiple perspectives—and appreciate each one.
Becoming a Better Person
Beyond the improved life experience this division of roles allows, I believe it also makes me a better person.
I feel less threatened by people's opinions, so my heart is more open to them. It's happened that someone criticized me, and instead of getting defensive like before, I felt genuinely interested in listening and understanding them.
And it seems to me that listening and patience are what the world needs now.
That's how I find myself liking posts both against and for the same thing. I liked a post calling to stop the war, and also a post saying that as long as their goal is Israel's destruction, we need to act in our defense.
I even recently liked a post claiming the earth is flat, though it completely contradicts my logic. But the like didn't come from saying "I believe this is the truth." It came from inside. The body/heart spoke its word.