Are You Using Your Mind, Or Is It Using You?
— Eckhart Tolle
Just as you can't see your own eyes without a mirror, you can't recognize the mind's delusion from within that delusion itself.
From the moment we were born, we're given a name, and that is who we think we are. Our education system deepens the illusion by teaching us to identify with our thoughts. We believe this voice in our head is who we are. We become a spectator in our own movie.
This identification is so deep, so pervasive, that we don't even question it - like a fish might never question water. Yet this unconscious fusion with thought is the root of our problems that defy solutions.
My image shows two states of consciousness: in one state we are being used by the mind (the puppet), in the other we are using the mind (the puppeteer).
The shift between these states can't be achieved through thinking - that would be like trying to see your eyes by thinking about them.
Instead, it happens through simple awareness:
- Feel your hands and feet right now
- Notice the space between these words
- Observe your thoughts without getting involved in their content
You don't need to achieve this shift. The awareness required to make it is already here, reading these words.
Pause and notice: which figure reflects your relationship with your mind right now?
The implications go far beyond personal awareness. In leadership, relationships, and every domain of life, this shift from being used by the mind to using it consciously changes everything.
Leaders move from reactive patterns to responsive wisdom. Teams align through shared presence rather than shared pressure.
We don't just free ourselves. We create space for others to do the same. True leadership begins the moment we stop being influenced by our own thoughts.
— Bill
Bill Fox, Founder, LeaderONE, Space Beyond Boundaries, and Forward Thinking Workplaces
Pioneering Leadership from Within | Unlocking Human and Organizational Potential
P. S. Are you curious about a different approach to leadership? One that doesn't require more doing, but invites a new way of being? Learn more about The Anti-Leadership Workshop.