Stepping out of Conditioning

Without knowing yourself, without knowing your own way of thinking and why you think certain things; without knowing the background of your conditioning and why you have certain beliefs about art and religion, about your country and your neighbor and about yourself, how can you think truly about anything? Without knowing your background, without knowing the substance of your thought and whence it comes - surely your search is utterly futile; your action has no meaning, has it?
(Jiddu Krishnamurti)

I don't like to perceive anger; I don't like to feel jealousy; I resent the greed and pettiness in me. Yet, I have learned to handle these emotions; I let anger flow through me. I accept the greed and jealousy in me without adding fuel to the fire by judging my emotions. I have learned to redirect negative emotions by channeling my energies into creative outlets or by simply hanging out with people. There is something fascinating in all that struggle though; I observe that I am alive in all the ups and downs of life. And I am able to observe myself, just as Krishnamurti encourages us to do. 

J. Krishnamurti would have said about my job as a financial strategist that I am working in a cut-throat industry, full of greed. I would have responded that I am working with some terrific people who all just try to do their best to stay sane in the ups and downs of financial markets. I also would have added that at work I am able to observe myself. I see the depression and fear creeping in when predictions of mine get challenged, just as I am able to observe the high when things are going my way. I observe how I can be on auto-pilot, being swayed by my reactions to prior experiences and thus never truly manage to leave the "every reaction brings counter-reaction" law behind.

If you share Krishnamurti's passion for going all the way then perhaps you can view all the hardships and obligations life brings your way with new eyes. Instead of wishing them away, why don't you see life's little challenges as a priceless opportunity to see the robot at work. Positive and negative emotions are a magnificent wake-up call to discover what's under the hood. The Power of Now is the realization that every moment life offers is a perfect opportunity to step out of all the conditioning. Dance with life today and come HOME.