The reason we make poor decision is that we don’t have access to our inner wisdom, or that we don’t have enough strength to follow it.
Wisdom is intrinsic to all of us, and it guides all of lives different situations. However, our mind is often too occupied to heed our inner voice of wisdom. Instead, we follow our thoughts and fears and end up making poor decisions and suffer the consequences of them.
Luckily, there is a solution for this problem. This solution is spelled meditation, time, and patience. In the following, I elaborate on decision-making based on my experience of meditation. I hope it can be useful.
Cluttering thoughts and emotions block our innate wisdom
A good decision requires wisdom. As pointed out above, wisdom is an intrinsic quality of every human being. The reason for this is that wisdom comes from the true mind. The true mind is our origin; it is the foundation of the world and everything in it.
However, our mind is cluttered with tens of thousands of thoughts and with greed and inferiority. We want a lot without putting in the effort, we don’t trust our ability to make the right decision, and we can’t assess the situation clearly. This clutter blocks the access to our true mind, and we will not be able to make good decisions.
The solution to this problem is to cleanse the mind from thoughts and particularly from minds related to greed and inferiority. When the clutter is removed from our mind, the mind will become clear, wisdom will become accessible, and decision-making will become easy.
Nature’s flow and broader scope of what constitutes a good decision
Meditation is the way to rid our mind of clutter.
As we meditate, we start to live a life of nature’s flow which is a life of wisdom. Just as water flows around a rock because of the natural quality of water, our mind flows with every situation in accordance with its shape and form. When we are confronted with a situation, we will take action in accordance with what is suitable in that situation just like the water does. This means that different people will take different actions in similar situations; their action will depend on the shape and form of their mind. Consequently, although the decisions are different, none of them are ‘wrong’, less wise, or less in tune with nature.
A good decision, i.e. a wise course of action in response to a certain situation, can happen in many different ways. I used to think that you needed to be sure of yourself or have a strong opinion in order to be a good decision-maker. However, that is not necessarily true. For some people it may be like that, but for others it may not. As we empty our mind through meditation, we realize that the world is a place based on synergy and coexistence. For example, there are people who by their very nature are passive. For these people, active decision-making doesn’t come naturally, and the best way forward for them might very well be to rely on others for guidance. Thus, such a person’s ‘decision’ will be to trust his/her natural instinct to follow other people’s actions or advice.
Meditation: How to start and basic mindset
There are two aspects to meditation: self-reflection and letting go. Meditation leads to an increased understanding of ourselves, and we gradually become free from our mind and discover true wisdom. There are many meditation centers that offer personal guidance, and I really recommend find a center and get started right away.
Every single moment is a great opportunity to see what we have in our mind and let it go. For example, if decision-making gives you a hard time, use those situations as a starting point for the self-reflection process. Instead of being stuck in indecisiveness, take a step back and see what is going on in your mind. Notice the innumerable thoughts and the frustrated emotions. Be particularly observant of any thoughts/emotions that attribute exaggerated meaning or significance to a certain decision, or any fearful thoughts that tell you that you can’t do it. Perhaps you can see how you’ve always tried to avoid pain, take the easy way out, compare yourself with others, ruminate over mistakes, etc. Allow everything to come up and let it go like a passing cloud. You have now started to de-clutter your mind, and uncover your inner wisdom.
You will notice that the decision-making process gradually becomes easier, and more intuitive. This happens because decisions essentially are the flow of nature. Wise decisions appear as notions, and with a cleansed mind, our consciousness can easily pick them up and go with them. A life lived with this mind is a life where we act in the now. This is a life of balance, where our potential is naturally utilized for the good of the world.
Growth and the dissolution of decision-making
The more we meditate, the more wisdom and flow we invite into our lives. Gradually, we realize that the question of good vs poor decisions is not important at all. We don’t live in order to make good decisions; our lives or well-being are not based on that ability. In fact, we don’t even make decisions. Whatever we do is naturally being done as a consequence of nature’s flow. You could say that we have transcended the cause-and-effect chain of good vs bad decisions. We have come to a point where life is just life no matter the circumstances. This is utmost freedom, and living in this way is a truly good decision.
Thank you for reading. Please take a few minutes and check out the video below.
