Lojong Slogan 30: Don't Be So Predictable

This is part 30 of my series on Lojong, a Buddhist mind training techniqueThis slogan asks that we have a look at our automatic reactions so that we can be mindful of what has simply become habitual. Habits are just that, they can be broken, modified, curbed.We tend to go about our days on automatic pilot; when someone brings harm to us we react a certain way and perhaps hold a grudge for a long time out of habit; when someone praises us we react by feeling a certain way (some of us feel good, others not really); when encountering stress we react in predictable ways. When we aim to break these programmed ways of being, end these automatic responses, we are practicing mindfulness as taught with this slogan. By becoming less predictable and deciding how to react we begin to live in the present moment instead of allowing our past to dictate where we are or how we are in the world. It allows us to detach from the ego centered mind and open our eyes to a new way of being; a way of freedom.