Running on Instinct

Anyone who has taken a martial art would know of this one. You work hard through all the drills and forms, and finally comes sparring day. For most people, the moment the referee says "Fight!" all the forms and drills suddenly get thrown out the window and you either freeze or spar in a way that is barely recognizable to your instructor.

This example about sparring illustrates how one's body and mind have not yet assimilated the forms and techniques to the point that they can be executed without conscious thought. In short, one's reactions have not yet become instinctive. This holds true in any endeavor, whether it be playing the piano or playing a sport.

Instinct is what takes over in those very fluid situations when there is literally not enough time for the conscious mind to think through everything that needs to be done in order to respond to the situation. A punch about to connect to your face, a speedball thrown by a pitcher, playing the drums in a rock concert, all of these are examples of situations that require an almost instantaneous response without much conscious intervention.

In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell constantly refers to the 10,000 hour rule, which states that to achieve mastery in any one skill, one needs to keep practicing and utilizing that skill for at least 10,000 hours. Practice literally makes perfect.

Physically, the constant repetition builds up one's muscle memory in order to properly execute a particular technique. Mentally, two things happen. One is that by continually using certain memories, it becomes easier to access them since the neurological pathways towards those memories are more developed. Just compare the newbie graphic artist who constantly needs to check the Help section on Photoshop versus the master graphic artist who can make dazzling images in just a few minutes. One is putting more energy trying to remember, while the other is more focused on being creative.

The second thing that happens on the mental level is that one's subconscious gets trained to recognize and respond to certain stimuli, even without conscious intervention. I've mentioned before that the subconscious plays an important role in esoteric spirituality and occult practice, and the way to train the subconscious is through constant repetition. The subconscious is the repository of memories and easily receives information, even tidbits that one is not aware of. We've heard of stories about people suddenly getting jittery or alert for no reason upon entering a room or reaching a place, only to find out later that danger was lurking nearby. Their subconscious mind was picking up cues that their conscious mind was not aware of. That's how powerful the subconscious can be. If you can train yourself to be more in tune with your subconscious, you will be very formidable indeed.

The subconscious though is like a dumb servant. It will follow commands faithfully, without regard to whether it is right or wrong. This is where the conscious mind and the will come in, in order to keep a firm leash on the subconscious. The genie on the lamp who grants three wishes is most likely an allusion to the subconscious. It is said that to engage the subconscious, one must repeat a command three times (hence the three wishes). The first command is to alert the subconscious, the second repetition is to make the subconscious notice, and then the third is to affirm one's command.

If we go a little deeper and look at it from the energy perspective, the intent towards learning a particular skill creates a thought-form. Since energy follows your thoughts, if you keep repeating the same thought, it gains more energy and thus becomes more powerful. This thought-form then resides in one's aura, ready to attract the energies that will allow it to fulfill its original intent. In this sense, we can call it instinct, because there is action without conscious thought.

But just as one can build up the instinct in order to make one more competitive, the same can also be said about developing negative instincts that can get one in trouble or at least make one's life miserable. Did you ever mouth off a comment without thinking, only to regret it later and wonder why you ever said something at all? That's the type of instinct you don't want.

Unfortunately, a lifetime of social and cultural bias, TV, media, aggressive advertising and a few bad role models along the way have engendered some of the worst instincts in us. Remember, the subconscious is a sponge for information, so all the programming we haven't noticed has been bombarding us since childhood. That's definitely more than 10,000 hours worth of bad social programming and you can understand now why it can be so hard to break a habit. These instincts can also manifest as compulsive behavior. You automatically do something just because.

You can forgive everyone in the comfort of your room, but once you encounter the person who can push your buttons, all sorts of reactions (even just in your mind) start coming out. Stressful situations often trigger one's instincts, so you often react before your rational mind kicks in. Throw emotions into the mix and it can be some time before you realize your mistake, if at all. The problem is that these reactions, whether physical, emotional or mental, create karmic traces that one has to deal with later on.

The trick is to exercise persistent effort in eradicating negative instincts. Those negative instincts took years to develop, but they can also be unlearned, as long as one is willing to put in the time and effort to change them. This is also called character building.

At best, instincts help us become more competitive and efficient, and frees up our mind to focus on other important details of a task or project. At their worst, our instincts can get us into all sorts of trouble, and prevent us from achieving our full potential. I don't know about you, but that's enough incentive for me to start the process of reforming the type of instincts that I carry.

One of the esoteric methods that Master Choa Kok Sui revealed in order to help in one's character building is called Introspection and Firm Resolution. When you get up in the morning, before taking a shower, review what you did the previous day. Did you hurt anyone physically, emotionally or mentally? Were you fair in your dealings with others? Did you indulge in any of your addictions, such as gambling? You don't need to tell anyone your wrongdoings, but you need to be honest with yourself. It's like practicing the Sacrament of Confession on yourself everyday.

Once you have identified a situation where you acted inappropriately, mentally erase the situation and instead imagine that you are acting or speaking correctly and appropriately, and then affirm that in case a similar situation in the future comes up, you will act in the right way. What this does is that it programs your subconscious to act correctly, so that you become instinctive in a good way. This is also the reason it's good to do introspection soon after waking up, because the subconscious is still at its most receptive soon after waking. The other time the subconscious is receptive is just before falling asleep (that's why your last thought before falling asleep is important; make sure it's a good thought). However, many people may fall completely asleep before completing the review of one's day, so doing introspection in the morning is better for most.

It can take a LOT of days of introspection and firm resolution before any noticeable effect is achieved. The key is one-pointedness of aim and effort. You're trying to de-program years of bad instincts, so it really takes time. No need to beat yourself up if you repeat a mistake. Just pick yourself up and keep going at it. Just remember that while Rome wasn't built in a day, it WAS built. I suppose one can already be considered a saint if one has all of one's instincts in order. No more instinct to criticize anyone who does not agree with one's opinions. No instinct to shout or even mentally curse the driver who cut him off at the road.

This is the work of a lifetime, but anything worth doing usually is. And we all have to start somewhere. The Chinese have a saying that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. Well, if we want to develop those good instincts we have at least 10,000 hours to put in (according to Gladwell), and it all starts with one thought. It's the thought that counts, they say, and in this case it's so true.