Choices and Illusions (5 page)

her size was loved by many. She was secure in her chicken house

surrounded by her friends and adopted mother. Still, she sometimes

felt out of place, uneasy in ways she could not explain, unfulfilled and unnatural. Her friends would reassure her. They would say

things like, “Other chickens don’t always lay an abundance of eggs”

and “Some hens make only a little noise when they do lay an egg.”

She would confide in her closest friends, and most would reassure

her that this was life and she would adjust in time. She needed only to try harder; after all, her biological mother had failed her. This was comforting, for it wasn’t her fault—her mother was to blame.

Unlike Jonathan livingston Seagull,5 there was no great Seagull to

teach her otherwise. So, her potential, the possibilities in life, went altogether unknown until one day a male eagle flying overhead

spotted her grubbing in the chicken yard.

She is such a grand eagle,
he thought, as he descended to speak with her, but one of the chickens caught a glimpse of his shadow and called to the others. The female eagle, who was called nina, quickly scurried 4

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with the chickens to the chicken house, where they hid for the rest of the afternoon. The male eagle was confused but determined.

days passed before he gained another opportunity. darting out

of the sky with the sun on his face so as not to cast a shadow, he cut off nina’s retreat almost before any in the yard were aware he was

approaching. The chickens hid in the chicken house—not one dared

to venture out even to see what might be happening to nina.

Trapped by the male eagle, nina crouched down in fear, almost

paralyzed by her expectation.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

Unable to answer, nina could only tremble and look down.

“What are you doing here?” he went on. “I have never seen an

eagle nesting with chickens, though I’ve heard such things happen.

Have you lost your mind, girl?”

nina looked up. She suddenly had an idea, for she was a smart

chicken. “did you call me an eagle?” she meekly inquired.

“Of course! You are one. Have you not looked at yourself? Have

you not felt the urge to stretch your wings and soar? Have you not

felt out of place with these chickens? do you think those talons

were made to dig in the earth? I have watched you for days now.

You do everything the chickens do. Why?”

nina stared in his eyes. They were large and brown. His pupils

were dark black and nearly filled his entire eye. He looked as though he could see forever. “You’ve watched me?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ve watched you, but I don’t understand. You are capable of

so much. I could tell you stories for days of adventures and sights that have filled my life—and that should fill yours. You were created with such unlimited potential—you simply don’t belong in this yard. You

are a beautiful and capable eagle. Can’t you see that?”

nina felt stronger now. Something was wrong with this eagle.
He
must have some Messianic complex,
she thought. Imagine his telling her she could soar. nina said, “So I’m an eagle and I can soar and do things you can show me that I have never done? Is that right?”

“It’s in you, girl. Follow your feelings. Be natural. You’re not a

chicken, I promise.”

nina continued: “So then, since I’m an eagle, you’re not going

to hurt me.”

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“Of course not—what nonsense is that?”

“Well, then,” nina confidently added, “show me. Step aside so

I could leave if I choose to.”

With that, the male eagle stepped out of nina’s path. She seized

the opportunity and made the best of her plan, running straight for the chicken house. Once inside she told the chickens how she had

outsmarted that dumb old eagle. They all laughed and rewarded

her with their chicken appreciation, “You’re such a good, smart

chicken, nina!”

The old rooster even spoke nicely to her. “I’m proud of you,

nina—you certainly did outsmart that eagle.”

Like Fleas in a Circus

do you get the moral of the story? Most people have been

enculturated to accept and believe certain things that may, and

likely do, betray their real potential.

like the chickens in the chicken yard, we have all been

imprinted—the term used by behavioral scientists for the process

whereby animals seek to be accepted by imitating their peers. An

eagle raised in a chicken yard will behave like a chicken, for example.

The first tutorial this story provides leads us to this question:

How many chicken beliefs limit you and alienate you from your potential?

R.d. laing wrote more than 30 years ago in his book
The Poli-

tics of Experience:
“The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious, of being out of one’s mind, is the condition of

the normal man.” Alan Watts, in his book
Psychotherapy East and
West,
quoted from a speech Carl Jung gave to a group of ministers in 1938: “That I feed the beggar, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ—all these are undoubtedly great

virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto

Christ. But what if I should discover that the least amongst them

all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the

offenders, the very enemy himself—that these are within me, and

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that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness—that

I myself am the enemy that must be loved—what then?”

let us imagine the human condition programmed with nega-

tive expectations. like fleas in a flea circus, we have been raised to believe that some invisible dome defines who we are, how high we

can soar, our basic parameters of life expectancy and health, and

so forth—self-imposed limitations that we are totally unaware of,

boundaries that we honor despite their unreality and the fact that

our sages, geniuses, entrepreneurs, and heroes have all told us to

ignore them. But, like our female eagle, we believe we know better

or we simply do not know how to pierce those limitations.

The Nine-Dot Matrix

Take a look at the nine stars in Figure 1. Using a pencil or pen,

connect the centers of all nine stars with four straight lines without lifting your instrument from the page. Try it, if not with a pencil or pen, then in your mind.

Figure 1

now turn the page and see how easy it is to connect them with

four lines if you do not accept the implied boundary of the stars.

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Figure 2

If you are like almost everyone else, extending the lines beyond

the so-called boundary of the stars is not something that occurred

to you. If it does not come to mind, it is not among your possible

choices. let us illustrate that concept further with a story, because stories stick with us, as do pictures, and are often worth much more than the words that it takes to tell them.

The Flowerpot Story

Imagine that you’re visiting new York City for the first time.

You’re amazed by the skyline—all those immensely tall buildings.

You visit a beautiful area of high-rise condominiums. These are

truly luxurious condos, all with balconies suspended above the

sidewalk. It’s a glorious day. The sun is out, and the slight breeze you feel is warm and comforting. The air is unusually fresh, and

you’re simply walking, taking in the sights and sounds, and enjoy-

ing the day to the fullest. It’s new York, and you have heard stories 8

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about this city, but it’s light and bright and pleasant, and you walk on, thinking of all that you’ll tell your friends back home.

Suddenly, from the third-floor balcony above you, a flower-

pot falls and slams onto your head. The pot is deflected onto the

sidewalk and shatters. You’re not seriously hurt, but your head is

hurting. You feel a bulge rapidly building into a rather large knot.

Your scalp has a nasty abrasion that burns when you touch it, and

on your hand is a small amount of blood. The suddenness and pain

have raised your adrenaline level. That old fight/flight mechanism

has kicked in, and the neurochemicals are flowing. Anger begins

to rise. now you have some choices. What would you do?

let’s think about that and explore some possibilities. You could

decide to go up to that third-floor condo and shove you know

what you know where. You might get there only to discover that

the owner is a defensive linebacker for some professional football

team and his biceps are larger than your waist. Then you might

change your plan.

What else could you do? Some might think of this as an

opportunity. “I’ll sue this fat cat. Anyone who puts a flowerpot

too close to the edge of the balcony railing, just waiting to fall

on someone, should be educated. What if it had fallen on a small

child or a baby in a buggy passing under the balcony? Suing will

be a quickie—they’ll settle out of court. That’ll teach them to be

more careful in the future. Concussion and whiplash—I wonder

what those are worth.”

What else could you do? Well, some might think the incident

was a sign from the gods. It’s time to be metaphysical—after all,

the blow might have delivered enlightenment. It might even be

like one of those lightning strikes in which the person struck

gains special metaphysical or parapsychological abilities. like John Travolta in the movie
Phenomenon,
such a person can do or solve almost anything. It’s like instantly acquiring the knowledge of

the universe.

What else could you do?

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Pyschologist and philosopher William James is often credited

with coining the term
pragmatic,
because of his application of the word in philosophy and psychology. What is pragmatic? In our

instance, it is simply responding to the stimuli in a manner that

works for you. What would work for you? What if you picked up

the flower off the hot sidewalk and took it to a florist for repotting?

What if you selected a very nice pot, had the plant repotted, and

then returned it to the owner with an explanation of why it was

in a new pot? You could say something like this: “Your flowerpot

fell from your balcony and hit me on the head. The pot smashed

against the sidewalk, so I took the flower to the florist and had it repotted for you. Here it is. I hope you like the new pot.”

Of all the things you might do, what do you think would make

you feel the best? Of all the things you might do, what do you think would change those neurochemicals from fight/flight to growth

and pleasure?

Choices

dr. Bruce lipton models the body this way: like a government,

it has two budgets—one for defense and the other for growth.

As such, when the body goes to defense (fight/flight), it cannot

grow. When the body is at peace, the budget turns entirely toward