As mentioned before, as a teenager, I worked as a construction laborer. In this job, I got to see my share of concrete being poured. In order for concrete to be of use, it is put into a form – something to contain it to give it its hardened name – wall, floor, post, step, etc.

The creations last a long time, but not forever. Eventually, they erode, fall apart, outlive their usefulness and are razed to the ground.

Our bodies and minds are forms. They are imbued with an energetic life force that animates them and gives them functionality. We give them names. My body form is known in common circles as “John.” This creative force when it takes shape in our mind, gives us a personality that we and others also give names to.

The force flows into a form and gives it life.

These mental forms are created mostly through cultural, social and parental conditioning. Our life force fills these forms and hardens. So if one of our molders gives us a constant dose of stubbornness, that form may get instilled within us and get filled up with the life force which then becomes concrete.

We have a collection of forms within our mind – many of which we had nothing to do with. They were given to us.

These forms run our lives. They decide before we decide what will happen in our lives – how we will predictably act and react. The life force no longer has room to maneuver in the mind and give us free will because the mind is so crowded with forms. So, like concrete, we become set in our ways (forms).

Some forms are functional for the human condition – most are not.

So the question becomes how do we give the life force room to move around and give us more choice and aliveness?

We have to get a crack in the form that is holding us stationary. Once a crack shows up, the form is vulnerable and much easier to dismantle. The best way to start the process is to get yourself a pick ax known as recognition. Recognize the form within you. It’s easy to see it in others but your job is to find it in you. Once you identify it, a course of action is born.

If you start automatically noticing that you are doing something that you didn’t notice before, it is often the Tipping Point to make room for more life.

Get curious about your forms. They may have been purposeful at one point, but how well are they serving you now?

Continued application of recognition causes a chain reaction that turns concrete to dust and washes away the structures of yesterday.

All the best,

John