There are consequences to everything. Every effect is a cause, every cause is an effect. So, what is the consequences of realizing that I am not my assumptions, my opinions, my beliefs, my fears, my joys, my angers, my decisions, and so on?
Responsibilities
First, I must point out that I am not absolving myself or anyone for the consequences of their behavior, whether in action or words. We are responsible for what we do and say. I own what I do, what I say, and what happens as a result of my actions.
Meaning
What do I mean by “I am not my assumptions” ? It means that although I am subject to all sorts of assumptions and ideas and opinions, beliefs, etc., and I recognize all of these within me, I found myself questioning their origin. I find myself questioning the need to take or exhibit ownership of these assumptions, I find myself questioning any need to defend and safeguard these assumptions as if they are inherent to my personality, my being. It seems these assumptions, opinions, beliefs, etc., are as transient as the weekly dramas on television, or the images of imaginary events that course through my brain at night when I aim to fall asleep.
These assumptions, opinions, and so on, are transient. They arise and fall away on their own. Or should anyway. I cannot defend or uphold them, for they will be replaced and superseded by new assumptions and opinions which will arise of themselves similarly to the fleeting images of a cinema.
Previously I likened these assumptions, etc., as leaves floating on a river, as I stand by the river’s bank and watch them float away. This is a useful representation, as it encapsulates the fleeting nature of the thought, as well as summarizes the short-lived exposure of the leaves themselves to the passage of time and water.
Understanding
So, what to make of this understanding? It breaks the bonds of attachment that might arise from and to uninvited intermittent thoughts. It allows me freedom from the ideas and theories that randomly pop into my brain. I find independence from the swirling mass of persuasions that seem to inhabit the majority of human consciousness.
With the bonds between me and these assumptions, opinions, and so on, are broken, I have the room and openness to observe without judgment, to perceive without adhesion to any particular interpretation, to be aware without the bounds of rigidities.
It allows me enough space and freedom to think for myself.
Your opinion? You can let me know here.
The example of silk is from a French silk sample book, dating from between 1895 to 1905, consisting of 139 pages onto which are stuck small scraps of fabric. Courtesy the Mary Ann Beinecke Decorative Art Collection at the Clark Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
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