Some sights make me stop and just watch.  On this particular day I saw this extremely large gathering of black birds.  I can't say that they were crows but knowing that a group of crows is called a murder, I fancy that's what this is.  

A murder of crows, a gaggle of geese. a congress of baboons all describe a group of animals.  We human animals have a tendency to gather in groups.  We are hard-wired for connections.  And getting together is what we humans do.  Sometimes these gatherings revel in a "Control Drama" of the Ego which reveals that many people are still living in the most primitive flight or fight syndrome.  With birds it's easy to observe. In the human animal the responses have more names for "the fight".  According to Deepak Chopra these names are intimidation, confrontation, argument, indifference, stubbornness, and manipulation ("How To Get What You Really, Really, Really, Really Want" by Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra).  Carlos Castaneda says that there are only three types of people in this control drama life.  The people are nice, nasty or indifferent. If you don't want to live this way, you have to pull yourself away from "the good opinion of others".

If you want to go beyond these types of responses, you need to understand that you can create a space between the stimulus and the response.  I first learned about this with Stephen Covey in his book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People".  He called using this space "pro-active" and described it as choosing your response instead of responding instantly.  Wayne Dyer calls this space "the witness".  You look at the situation with the eyes of an observer.  Deepak Chopra goes on to explain it as a way of looking without making labels, not judging it as good or bad, don't put any value on it or analyze it.

It's a practice that takes you away from the EGO (described as "Edging God Out" in the book "Lead Like Jesus").  Anything that isn't driven by the ego, is lead by the spirit.  That makes this a spiritual practice that gets easier to do when you practice.  Once you know there is another option, then you have to practice it to make it the default way of acting or reacting to any situation.  Practicing Yoga or any physical activity where you are involved in the movement of your body and focusing on your breathing and activity will help your mind learn to slow down.  Slowing or calming the mind is getting you to a place where you can observe, or witness what is going on, giving you the chance to really be in control of yourself.

Remind yourself:  I choose ease.  I choose peace.  I choose joy.  (Lesson from "Your Spacious Self" by Stephanie Bennett Vogt