1. First of all some ideas that they call meditation feel an awful lot like prayer or affirmations to me. I guess the title doesn't matter to me all that much but I wonder if I'm missing something if I feel they are all basically the same thing. I found the exercises to be great things to practice. The "meditation" in which we are to hope and ask for others to have health and wholeness is fantastic and a tremendous way to get out of my own selfish ways and to think of others, which I need to do more often. The assessment in chapter 11 is another great idea as I feel that taking stock of ourselves and our lives is very important and helpful. How can I fix my life, or at least try and improve it, if I don't know what areas I feel are not helping me make a happy and whole life. Some ideas that work for me and help me with me make sure I'm thinking of others and trying to help others is to make a gratitude list when I'm feeling down or "off" for any reason. Gratitude usually goes a long way in helping my moods improve, along with doses of humility. I'm currently working on improving my interpersonal aspects of my life and making sure the people I do care about know I actually care about them. Not by words but by my actions, I feel this is the way to show people I love them. Words, in my experience, are said to much and there isn't enough action, which I intend to change.
Mike Scales
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI feel like we almost go through these exercises together because I read your posts and sit there just agreeing with you the entire time! I too feel like we are asked to speak to another person or have too much dialogue with ourselves that it can all feel like prayer and a lot of them do start to run together and feel the same. I too have been really trying to focus on my interpersonal characteristics. For me personally, I have been attempting to really allow myself to open up to those people around me and especially the ones I care most about. I have a tendency to close up and guard myself as a form of protection I have learned through past experiences. I think even if we feel like the techniques we see in the class are not our style, are difficult and even may seem awkward, the important thing is that we learn to take time for ourselves, regroup and work on the interpersonal characteristics we talked about.
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences and the things that you are working on within yourself. Your ideas have inspired me and reminded me of the things that I don't often do and should. Like making a gratitude list. Most of the time I do this simply in my head when I am feeling a little too ego-centered and angry about meaningless things. I know that I am strong because I can step back and look at my own thoughts and see that they are not helpful and that I have so much to be grateful for. I have also always believed in actions speaking louder than words, but in my own life my own words tend to prevail. I think it's really important to act out the things you mean and I think I look for this in other people when it comes to honesty and trust. I can only work on my own actions and hope that I am influencing others to do the same. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJuliette Ries
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI think that you are making strides in the right direction when you can immediately identify where improvement is warranted most. It seems that life will always focus on someone whether or not it is yourself or a close relative, significant other, or friend. After thinking of others for a long period of time, don't forget to bring the focus back to yourself and your own personal, emotional, and physical health because if your not okay, it may indeed hinder your health status in a stressful way that you did not expect. Your are right that actions speak louder than words and the physical doing and displaying will make the difference in the long haul. Take care and hope to chat more in further posts to see how your changes are coming about!
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI think that a gratitude list is a very useful tool in helping us move away from ourselves and to begin thinking of those around us. I also believe that when we develop an attitude of gratitude we change our perspective of how we look at others, situations, and even the world around us. It sounds like you have a good handle on assessing yourself. Great post Mike.
Great post and honesty. I think that all of these exercises have been very similar. They are repetitive. However, maybe that is the point. I had little faith that they would be beneficial to me going into them initially. After giving this last round of exercises a real shot, I have found them to be great ways of focusing on things that are too often neglected. Being a better person, often times, gets lost in the shuffle of everyday life. We become more self-centered, and this becomes habit. We get comfortable. If nothing else, these exercises are a way of truly evolving ourselves into a better, stronger, more capable version of what we once were.
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