This is not That

From the Stone Tarot, the Moon; from the Buddhist Quote Cards, Dhammapada 6:76:

Monsters unmask when you surrender to me.

~Alison Stone

          The unconscious is a storehouse of our past experiences and includes associations, impressions and feelings drawn from these encounters. It works in tandem with the conscious mind; when something that is similar to a past experience occurs in the present, the unconscious swiftly sends information. The brain is constantly considering and often acting on these suggestions before we are consciously aware of them. While this system can be helpful in surviving and making intuitive choices, we can also get stuck habitually reacting to stimulus that may seem the same but isn't. The Dhammapada quote offers a solution: "Like someone pointing to treasure is the wise person who sees your faults and points them out. Associate with such a sage. Good will come of it, not bad, if you associate with one such as this." Having an objective person kindly point out our knee-jerk reactions can make us aware of what we're doing and hopefully search out the root cause. Then perhaps we can see that 'this' is not 'that.'