Do you ever feel certain that something you know is ‘right’ and therefore any ideas to the contrary must therefore be ‘wrong’?
If so, you are not alone. Most of us were raised in environments with lots of rules of right and wrong by people who were locked in severely right/wrong thinking.
The problem with this type of outlook on life is that it is difficult to find peace in a world where so many people disagree on what is to be labeled ‘right’ and what is to be labeled ‘wrong’.
Beliefs that are based on ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ are a type of irrationality that will always lead to suffering. This is what I call either/or consciousness – often referred to as black and white thinking – which states that something can only be one way or the other. It is like having an invisible wall, and everything in life is mentally slotted to go on either one side or the other. Because nothing is ever that clear-cut, this type of thinking creates conflict after conflict, as people refuse to stay on their assigned side of the dividing wall.
There are the old, perfectionist beliefs like, ‘This has to be done the right way’, ‘If you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself’ and ‘People are supposed to know what’s right’. Who’s right way, mine or yours? The Queen’s? The Pope’s? Krishna’s? People who hold strong irrational beliefs based on ideas of what is right are often viewed as self-righteous, zealots, bible-thumpers or having a soap box to stand on.
Then there is the flip side; who gets to decide what is truly wrong? Many people on the planet today are holding dozens of the ‘wrong’ type of irrationalities out towards others who are different, leading to enemy-thinking and war mentality. ‘Those people are wrong because they ____ (fill in the blank: their beliefs, religious persuasion, sexual orientation, cultural values, ethics, political views, moral stance, appearance, whatever).’ Holding beliefs that other people are wrong for who they are or what they do often leads to actions of againstness, protest, vengeance, hatred and violence. People will often engage in vindictive or hurtful behavior based upon some erroneous idea that they are somehow enacting justice. This is mob-mentality, vigilante, radical-group type of thinking that only creates more suffering upon the planet.
Finally, there are the ‘right/wrong’ beliefs that are directed toward one’s self; these are the ones that used to really get at me, shame and guilt-producing beliefs like, ‘If someone is mad at me, it means I’ve done something wrong’, ‘I never do anything right’ ‘If I do it wrong, I need to feel ashamed of myself’, ‘Mistakes are wrong or bad’, ‘Taking care of myself is wrong and selfish; I need to put others first’, ‘It is wrong for me to _____ (fill in the blank)’.
All of these are examples of just a very small selection of the millions of irrationalities based on black or white, right/wrong – as one of my friends put it ‘It’s my way or the highway’ – type of thinking.
In what areas of your own consciousness do you hold onto right/wrong types of thinking? Be willing to examine your belief system fearlessly.
The truth is that from your soul’s perspective, there is no clear-cut right or wrong, only what is in alignment for you in any given moment.
For instance, in the old ‘I’m right, so you’re wrong’ model, could it be possible that we are just in two different places on the spiral of learning, and that we both are operating from our own place of truth, relative to what we know to be right for us at this time? This would translate in right/wrong speak to say ‘we are both right; let’s just agree to disagree’.
To the degree that you can let go of beliefs locked in right/wrong, you will quickly begin to reside at higher and higher levels of consciousness. Monitor your thoughts for this type of irrationality, and apply lots of compassion on the inside when one appears. Say, “I let go of right/wrong and move into acceptance of all that is.”
Many Blessings of Joy and Vibrant Freedom
Action Step ~ Let go of all beliefs based in right/wrong and move into the peace and acceptance of Loving. Declaration: “I now let go of thinking in terms of right or wrong and view life from the learning perspective through eyes of infinite acceptance of all that is. I am at peace.”
Additional support: Listen to this 8-minute closed-eye process on identifying irrational ‘right’ or ‘wrong’s; please refrain from driving while listening.