Unknowingness

What is happening to television all of a sudden? Everywhere I turn, I'm finding inspirational viewing choices for a change! Last night, PBS (a channel I rarely watch) featured a program by Dr. Wayne Dyer "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life"; tonight, it was Deepak Chopra with "The Happiness Prescription". I sware, it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain an unenlightened state around here. ;-)

One thing Chopra said resonated with me so profoundly I had to rewind to make sure I'd heard it right. It was like someone whacked me over the head with an awareness stick when he said it. The subject of fear was being discussed (relevant, much?) and he delivered a concept that blew my mind.

Basically, the concept is this: People fear the unknown: the future, death, uncertainty, and so on. But what we consider to be the "known" Universe is just the past, programming from the past. It's known because it's already happened.

The unknown, however, is everything else. The future, that is, every moment from this present moment forward, IS UNKNOWN. This is why we fear it. But we shouldn't, because if the past is known and based on what has happened already, the unknown future is full of infinite possibility.

Yeah, yeah. Sounds like a bunch of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo right?

Unknown = Infinite Possibility. Let that roll around in your head for a minute.

The future is not set in stone. No matter what has happened in the past, even if circumstances are similar, it doesn't automatically mean that the outcome will be the same! It's unknown! It still has a chance to be altered!

Even in a situation where 9 times out of 10 the end result from that set of circumstances was X, on some occasions it was Y. But since the outcome has not happened yet... it is still UNKNOWN. Or maybe it's always been X for as long as anyone can remember... until someone decides to choose Y anyway—and Y happens instead. It doesn't matter. The outcome is still "out there", unknown. Possible. Even if the possibility is so microscopically remote that it's nearly impossible to believe in. The point is, it's wide open territory for choice.

Get it?

That means you have the chance to make a choice RIGHT NOW that can alter the outcome. You can be the Y instead of the X!

I'm not sure if this makes any sense to anyone else, but it's gone another level beyond where I was earlier. NOW I understand how people can have so much faith and belief even in seemingly impossible situations: it's because they know this instinctively, or have learned it, and they know that if it hasn't happened yet, it can still be changed. Regardless.

That, my friends, is profound.