Today’s Mission: Look Inside Your Spacesuit
Why mastering your mind is the first step towards true personal transformation.
A year before I was born, The Beatles played their last show and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, famously declaring,
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Nineteen sixty-nine turned out to be an important year for humankind on cultural, scientific and technological frontiers. The Vietnam War, the women’s and civil rights movements, and medical advances in birth control all contributed to the transformation of a global society.
Half a million music fans descended on a farm near Woodstock, upstate New York. The diverse audience was a reflection of the rapidly-changing times and for some, Woodstock became a life-altering experience. It was a period of unrest and protest as a relatively conservative society was challenged to change.
Just over half a century later, amid a horrifying coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty, and sweeping ecological devastation, humankind finds itself in a similar kind of rapid transformation.
But one thing remains the same: change is uncomfortable.
Embracing the Unknown
Change requires we let go of what was and embrace the unknown.
In a race between self-destruction and self-discovery, we witness a pivotal moment in history. The ‘normal’ we once knew has turned in an uncertain direction as the world initiates us to progress and grow on both an individual and a global level.
That said, now is the time to leave behind what no longer serves humanity.
Today, through the pandemic, our transformation requires action as a society and will need more inclusive, sustainable economic models — more prudent leadership, and better management of agriculture and food supplies.
As individuals, we will need to make changes to the way we travel, curb our consumption, aiding the phasing out of fossil fuel industries, personally adopting and investing in more sustainable pursuits. We need to tune in.
Basically, everything needs to change. Including you. And before you throw your arms up in horror and exclaim, “But what can I do? I’m no scientist or politician!” consider this:
By improving how you understand yourself and interpret the world around you, by default, you will contribute more positively to your community and be a more productive member of society.
We are being offered the perfect opportunity to reflect and transform ourselves as individuals. To create more purposeful lives.
Looking Inside Our Spacesuit
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert, 1931–2019), a Harvard psychologist, author, and spiritual teacher once said we are trained to be “somebody” from the moment we are born.
He used the analogy that our physical bodies are spacesuits; we wear them and get to know them so well that we start to identify with them. We begin to think that we are our spacesuits and our spacesuits are us.
He said that one day he realized that his spacesuit was just a spacesuit. A shell. He looked into the eyes of other people and asked them how they got into their spacesuits. I’m looking at you through these words.
How did you get into your spacesuit? Does it fit you? Are you comfortable in it, or does it limit who you really are and what you have to offer the world? Why don’t you take it off and have a good look at what you find underneath?
There’s great value in knowing yourself, and deeper self-knowledge helps us to adapt and transform our thinking and ourselves. To remain resilient through these ever-changing times, we must evolve and progress with the world.
Ram Dass said that after trying on a few different spacesuits, he took them off and stood naked. It felt wonderful. He felt at home, at peace, and content.
“I knew in my inner being this is where I really was, but somehow I’d never been able to get there.”
He was talking about switching off the thinking mind, because our minds are the major instrument for our spacesuit control mechanism. And, as Dass said,
“there is a quality that is starving in an individual who is locked in their mind.”
Turning Down the Noise
We must turn down our noisy crowded thinking and amplify an internal, deeply intellectual, meditative, self-reflective state.
This state — called the default mode network (DMN) — was developed after researchers noticed a surprising level of activity in the brains of people who were supposed to be at rest.
Back in the era of Woodstock, hallucinogens were on-trend for attaining this state. Traditional cultures have used them for millennia to push initiates quickly through to a higher level of consciousness. According to cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf, when our brain naturally enters the rest circuit, we don’t actually rest; we move into a highly intelligent, self-reflected, directed state.
She says,
“the more often we go there the more we get in touch with the deep, spiritual part of who we are. You focus inward, you introspect, and you appear to slow down; but actually, your mental resources speed up and your thinking moves onto a higher level.”
Remaining fixed in that your noisy, shifting, conscious, cognitive part of your brain will hold you back from attaining a state of being, of true transformation. And the transformation begins within by making a conscious choice to explore the deeper workings of your mind.
This brings wisdom. One thought at a time.
In Ancient Greece, philosophy was a way of life, a practice aimed at shaping and remaking the self and attaining wisdom in order to relieve suffering. To quote Pierre Hadot,
“Such is the lesson of ancient philosophy: an invitation to each human being to transform himself. Philosophy is a conversion, a transformation of one’s way of being and living, and a quest for wisdom.”
Where Are You Right Now?
After recently hitting a major life crisis, I took my spacesuit off and had a good look at my naked truth. I wrote about my transformation in my soon-to-be-published book. And since then I’ve faced other challenges that have required me to let go of the old and embrace the new.
Recently, the challenge of peri-menopause hit me in all its hot-flash, brain foggy, hormonal glory as my body retreated into a chrysalis of transformation. I’d not given it much thought, even while it slyly approached me. I was unprepared and quite possibly in denial that my body would inevitably change.
The well-fitted, vital, energetic, and reproductive female spacesuit I’d worn for many years was slowly replaced by another older, tired, and rather emotionally crushed spacesuit.
I didn’t like it or recognize it — and it certainly wasn’t my style. Also, I couldn’t remember what I was doing stark naked in the pantry searching for those things you unlock the car with.
When your hormones play havoc, the world can come crashing down. It did for me. The process of letting go of who I had been to be at peace with the new wasn’t easy. But it was inevitable, so I had two choices. Embrace the new, 50-year-old me, or hang on in misery to the memory of what no longer existed.
Luckily I’d had some experience getting to know who I was under whatever spacesuit I wore. Once I found balance, I was able to emerge from my chrysalis for the next phase of my life. Those who love me are breathing big sighs of relief — because now, I’m a new kind of normal.
Back when I was a mere twinkle in my parents’ eyes, the world endured upheaval and transformation. Neil Armstrong was concerned about the spacecraft landing safely, saying, “the unknowns were rampant” and “there were just a thousand things to worry about”.
Over the decades following Woodstock, society has evolved. Women are no longer primarily homemakers, the religious doctrine has less impact and we have found more compassion and tolerance for individuals to be treated with respect, no matter their definition of normal.
Despite the massive shifts in the world since man first stepped on the moon, humankind continues to face ongoing challenges. The unknowns are rampant and there are always a thousand things to worry about. And yet, we survive.
The more we look within, accept the inevitability of the transformation, and allow ourselves to adapt, the greater the chance that we go on to not just survive, but thrive.
The Takeaway
Regular meditation is a great way to arrive at that resting state of mind. When you discipline those thoughts, you can whip them into submission, allowing you to become the master of your mind and moving you into the deeper recesses.
By kicking the DMN into action more often, the brain learns to switch back and forth between networks — the noisy and the quiet ones, making it more active.
This training helps us to grow more branches, integrating and linking thoughts which, according to Dr. Leaf, translate to increased intelligence, wisdom, and being at peace — as well as the added bonus of increased immune and cardiovascular health.
What’s not to like? It’s a win-win. Each and every thought we have can help transform our lives.
As a writer, communicator and kitchen sink philosopher, I strive to open meaningful conversations about the fundamental issues of human existence. Come and say hello on Facebook and if you’d like to read more, please register your interest in my book The Naked Truth About YOU.
