Take the Box off Your Head

When I began my journey towards the understanding of Third Q, my life was not worth much. My expectations and my achievements were severely limited. My thinking was boxed in, and I suspect that yours is, too.

My comfortable existence in some ways reflects the way many of us live our lives. We feel safe in our own little worlds. We are afraid of stepping outside our boundaries. Even though an amazing world of joy and success awaits us on the other side, we are often unwilling to break free of our self-created boundaries.

It's as if each of us lives our life in a box. However, none of our boxes are the same. Some are larger, some are smaller; some have thicker walls, and some have thinner walls. And interestingly, it seems that people with the most wants, needs, and desires tend to live in tiny boxes that tend not to grow through the years. But limitations are not reserved for those who are poor or unhappy. Even millionaires live in a box. Theirs may be larger, but their boxes are no less limiting. In fact, Max, my mentor, told me once that the same mind it took for him to become a millionaire was not the same one that he needed to become a billionaire. He needed to break out of his millionaire box.

This discussion of mental boxes is more than just a metaphor. The constraints we create in our heads are as real as the walls of a cardboard box; not only do they keep us contained, but they also keep us from seeing what's outside. Fortunately, unlike a cardboard box, the walls we create in our minds are flexible. And as a consequence the more knowledge and openness we bring into our box, the more we can expand the box and thin its walls. Truly enlightened people have large boxes with ultra-thin walls like a balloon, and some, like the Dalai Lama, actually shatter the boundaries of their boxes. Once you realize this truth, you can endeavor to gain the skills necessary to grow your box and, in turn, expand your reality.

As an exercise, cover your head with a box. Leave it there for at least five minutes. Think about the limits of your experience inside the box. What can you see? What are you missing?

Now, take the box from your head. What do you experience? A sense of freedom? Joy? An appreciation of the world around you?

Close your eyes and reflect on your thoughts. Do you find that certain factors are limiting those thoughts? Try to fill your mind with thoughts that are free of the bias of others, thoughts that serve you, thoughts that empower you, thoughts that expand your