Ever see the movie Groundhog Day? Bill Murray is faced with living the same day over and over again until he can get it right. Ever feel like you are living Groundhog Life? It seems the same thing keeps happening again and again.

In his bestselling book, “Living With The Devil” Stephen Batchelor writes of the Devils Circle. A man lost in the desert can walk for hours through the sands until in the distance he sees a set of footsteps leading to the horizon. His despair turns to elation as he now has a path to take him forward. However, his joy turns back to despair as he realizes the tracks are his own. Perhaps because one leg is slightly shorter, or perhaps an injury, he consistently veered left or right, tracing a vast circle while convinced he was walking in a straight line.

In Sanskrit, the term “Samsara” describes life’s tendency to repeat itself. In Tibetan it is “Khor ba” which means “circling.” In German, vicious cycle is teufelkreis, or devils circle. The Devils circle is addictive as we experience false highs along the way and it invites us to restart the same journey, with the same predictable results. Eventually, it leads to a numbness. A lack of awareness. A mindlessness, not a mindfulness.

Just because you seem to be taking a new path doesn’t mean you will end up in a new location. Old habits and old biases may get you right back to the same beginning and keep you in your own Devil’s Circle. Breaking old habits, whether they be good or bad, is hard. Taking action to forge a new path takes courage and work. Repeating the same old tired patterns may be comfortable but the results predictable and uninspiring. No one ever said this was going to be easy but from my perspective it is far better to consciously work to get out of the circle.

Just an opinion. Stay Inspired…

This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 2:39 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.