Don’t take anything personally – Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
Paramahansa Yogananda talked about the Cosmic Dream. The Four Agreements also speak about this being a dream world. In the Vedas, it’s called Maya.
We each create our own reality. Think about it….an example given in the Four Agreements is…
“Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally. If I see you on the street and I say, “Hey, you are so stupid” without knowing you, it’s not about you, its about me. If you take it personally, then perhaps you believe you are stupid. Maybe you think to yourself, “How does he know? Is he clairvoyant or can everyone see how stupid I am?
We all create our own dreams, which we star in. Are we able to witness the dream or be a part of it? If we don’t take things personally, we begin to become witnesses, and we become immune. We are able to step back, watch others actions and reactions, and even our own actions and reactions.
We are all acting in accordance to the conditioning we have been surrounded by since we came into this world. If you really think we have free will, it’s not 100% free will, that’s for sure. We are conditioned to think and act according to the beliefs and standards we were exposed to growing up. Everyone has them…so who’s right and who’s wrong?
Books are written on that subject but what we can do is: witness, step back, don’t take others personally. Remember, they are reacting to their dream. It’s not yours.
Namaste,
Michael
