Functioning Without the Map
Funcionar sin el mapa
A reflection on how direct experience can replace the habitual filter of conceptual thinking, and how trust allows us to function from a deeper part of our being.
Functioning Without the Map
A reflection on how direct experience can replace the habitual filter of conceptual thinking, and how trust allows us to function from a deeper part of our being.
It is very enjoyable because we experience reality directly, not through the filter of the map. You might have a sense that if this were reality all the time, you would not be able to function, because everything feels so open and unbounded. But in a sense, it is possible, because it can stabilize. A part of our being has already learned to function.
Overdoing the effort
We are overdoing the effort and the map. We need to trust that there is another way of being, one that we are ready for, one rooted in a deeper part of ourselves. It is like riding a bicycle or driving a car: if you have learned to do it, at some point you no longer have to think about it.
Trust as the path forward
The path forward, in a sense, is trust. The gravitational force that pulls us back into contraction, that activates the map and the thinking, is a lack of trust. To trust is to accept the invitation to take the risk of functioning without leaning into control.
When you walk, you do not think "right foot forward, left foot forward." You simply walk. In the same way, you will be able to start functioning from this open place. It will seem almost magical, but it is just functioning. And it is actually much smoother than when you are calculating and controlling. The way forward is the invitation of trusting.