Escaping the World of Vanity and Self-Doubt

Have you ever felt so crestfallen by your own interpretation of reality that you opted to leap to a parallel one?

I recently saw an entirely unflattering photo of myself that put me in an uncomfortable vanity spiral. Not that physical beauty has ever been my top priority, but this image was so far off from my mental image of myself that I began to question everything.

It’s good to have a close friend nearby at times like these. I was lucky to have one of the best, but try as she might, I still lay awake in bed that night, teary-eyed, contemplating a serious adjustment to my overall confidence and presentation. Yes, it’s true; even people with well-developed spirituality and knowledge can be plagued by some of the most common human conditions like vanity and self-doubt.

As I descended despondently into that liminal plane between waking and dreaming, I remembered an episode from the Devi Bhagavatam in which the Supreme Godhead in the form of Mother Divine reveals multiple parallel worlds to the Gods of Creation, Maintenance and Destruction, respectively, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva.

She shows them infinite copies of the one world they believed Themselves to occupy.

They’re astonished to discover copies of Themselves in each of these planets, these planes of existence all running simultaneously.

As I was falling asleep thinking of Devi, I said to myself, “I will be leaping to a parallel world in which I am confident and radiant.” I literally pictured my current self sliding sideways into another plane of existence where my outside matches the love, curiosity, playfulness, and compassion I have on the inside.

The next day, the world was ever so slightly changed. I certainly felt a shift. In addition to confidence and radiance there were tidal waves of reciprocal friendliness. I changed and the world around me responded. My beautiful friend who had helped me the night before quoted Anais Nin, saying, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” This aligns perfectly with wisdom from my Vedic studies; that the consciousness of the knower is reflected in the known.

There are as many worlds and universes as there are states of mind, both negative and positive. Leaping to another world is as simple as deciding to elevate our perspective, emphasizing what’s good and what’s possible.

Waking up in a world that’s full of potential, where solutions abound, starts with recognizing our own power to create and choose which plane of existence we wish to dwell in. And we can look damn good living in it.

Wishing you worlds and worlds of abundance and the frame of mind to claim them.

(Looking to recognize your power to create and choose a life you love? Consider learning Vedic Meditation. Learn more here. https://www.jameyhoodmeditation.com)