Taming the Genie: Every Moment, A Different Self
Your present self is as ephemeral as the past.
Consider this thought experiment: Imagine you are a soul that has just been embodied into the body of a 60-year-old who has just been through a divorce. You weren't the soul in this body before, but are a new soul that has just arrived at this moment. All those past memories, issues, problems, traumas, etc. Those happened to someone else. Those previous ideological commitments, career paths, and plans are someone else's.
What would you do? Wouldn't you try to make the very most of the life that remains? Wouldn't you discard most of the limitations and constraints put in place by the previous soul?
Wouldn't you relish and appreciate the lucky gift of having some friends, the freedom to live, to see what fun and adventure can be had?
In what ways are the current circumstances fundamentally different than the thought experiment above?
Aren't you a new soul today? Can't you decide to discard the limitations and can't you have everything you want? Or, at the very least, see if you can?
The second rule of alchemy is this: Have no loyalty to yourself.
The future is not writ. Any path can be found. Combined with the first rule of alchemy, this means you must hold your desires and identity loosely. You can change because you can be the person who likes and enjoys the challenge of change. You can have a different lifestyle because you aren't loyal to the old one.
Don't take this as a naive optimism toward what is required for change. It's absolutely certain that there will be struggles and challenges in the midst of change. It's also certain that there are some obligations and restrictions that you will want to keep in your life because they enrich your life. It's equally certain that you are free to make that change, as long as you are willing to accept the struggle.
In the next entry in this series, we’ll be exploring specific exercises you can use to undermine loyalty to your current self and ways that you already are disloyal.
