Nathan Peterson

We Are Creating the World We Live In

We are creating the world we live in.

Not just in a cause-and-effect type of way, but in a much more real and immediate way.

What we do (cause) impacts our world for generations (effect). We should always be aware of this. We should not be so selfish that we throw away future generations’ wellbeing for our convenience. This is cause-and-effect creation. It’s real, and it matters.

But as a tool for intentionally creating the world we want to live in, awareness of this cause-and-effect is not very useful. It doesn’t work. Why? Because it starts from a ā€œshould.ā€

ā€œShouldsā€ sound good to our mind, but are ultimately rejected by the body.

As time goes by, shoulds lead to guilt which leads to shame which eventually leads to complete avoidance of the very thing we were should-ing ourselves about in the first place.

ā€œI really should exercise moreā€ rarely works—at least not for any meaningful amount of time.

Usually, shoulds lead nowhere—even if the destination is good. It’s not the destination that needs to change—it’s the way.

We are creating the world we live in. Right now. It’s already happening in this very moment. Not because we should, but because we are. Human beings are creators.

None of us experiences the same world as someone else. The world I experience is the one I let in. I choose how and where to open. I’m choosing it right now.

That’s the only reason I’m ā€œa writerā€ and you may or may not be. It’s not because of talent. It’s not because of circumstance. I’m choosing to let in a world that wants to hear what I have to say—that needs to hear it. So I’m writing and publishing.

How many other realities are only real because they are the realities we let in?

How much of what we let in is determined, not by what we want to let in, but by what we can tolerate letting in?

And how much of what we can tolerate letting in is determined by a set of beliefs we’ve picked up along the way?

I believe I’m an out-of-shape, healthy person. Therefore, I don’t act like an in-shape person. That part is cause-and-effect. But it’s deeper than that: I have reasons I don’t act like an in-shape person—those reasons are based on how I feel, and those feelings are a direct result of how I think—of what I believe. Being physically out-of-shape is just a manifestation—a low-frequency vibration (matter)—of a (higher-frequency) emotion.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The tangible life reflects whatever is in the heart.

I can ā€œshouldā€ myself to death, but that is only dealing with the resulting manifestation of my belief. Lasting change has to happen in the mind and heart. When, in my heart, who I am is an in-shape person, the cells of my body must reflect that.

Real, lasting change happens when I change my mind about who I am—when I let the reality, that I am a healthy person, in. To achieve this, I have to be able to tolerate that possibility. To achieve that, I have to allow my current set of beliefs to be challenged, and changed.

The discomfort of having our beliefs challenged and changed is what keeps us stuck in a world we don’t necessarily want, yet are actively creating in every moment.

We are creating the world we live in. Every moment.

When I wake each day, there is this unique space—between dreaming and going about my day—where I can see the distinction between my beliefs and reality. Normally, these feel like one and the same. But during this daily moment, my mind is just disoriented and blurry enough to see things as they are. Each day, during this brief moment, I can feel the incredible gravity of the ruts of my current set of beliefs pulling me in. They invite me to experience a familiar world, without questioning whether it’s real.

But in this brief moment, between dreaming and going about my day, I feel the truth—just one moment of clarity, before I’m swept into the movie of ā€œmy lifeā€: I can choose.

I can choose to let in the confirmations that ā€œthe bills are due next week, and I’m not going to be able to pay, and we’re going to starve and be homeless, and everyone will see that I’m a bad father and providerā€¦ā€. If that is my belief, my mind can easily find confirmations, and let them in. It can easily dismiss any information that may challenge that belief. And before anything happens today, my experience of life will already be that of a failed father, and a poor man.

My thoughts will reflect that belief. My body will feel it. My cells will reflect it. It will become real—before I even get out of bed.

And the rest of my day will become a play, and I will act the part perfectly.

And the world around me (cause-and-effect) will play along, and reflect my belief.

Yes, there are months when I don’t go broke, but those are ā€œflukesā€ā€”quickly dismissed.

Meanwhile, Life’s deep, loving flow—its infinite supply—must flow around me, because I have become too closed to let it in.

Then, I really do starve.

See? I’m poor. I’m out of shape. All evidence confirms what I always knew.

We create the world we live in...

But the job of the creator is to choose.

Choose consciously.

One problem with the internet is that it offers an infinite supply of evidence for anything one might want to believe—no set of beliefs will ever have to change due to lack of evidence.

If I want to believe Donald Trump is horrible, I’m all set. But do you realize how much evidence can also be found on the internet that Donald Trump is a wonderful person?

We have built a network of thought which not only shows us anything we ask to see, but also learns what we currently believe and selectively reflects an endless stream of confirming evidence back to us.

No one needs to change what they believe. No one needs to choose. But…

The job of the creator is to choose. And you are a creator.

Even if everything around us is hell-bent against us creating, it is our job, our right, our responsibility, and our nature to create.

I believe this is one of the most important tasks of our generation: to revive and reclaim our ability and our right to choose—to create consciously.

#awareness #courage #freedom