112 SECRETS OF SHAMANISMcause it has always been done that way. If you find true value
in the pattern, you can continue with it more consciously. If
not, try substituting a creative approach and see what you
experience.
If you look closely at your habits, you will find that many
of them are no different from primitive superstitions that you
probably laugh at. Superstitions tend to close off life experi-
ence to you and prevent the risk of novelty.
The first step toward eliminating any habit is simply being
able to tell the truth about it to yourself. Just admitting that
it is a habit can be confronting. In this simple exercise, you
can take a first step toward recognizing your habit patterns.Exercise #5: Recognizing Habit Patterns
Make a list of habitual actions that tend to keep you more
asleep than awake. Become aware of these habitual patterns
and watch yourself each time you do one of them. Do not
judge yourself for your habit; rather, find the humor in it. If
you are unable to laugh, you will find the habit harder to
break. As we mentioned before, laughing tends to break up
patterns and shifts your perspective, enabling you to dissolve
habitual behavior.
Next, examine the pattern or habit in detail. Pay attention
to exactly how you do it or when you do it. If you smoke,
notice when you feel the urge to smoke. When do you actu-
ally pull a cigarette out and light it? How do you smoke it?
What does each puff taste like, smell like, etc.? Become con-
scious of the entire process. Apply this dissection to any be-
havior pattern that has become a habit, whether it is the way
you eat your meals or the way you avoid asking directions
when you are lost.
Without trying too hard, see what alternative actions are
available to you. Try them out. For example, if you are in the
habit of walking the same way to work each day, try a differ-
ent route even if the difference is slight.
Here is a sample list of habitual behaviors you may want
to change:- Traveling the same route to work, school, shopping, etc.
- Eating the same foods for breakfast day after day.
- Getting up or going to bed at the same time each night.
- Wearing the same clothes day after day.
- Using the same figures of speech or phrases.