What really happens when you look in the mirror?

Many years ago, when I was still in the process of getting used to my new level of physical sight I had a dream. 

In the dream I was in a darkened, yet, very pleasant room. I was cleaning a large mirror.

Some of the mirror’s surface was clear, some was slightly dusty. Some was smudged, almost to the point of not being able to see a reflection.

A large part of the mirror had no dust, no smears or smudges and still no refection. It was pure. It was into this section I was drawn. My whole being went deep within the mirror. I became the mirror. 

Suddenly, back outside and now looking at the mirror, I knew I had work to do. My eyes landed on the part of the mirror’s surface which was dusty. As soon as I looked at the dust, I found myself, cloth in hand, now cleaning the mirror. 

At one point in the dream, I stood back to check my progress. It didn’t seem like I was making any headway on the mirror’s dust-coated surface. 

And there it was…the reflected realization. 

The part of the mirror with the dust was the same shape of what was left of my physical sight. And, you guessed it. The section of the mirror into which I was drawn was the shape of my new blindness.

The mirror was both all and nothing. So was my experience of my physical sight during my waking hours. I was figuring out, or being guiding by some part of me, to place my mind into this colorless blindness and see. 

A new lens of perception was the result of something, which on the surface of life, was horrific. 

What I know to be true and for certain is you have the same capacity. We all do. You do not have to go through horrific adjustments to discover your perceptual lens of truth, fact, and wisdom. You know this to be true too. Or you would not be on your path of discovery. 

So, let’s chat…what do you see when you physically look in the mirror? Do positive or negative thoughts run through your mind? 

If unkind thoughts rule the day, from what source are they a reflection? 

If loving eyes meet at the point of reflection, from what source does this visual embrace arise?

I know, at many points in times in your day and in your life, you look at yourself in the mirror and smile. Come on...how could you not?

When thoughts arise, they are a reflection of something — lovely, tough, or neutral. 

Someone else’s words perhaps. Words you speak to yourself, you may have heard as a child. They’re not all negative, are they? Where does your focus go and how far back, if at all, does your mind travel?

They can be words you may have crafted because of a feeling which has impacted you, and your unconscious mind did a yeoman’s job of finding words which fit the feeling.  

These can be positive words, neutral, slightly shoulder shrugging ehhh kind of words, or down right unkind ,dictatorial, and shaming words. Ouch!

My thoughts here are not about immediately stopping any words which are unkind. That happens organically when you take one mental step toward. Scolding yourself to 'stop that' is not the most compassionate voice you have available. Firmness is different from rudeness or shaming. 

This mental step breeds compassion and wisdom.  

The step? Awareness. 

Awareness is the cleansing, healing cloth you hold in your hands. Where there is awareness, the dust begins to float away from the surface of the mirror.

When you look at something you activate it. A once distorted reflection can become clearer when the gazer has reached an internal tipping point, which cannot be pushed to occur, and is now aware of their power to choose the path of change. 

Particle by particle, lens by lens, emotion by emotion, premise by premise, within our mind and heart, the dust lifts and you become truth. 

Truth is wisdom. You are wisdom. 

We’re often seeking healing and the depth of our true self. A life well lived when this choice is made. Well lived; yet, not always easy. 

As truth and falseness stir the pot and rattle against each other within our minds and hearts, every step of discovery is revealed and notability everso worth the journey. That which has been hurtful and traumatic in our lives has begged you to set it free. 

 The dust calls to be cleaned. 

 At some point, healing becomes more of a solo process of your inner mind/heart through which you, and only you, can release the dust. 

It’s helpful to speak with those who are trained to see the dust with you. To explain perhaps how the dust of life has impacted you; yet, you already know the thrust of such and its residual effects all so well. 

Clearing requires tools of cleaning and repair — healing the mind, body and Spirit. Yet, tools without awareness are muted, if not nullified. 

So are you the mirror? Are you the dust? Are you the cloth?

You know the answer. You are all three and more. You are the depth of the mirror. You are the infinity of the mirror. 

Your mind can free float and attached to anything — a worry, a joyful moment of presence, a deceased loved one, a painful memory, your breath, a galaxy. 

Your mind can always be trained to observe without attachment. This is where awareness has given birth to wisdom and your ability to witness the many parts of complexity, which combine right in front of you, illuminating wholeness. 

You can view both the amalgam and singular truth of what the mind is gazing upon simultaneously. This reflects the infinite nature of your mind; you are the mirror. 

The mirror must be cleaned. Awareness is the cloth which when combined with compassionate attention will set you free. 

 When you catch yourself speaking unkindly to yourself, thoughts of that nature about someone else, worrying about this and that, or hurling an unkind shout out to the television newscaster, you have the power to be aware, watch yourself, determine if this feels good or not, and choose. 

The ultimate power you have is to choose. As you watch yourself choose to be unkind to yourself with words or deeds, you are narrowing your opportunities to widen your perceptive lens and your point of view. 

"Not being aware of yourself requires compassion when you become aware.

Go easy on yourself. Love resides around the corner from compassion." 

One little choice to be aware; to pick up the cloth; to not be unkind to yourself or others is what will gently drop you into the depth of your true and wise self. 

At this time, many of you are being called or pulled into change. A change which is different from what you've experienced prior and different from what's reflected in the outer world.  It is a necessary shift in your depth, perspective and perception. You know you’ve changed. This is good. 

I see you. I speak with some of you. I hear it in the winds of change. I know you do too. 

We are all a part of this journey. Untether your mind. Let’s do our individual part to pick up the cloth of awareness and clear the dust. 

With much love, always…