Our Conditions

Our conditioning is so strong that from the very beginning of our lives we arrive into conditions.

The Cambridge definition for ‘condition’ is: “The particular state that something or someone is in”

We are continually surrounded by conditions, which influences our beliefs, behaviours and thoughts. This list can be endless.  

Whilst walking this morning, I started receiving such deep feelings around my own conditions related to my personal conditioning. I am really beginning to deepen my awareness around my own presence in the world. 

Yesterday I attended a live online meeting with Gabor Maté and he shared how for many years of his life he knew he had a calling and now he feels connected to this. 

This sharing really opened up a huge awareness in me and sparked this reflection. 

Our conditioning begins when we are very young, at first from our parents as we learn to both navigate and manipulate the conditions we are in. If we push the boundaries of those conditions we are either punished, taught a new way of conditioning or guided to understand the importance of boundaries. 

As we grow up, these conditions continue. We learn to follow others, beginning with teachers who educate us, then employers who employ us, and leaders who govern us.  

So we learn to exist within a particular state of being and this becomes what we perceive as normal and socially acceptable as it keeps us within boundaries that maintain this conditioning. But this conditioning can keep us in a ‘condition’ that does not connect us to our true selves, our essence. 

When we begin to question this conditioning, we also question the ‘condition’ we are in. Our health may be affected both physical and psychological and often for many of us we visit a doctor or we are admitted to a hospital. When we arrive we perceive the people we meet as the ones who can help us. This is true to a certain degree, but they are conditioned too. They are conditioned to believe their job is to fix our condition as quickly as possible so that our condition improves and this is achieved within boundaries of practice, which are conditioned too. 

But what happens if we recognise that our condition is changing and we are accelerating with such awareness that this condition we are in no longer serves us. 

Now, this is a powerful place to be but also a challenging place too. Because when we begin to witness our own ‘condition’ we begin to open. And this opening becomes an opportunity to transform and evolve. And this is where we need to be compassionate with ourselves and conscious of those we connect with. 

We are born followers, because if we did not follow we would have died. When we are very young, this following is guided by our exploration to learn about the conditions we are in and the boundaries that exist. Later we begin to leave these conditions and lead ourselves through our lives often practising what we have learned. But we believe we are leading but often we are still following conditions. 

The question is what are we following and where is this leading us to?

This may be the most powerful question we ever ask ourselves.

So, my guidance to you is when you begin to witness the conditions around you are no longer serving you and no longer supporting you, change them. 

Change the conditions you are in, but welcome this change from the awareness within you. 

I have changed my life so many times, simply because I have followed the change that is rising within me and this can be challenging. When this happens to me, I sometimes feel fear and question what is happening inside of me. This fear is often the boundary of what originally conditioned me breaking and this can feel both confusing and overwhelming. 

But it is here that we can begin to lead ourselves. For the one who is leading us now is our essence. And during these transformative times, we need to listen and re-learn from within.

Our essence unlocks the way to our presence and if we bring any condition into this new way of being let it be conscious compassion in creation.

It is here that we can learn to love our true selves, break the conditioning that has held us and walk with our essence into presence. 

It is the souls way of guiding us home and when we live here we are never alone. 

I took this photo during a walk whilst feeling my condition changing from within. 

© Pete Bengry 2025

Credit to myself for seeing this image and to spirit for sharing this with me.