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awareness
January 2009 
Everything Changes! How our IOS Functions No.11
Posted on Aug 13th, 2008
by 
dannyboy
dannyboy
With this entry we embark on the third and final part of Everything Changes! Here we'll become even more familiar with our internal operating system (IOS). The first section of part three identifies four major reactions triggered by our internal operating system in the face of change. These reactions are a complex and interconnected mix of thoughts and feelings beginning with the need for control, the impact of fear, the need to know, and the implied loss that every change creates. These natural and fundamental barriers are the psychological foundation of our resistance to change. A likely follow up question is what can we do about it? First, it's important to recognize that change can't be eliminated--we all act and in the process create consequences. Second, whether we chose to change or not, no one is exempt from the process. So in the second portion of part three we turn our attention to methods for easing the experience of change. This naturally involves learning to work with our internal operating system to 'upgrade' our reaction to external events. But that comes later, first we need a better understanding of how our internal operating system currently responds to change…
Introduction
S: One way to describe what we've learned so far: change is the perceived difference between what was and what is. From our exercise in part one we learned that everything we do can be seen as actions. And since all of existence operates under the same principals of cause and effect, there's really only one conclusion we can draw: nothing about us, or our existence, escapes change.
In part two we began exploring the effects of change on our internal operating system. This is the system that synthesizes our sensory experiences into thought forms expressed as beliefs, ideas, assumptions, memories and emotions. The rate at which we're experiencing change creates the sensory impression that everything around us is going faster, and indeed it may be. We can witness this accelerated rate of change simply by observing recent history. In the last 100 years, we've created more change than was accomplished in the preceding 1,000 years. And the change that occurred in the preceding 1,000 years, was likely greater than all the change that occurred in 3,000 years before that. In fact, over the 4.6 billion years of earth's history, science has shown that each phase of development has gotten progressively faster. Which brings us to the point of this course; what can we do to ease the effects of change in our lives?
In part three we'll address this question by dividing the material into two sections. Both sections focus on expanding our comprehension of how the internal operating system works. In the first section we look at some common functions of our internal operating system and how it reacts to change. In the second section we begin discussing ways to exert more control of our internal operating system with the added benefit of reducing some of the effects of change. We should recognize that we can't eliminate change, nor would we want to. Our perception of change is simply an early awareness of the process that drives the development and evolution of everything in the universe, and that includes humanity.
The Internal Operating System
S: Let's begin our discussion with a little further illumination of the internal operating system and why referring to it as such, is a pretty good metaphor for how it works.
Q: Is everyone familiar with the operating system on a computer? What is it?
A: It's the basic programming or software that allows all the other hardware and software on a computer to work. Without the operating system nothing else functions on the computer.
S: This is pretty much true for us, too. Without our internal operating system we wouldn't have the ability to absorb the information collected by our senses. We couldn't convert that information into useable knowledge and store it for future interactions. Just like a computer we can't function without an internal operating system.
Q: Most of you use a computer, right? So how often are you aware of what the operating software is doing when you're using the computer?
A: Not very often. The operating system runs in the background. Its operations are mostly obscured from us. It's functioning, but we're not aware of everything that it does. Right?
S: Well, again, this is a pretty good description of how our internal operating system works also. We're certainly aware of having thoughts, memories, and emotions, but until we started talking about how our operating system works in part two, it was largely obscured from us, too. Would you agree?
S: Ok, what I want to impress upon you is the complete and total dependence we have on our internal operating system. It is the system that enables us to assimilate information, to think thoughts and feel emotions, to operate independently of others, to be self-aware, and to interact with the people and things in our environment. It is the basic software that allows all our other capacities to function.
S: Everything we discuss in part three is focused on learning more about our internal operating system. Because the more we understand about this system the more control we have over our interaction with our surrounding environment.
Q: There's one more analogy that I'd like to draw between our operating system and the operating system on a computer. What can we do if we start having trouble with the operating system on a computer?
A: Upgrade! We simply buy a faster more powerful operating system and upgrade the old one.
Q: What do you think, is it possible to upgrade our internal operating system?
A: Absolutely. Just by becoming more aware of how we interact with our environment we are making the functioning of our operating system more visible. But that's not the only means of upgrading our system. We have yet to recognize that our perception of change provides us with another means of upgrading our system. Change presents a challenge to our internal operating system's view of the way things are. When we change, new learning takes place, creating new thinking that produces new actions. This expansion leads to more resources for addressing and solving the problems of living.
S: It's important to understand our programming is a lot more complex than the system that runs a computer. It takes time and practice to start becoming aware of how we're responding, and more time to develop and implement more productive responses. But let me assure you it can be done, and it's the shortest, fastest route to upgrading your experience of virtually everything in life, including change.
Note to reader: Thanks for reading! This series of blogs begins with Everything Changes! Fundamental Principles of Change No.1. As always, I would be delighted to have you share your comments or ask any questions you may have.
Copyright 2008. The information here is reproduced from Everything Changes! Understanding and Dealing with the Change in our Lives. It is provided for personal use. You are welcome to share it with your friends. Otherwise the material may not be reproduced, copied or used in any other way without written permission from the author, Dan Richardson.
Introduction
S: One way to describe what we've learned so far: change is the perceived difference between what was and what is. From our exercise in part one we learned that everything we do can be seen as actions. And since all of existence operates under the same principals of cause and effect, there's really only one conclusion we can draw: nothing about us, or our existence, escapes change.
In part two we began exploring the effects of change on our internal operating system. This is the system that synthesizes our sensory experiences into thought forms expressed as beliefs, ideas, assumptions, memories and emotions. The rate at which we're experiencing change creates the sensory impression that everything around us is going faster, and indeed it may be. We can witness this accelerated rate of change simply by observing recent history. In the last 100 years, we've created more change than was accomplished in the preceding 1,000 years. And the change that occurred in the preceding 1,000 years, was likely greater than all the change that occurred in 3,000 years before that. In fact, over the 4.6 billion years of earth's history, science has shown that each phase of development has gotten progressively faster. Which brings us to the point of this course; what can we do to ease the effects of change in our lives?
In part three we'll address this question by dividing the material into two sections. Both sections focus on expanding our comprehension of how the internal operating system works. In the first section we look at some common functions of our internal operating system and how it reacts to change. In the second section we begin discussing ways to exert more control of our internal operating system with the added benefit of reducing some of the effects of change. We should recognize that we can't eliminate change, nor would we want to. Our perception of change is simply an early awareness of the process that drives the development and evolution of everything in the universe, and that includes humanity.
The Internal Operating System
S: Let's begin our discussion with a little further illumination of the internal operating system and why referring to it as such, is a pretty good metaphor for how it works.
Q: Is everyone familiar with the operating system on a computer? What is it?
A: It's the basic programming or software that allows all the other hardware and software on a computer to work. Without the operating system nothing else functions on the computer.
S: This is pretty much true for us, too. Without our internal operating system we wouldn't have the ability to absorb the information collected by our senses. We couldn't convert that information into useable knowledge and store it for future interactions. Just like a computer we can't function without an internal operating system.
Q: Most of you use a computer, right? So how often are you aware of what the operating software is doing when you're using the computer?
A: Not very often. The operating system runs in the background. Its operations are mostly obscured from us. It's functioning, but we're not aware of everything that it does. Right?
S: Well, again, this is a pretty good description of how our internal operating system works also. We're certainly aware of having thoughts, memories, and emotions, but until we started talking about how our operating system works in part two, it was largely obscured from us, too. Would you agree?
S: Ok, what I want to impress upon you is the complete and total dependence we have on our internal operating system. It is the system that enables us to assimilate information, to think thoughts and feel emotions, to operate independently of others, to be self-aware, and to interact with the people and things in our environment. It is the basic software that allows all our other capacities to function.
S: Everything we discuss in part three is focused on learning more about our internal operating system. Because the more we understand about this system the more control we have over our interaction with our surrounding environment.
Q: There's one more analogy that I'd like to draw between our operating system and the operating system on a computer. What can we do if we start having trouble with the operating system on a computer?
A: Upgrade! We simply buy a faster more powerful operating system and upgrade the old one.
Q: What do you think, is it possible to upgrade our internal operating system?
A: Absolutely. Just by becoming more aware of how we interact with our environment we are making the functioning of our operating system more visible. But that's not the only means of upgrading our system. We have yet to recognize that our perception of change provides us with another means of upgrading our system. Change presents a challenge to our internal operating system's view of the way things are. When we change, new learning takes place, creating new thinking that produces new actions. This expansion leads to more resources for addressing and solving the problems of living.
S: It's important to understand our programming is a lot more complex than the system that runs a computer. It takes time and practice to start becoming aware of how we're responding, and more time to develop and implement more productive responses. But let me assure you it can be done, and it's the shortest, fastest route to upgrading your experience of virtually everything in life, including change.
Note to reader: Thanks for reading! This series of blogs begins with Everything Changes! Fundamental Principles of Change No.1. As always, I would be delighted to have you share your comments or ask any questions you may have.
Copyright 2008. The information here is reproduced from Everything Changes! Understanding and Dealing with the Change in our Lives. It is provided for personal use. You are welcome to share it with your friends. Otherwise the material may not be reproduced, copied or used in any other way without written permission from the author, Dan Richardson.
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