What Are You "Piggybacking"?

My daughter brought a new friend into the house yesterday.  He is brown, black and white and, for her, a musician, was already appropriately named Jagger.  Though the size of a rabbit, he is actually a guinea pig that people in the guinea pig world call "piggies".  For a guinea pig, Jagger is quite large and is a solid weight in your hands.

Another 'solid weight' can be associated with the term piggybacking.  It literally means carrying someone on your back or shoulders.  Close your eyes and imagine a friend or spouse on your back or shoulders. (Kids don't count!)  You can almost visualize your body caving to support the weight and your breath altering to accommodate the heavy burden. 

Now I want you to imagine that the person on your back is not someone you like. They are mean, judgmental and hurtful.  See yourself making the choice to stand up straight suddenly dumping them right off of you. Feel the immediate sense of relief, freedom and joy that sweeps through your body. Breathe it in.

Imagine now that the weight that had you all hunched over was not another person but, instead, a rough burlap bag filled with all of the feelings, memories, and emotional 'trauma' you carry around.  Can you make the connection that we still have the same choice before us? We can still choose to suddenly open our hands to drop that weight behind us.

"I Am what I Am and that’s all what I Am."  Popeye

As much as bad days are temporary, in truth, so are good days. We need to understand how to step back from both so we witness each in their own way.  Whether the day is bad or good, our Atman (true inner Self) remains constant.

We use term guinea pig as an expression of something being tested out on us: "What am I, your guinea pig?"  So, here's an experiment for you to try. When the next challenging moment, day, or week surprises you, challenge the situation with that very question...what am I, your guinea pig??  The answer that then follows in my head almost as automatically as emphatically is "No!".  I choose how my day will be. I choose if I am happy or sad. I choose.

"As you witness what you see, consciously but silently state "What I see constantly changes and only has a temporary reality. This is not real and thus is not who I Am. I Am unchangeable and eternal."

As you witness what you hear, consciously but silently state "What I hear constantly changes and only has a temporary reality. This is not real and thus is not who I Am. I Am unchangeable and eternal."

As you witness what you smell and taste, consciously but silently state "What I smell and taste constantly changes and only has a temporary reality. This is not real and thus is not who I Am. I Am unchangeable and eternal."

As you witness the sensations your skin, muscles, bones, and organs present, consciously but silently state "What I feel physically constantly changes and only has a temporary reality. This is not real and thus is not who I Am. I Am unchangeable and eternal."

As you witness your mind and emotions, consciously but silently state "What I think and the emotions I feel constantly change and only have a temporary reality. This is not real and thus not who I Am. I Am unchangeable and eternal."  http://www.meditationsociety.com/week31.html

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