Changes or the Illusion of Stability
It’s been a while since my last post about the journey through Europe and the events it brought with it. And yet, the entire time since then could be described as one big transformation. Most of the assumptions from that not-so-distant period have changed—my environment, plans, people around me, and even my thinking. Am I happy with everything? Absolutely not. Am I open to what’s coming? Yes, without a doubt.
The past two months have proven to me that intangible creative forces hold incredible power in shaping the world around us, and the energetic charge of our intentions, applied to our choices, always brings what we need—even if we don’t realize it or aren’t ready for it. The factor that determines how we react to changes in our surroundings is perception—the filter through which our mind views the world and our place in it. Perception shapes our conclusions, judgments, both external and internal, along with the context in which all these processes occur.
To better understand this mechanism, we need to realize how all these interdependencies form—and it’s quite a complex structure. That’s the introduction. In the rest of this entry, I’ll focus on the creation of change, listening to intuition, and stepping beyond the limitations of our own perception.
Evolutionarily, our mind is a lazy paranoid entity that wants to protect us at all costs—from threats, from uncertainty, or from the illusion of safety, also known as stability. While these elements appear in various moments of our lives, they are, in a broader sense, just temporary transitional states on the sine wave of our journey. They can lead us to situations we’d rather avoid—or, conversely, to places we’d rather never leave because they feel so good.
That’s where perception steps in. It plays the main role in creating our emotional response to what’s happening. Every component of how we see the world is influenced by our memories from the very beginning of our lives. From the start, our mind begins assembling a picture of what our existence should look like. Over time, we recognize the missing pieces in that image and focus on filling in those gaps with experiences and traits we wish to embody.
Our memories are nothing more than a collection of experiences transformed by the mind into a defensive system against the world. It’s based on these memories that we develop attitudes toward specific situations that arise along the way. Our perception of the present moment is rooted in the understanding of what we want to avoid and what we want to create, what makes us feel good, and what triggers negative emotions.
In short: our perceptual filter programs our awareness based on our personal history and the mind’s paranoid tendencies. It drives us away from situations perceived as bad and pulls us toward those that were previously pleasant. At first glance, this mechanism seems flawless. But the problem isn’t the mechanism itself—it’s the ever-changing environment we can’t control.
This theory is based on my personal observations, life events, and countless hours of conversations with people close to me. It’s this entire mix that shaped how I see the phenomena I’m describing. I’ve already outlined how perception can form and function—but how do we actually work with our own filter? That’s a kind of knowledge they don’t teach in school, and most people tend to ignore it altogether. And yet, here lies the key to changing our lives into the ones we truly want.
The world is dualistic, and everything we experience has two or more sides that form a coherent whole. That’s where our perception can harm us the most—without us even realizing it. You can’t truly experience joy without also experiencing sorrow. You can’t feel love without knowing what hate feels like. You can’t live only in the daylight and forget that night exists too.
The world isn’t black and white—it’s full of an intricate scale of grays, with blurry boundaries between one thing and the next. And this is where perception does a lot of invisible work, constantly running in the background.
The effect of our perceptual associations is directly shaped by the path we choose and the decisions we make. I’ll give just one example: hunger.
No one likes to be hungry. It makes us feel irritable, uncomfortable, and our mind races to fix it—placing eating as the highest priority. This shows how emotionally charged food is for our well-being, and how desperately we crave the comfort it brings.
And that’s perfectly fine. But when we look at this dualistically, our mind doesn’t focus on how beneficial hunger can be for our health. Fasting for several days can stimulate regeneration processes—our body eliminates infected or damaged cells.
This is a wide topic, and there’s a lot of professional knowledge on the healing effects of fasting. I’ve personally tried juice fasts, and I know people who guide others through detox processes this way. But today, this serves as a metaphor for perception. Who naturally has positive feelings when thinking about not eating for days?
Exactly.
And that’s where perception kicks in—it digs up every pleasant memory tied to food and its comforting effects, while simultaneously downplaying the health benefits of fasting. The same pattern applies to anything that pushes us outside our safety zone—what’s now popularly called the comfort zone.
This brings me to the main idea behind this entry.
Let’s talk about change, flow, and safety. For any change to occur in our life, we must first ask: What don’t I like about my current situation? Then consider: What actions will this change require from me? And finally: Begin to implement those actions to shape a new reality.
But this whole process of transformation won’t even begin unless we train our mind to follow our decisions—not the other way around. This is the essence of the internal battle to retrain our perception.
No matter the scale of transformation we’re after, at the moment we realize and define it, our desired outcome will likely be out of reach for the mind. And yet, we want it to become our new normal. If we envision something bigger than ourselves, our plans and goals go beyond rational thinking. And we can’t base them on rational emotions—like fear of failure. That’s when perception will resist, clinging to the old, stable version of life—avoiding unnecessary stress or effort.
The cognitive dissonance is this: the euphoria of a dream is based on a vision of something that doesn’t yet exist, and perception can’t match it to any memory—so it can’t trigger the appropriate emotional response to support our actions. This is where determination and belief in our own decisions come in—our emotional intelligence. The main obstacle here is fear—built on rational thought and past experiences. That’s why failure paralyzes some people and fuels others. The difference lies in managing emotional reactions and standing behind the decisions we’ve made for ourselves.
In this context, the words of Beata Pawlikowska from her book In the Jungle of the Subconscious fit perfectly:
"...Nothing will change on its own. It’s not enough to just think that you want it. It’s not enough to understand how it should be. You must personally, persistently, daily, and consistently convince your subconscious to accept the change you want to achieve. Only then will your way of thinking change, and with it, your entire life…"
That kind of methodology is how we begin to gain control over our reactions, leading to a reprogramming of our perception onto new tracks. Over time, what once seemed impossible becomes the new everyday reality. At that point, we transform every aspect of our existence—past, present, and future. And while only one of those truly matters, it’s through it that the other two are affected. Because it is through the present that we influence both past and future simultaneously.
Another important point about change is its inevitability and fluidity. As humans, we tend to attach ourselves to places, people, and things, investing a huge emotional charge into them that often prevents us from letting go of the reality we’ve known. We hold on tight and resist the energy that accompanies change—which is natural from a human standpoint. We don’t want to part ways if we love someone. We feel wronged when we’re fired. It’s hard to make decisions without a guarantee of success. But that’s exactly where the greatest value and challenge lies.
Because our awareness and perception grow most when they’re hit with experiences we’ve never faced before. With time, this approach can become a habit—and we become more capable of navigating new, unexpected situations.
But at the core of this mental resistance to change is the mind’s inclination toward stability and safety, which hesitates to expose itself to challenge. In my view, only outside the reach of our internal, comfort zones can we truly grow as individuals in this material dimension. Every event in life carries an energy, and when properly directed, it can bring us anything we desire—or rather, anything we’re ready to accept.
With a clearer understanding of how change works and how perception is formed, let’s now turn to something else essential: intuition. That inner voice exists in everyone, though not everyone notices it, and even fewer know how to follow it.
I’ve reached a stage in life where my surroundings harmonize beautifully with my natural and cultivated skills. My professional path energizes me and provides a fulfilling sense of purpose. The international scope of my work gives me amazing opportunities to observe the topics that fascinate me. None of this would have happened if I didn’t occasionally shock my own mind with decisions that seemed completely irrational for the time and place I was in.
I’m not a modest man—I sometimes even have narcissistic tendencies. I could write a whole essay praising my decisions and achievements, but that’s not the point right now. Still, there’s one story I’d like to share that ties together change, stability, and breaking past the barriers of perception. About eight years ago, when I was still working as a logistics manager at an event agency in Warsaw, my boss (greetings if you're reading this!) gave me tickets to the Orange Warsaw Festival. One of the headliners was Muse—a band that was constantly in my headphones at the time. I was thrilled and went straight to the concert.
Back then, I had no connection to the concert production world—just things like corporate conferences and hotel retreats. But as the first sounds hit from the stage, a thought crossed my mind: I want to be part of this. I want to work on creating spaces like this.
I smile thinking about it now—currently working another international festival, doing what I love, and waiting for a Gorillaz concert. I know that a small part of my energy and effort helped make this happen.
Those eight years were full of challenges, uncertainties, bold decisions, and a slow-building confidence. But all of it led to a thriving international career and projects I’m proud of (as well as some I’d rather forget). And it all came from a single thought—a spark nurtured over time with consistency and resilience.
The biggest value of that journey lies where the eyes can’t see. Working on concerts may not be unique—but the context of how I got here and the power of intention behind it certainly is, at least to me.
I’m sharing this because it’s the most honest and concrete example I have of the concepts in this text. Each decision that brought me to where I am was, at the time, beyond the reach of my perception. There were no past events to reference—only a leap of faith and a willingness to listen to my intuition.
And I could have stayed in that “stable” job. But I didn’t. I followed the inner hints and used my creative power to shape a reality that serves me and my growth.
Now, let’s not sugarcoat it—intuition doesn’t always lead to joyful or pleasant events. Sometimes it brings things that are hard to understand or accept. That can discourage us and push us back into rational decisions and safe spaces. But as the saying goes: not all that glitters is gold. The true value of an experience often lies far deeper than what our momentary emotions might suggest.
We’re taught to label our experiences as good or bad—it helps the mind categorize and build perception layers. But good and bad are illusions—they are human inventions. Events may be positive or negative, but both are part of the same whole.
Everyone wants to experience only positive events—but how could we truly appreciate them without the contrast of negativity and the states that can push us to the brink of exhaustion? How would we recognize that we’re climbing toward the peak if we hadn’t first realized we were stuck in a valley we no longer wish to be in? How could we remain mindful in life’s lowest moments without having a reference point—an awareness of what it feels like to stand at our own personal summit?
Learning to respect what life brings, facing inevitable change, and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable—that’s our greatest weapon against apathy and the unpredictability of life. I’m going through a tough lesson right now, and sometimes it’s hard to accept that what’s happening is meant for me—that I deserve it. Things are happening that I don’t fully want or understand. But I still believe that our outer reality mirrors our inner self and our relationship with it.
That’s why I take full responsibility for the events I attract through my development, and I share with you what I find valuable. But it all became possible only when I accepted my own intuition and perspective as the main compass for my energy. The rest is just decoration—a byproduct of self-determination and the healthy self-interest I’ve been practicing for years.
Yes, I’ve often been criticized for putting myself first. But it’s precisely because of that I have more love for myself and the world around me—and that surplus is what I can share with those who want it. As for the rest? I’m not concerned. To wrap up this longest entry to date, I simply wish you openness—to change, to life. Let fear be just another emotion, one whose energy you can use to move forward—for yourself, or for others, if you prefer.
Create what you want. You have within you far more energy and power than you even realize. Reach into the unknown—beyond where your mind falters—and don’t look back. It’s in the present moment that you build the power of your existence. All you have to do is understand that mastering your reactions to emotions is possible. And once that happens, you’ll begin to experience events and feelings beyond anything you’ve imagined.
I wondered what kind of images might reflect the atmosphere of this piece. I decided to go with street art from Mexico and Guatemala—an example of how diverse our minds and perceptions can be. Every mind sees the world differently and chooses its own form of expression.
I hope you enjoy them.
P.S. Thank you—for the extremes, for the changes, for the faith in intuition, and for showing me who I am and who I can still become. Thank you, M.
