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December 9, 2017 at 7:33 pm in reply to: Daughter Is Upset I Met With Estranged Sister Just Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer #181301
PeterParticipantYou followed your heart and did what you felt was right. There is no need for you to apologise or defend your choice. Is your daughter worried that you might get sucked back into unhealthy family drama? Ensuring that you have set boundaries might reassure her. From what you have posted it is possible that seeing your family will trigger unresolved issues so you need to be careful.
You and your daughter might find it helpful to work through the following book: ‘Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves’ by C terry Warner (the book focus is on taking ownership of our own emotions and story. There are some who feel this means letting those that hurt us off the hook. It does not. We cannot change what others think, feel, or do. We can though work on ourselves. There are times when love requires a relationship to end and if that moment comes it is not out of anger or list of justifications that it is ended. It ends from a place of love. No bridges burned just healthy boundaries. )
December 9, 2017 at 7:01 pm in reply to: Please Help: I don't feel or act like a good person anymore #181293
PeterParticipant“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”—Joh n Muir
Spring turns to Summer, Summer turns to Fall, Fall turns to Winter, Winter turns to Spring. Life is a cycle of constant change, death (as in letting go) and rebirth.
Physiologically the key moments of transition happen as we mature: 1. Infancy: 2. Early childhood: 3. Middle childhood: 4. Late childhood: 5. Adolescence: 6. Early adulthood: 7. Mature adulthood: 8. Old age:
When we enter into the transition of early adulthood we are confronted with what we were taught – school, societal expectations, family traditions, expectations, labels… and our own experience of life. The task here is to make what we believe our own. More often then not we start this task unconsciously which is why we might lash out at others.
We want to belong and we want to become our authentic self. The tension we experience as we take ownership of our thinking and feeling can be experienced as threatening to those that love us as well as ourselves. If we think and want different things then, what we might think, our family wants of us do we still belong, will we still be loved. In this uncertainty we lash out, angry not just at others but mostly at ourselves which we project onto others. It can be a very confusing time
Making the process of the transitions of life conscious we can respond to the uncertainties instead of react to them. This is where the practice of meditation comes in handy. When we own our thoughts and emotions there is no need to lash out
There is no shame in seeking out professional to help you untangle your thoughts and emotions. If there is no one in your area there are plenty of helpful books. You may find the work of Clarissa Pinkola Estés helpful – ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves (If your open to the idea of symbolic language and story) Or David Ricco – How to be an Adult (everyone should read that book)
PeterParticipant“At every stage of life, our inner self requires the nurturance of loving people attuned to our feelings and responsive to our needs who can foster our inner resources of personal power, lovability, and serenity. Those who love us understand us and are available to us with an attention, appreciation, acceptance, and affection we can feel. They make room for us to be who we are.”
“When we feel unsafe with someone and still stay with him, we damage our ability to discern trustworthiness in those we will meet in the future.”
“The opposite of interpersonal trust is not mistrust. It is despair. This is because we have given up on believing that trustworthiness and fulfillment are possible from others. We have lost our hope in our fellow humans.”
“The foundation of adult trust is not “You will never hurt me.” It is “I trust myself with whatever you do.”
― David Richo: How to Be an Adult in Relationships
December 7, 2017 at 9:41 am in reply to: Why do I get easily jealous of others instead of feeling happy for them? #180945
PeterParticipant“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.” ― Pema Chödrön
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – yoda
My intention is not to be flippant… that is exactly what you will discover as you practice noticing your jealousy and choosing to allow the thoughts and emotion to pass through vice fixating on them and projecting them onto others.
By noticing and acknowledging that being jealous of others is not who you wish to be you are on the path to move past such emotions. You also appear to be aware that your jealousy is a projection of anger onto others whose way of being somehow reveals perceived personal shortcomings within yourself. Knowing this you can start to practice being grateful to those that show you where you hope to do better and in this way, can be happy for them and yourself.
(Practice when viewed as trying assumes that what we are trying to do is perfect and certain which can close the door to learning better and loving oneself as we are. Practice as a way of being and doing has the goal of learning better and learning better doing better which opens the door to creativity and gratefulness. )
“The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else’s eyes. ”
“Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.”― Pema Chödrön
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This reply was modified 8 years ago by
Peter.
PeterParticipantTrust your intuition. You may find the work of Clarissa Pinkola Estés helpful – ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype’
“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”
Open the door and walk through
“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories… water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.” ― Clarissa Pinkola Estés
PeterParticipantHaving a professional therapist to talk to can be a great help in untangling one’s thoughts and emotions. It sounds like you’re in a place where your open to that and ready to do the work to help you move forward. Trust your intuition.
Your post reminded me of a book I read long ago – ‘Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life by Philip Simmons’
“From our first faltering steps, we may fall into disappointment or grief, fall into or out of love, fall from youth or health. And though we have little choice as to the timing or means of our descent, we may, fall with grace, to grace.”
I believe that to be a truth. The moment we are born we are falling. We can fall arms and legs flailing around in fear and panic or like a skilled sky diver arms and legs spread out enjoying the ride.
PeterParticipantThe danger in projecting into an imagined future is that you forget how to be present in the moment. So even when you arrive where you dreamed of going you might not recognize it when you get there. Anger is a double edge sword it can help you identify what you want to change but also cut you off from who you want to be.
You can have what your looking for where you’re at… if you allow yourself to be where you’re at.
PeterParticipantI read somewhere that at some level those that become therapists do so in the hopes of fixing and understanding their own issues. If you were helping someone with this empty feeling how would you say to them?
Everyone needs to feel needed and appreciated however you want to be careful it doesn’t become a compulsion and or means to distract yourself from your own becoming.
December 5, 2017 at 11:05 am in reply to: Please Help: I don't feel or act like a good person anymore #180641
PeterParticipantExperiencing Spiritual emptiness at times is normal. As for these intense emotions your feeling it sounds like you’re in a transition stage and have lost connection with your sense of self. During a transition it is also ‘normal’ to feel lost and irritated, and being lost and irritated lashing out.
If this is a time of transition is it possible that your experiencing expressed (and or unexpressed) expectations from family, friends, society… to be, think and act in a way that isn’t authentic to you. That could explain the anger and ‘hatred’ especially if you’re not sure about the path you want to follow. That anger and hate could be a projection onto others about how you feel about yourself.
A professional therapist could help you sort out your thinking and emotions as well as teach to techniques for dealing with anger and the like.
PeterParticipantTalking to a therapist can be a great help in sorting through and untangling emotions and thoughts.
It sounds as if you have a good understanding of how this anxiety is impacting your life so listening to your intuition about seeking out help may be a good idea.
PeterParticipantYou did nothing wrong, absolutely nothing and in no way harmed your cousin
PeterParticipantIts possible that organised religion, “orthodox” or “pagan” is not for you. There is no requirement of having to join a group in order to explore your path.
Perhaps taking a step back from religion for a while might help create some space for you discover your next step. Exploring Kundalini Yoga as a practice could also be beneficial in creating that space.
Joseph Campbell study into the stories we live by is a neutral look into religious teachings from around the world including the “pagan”. His work might be a great resource for you.
PeterParticipantThe history behind the word paganism is fascinating. From your post, I assume you are using the word to refer to spiritual teachings other then those of Judaism Islam or Christianity.
You may find Joseph Campbell study on Kundalini Yoga very helpful. “Masks of Oriental Gods: Symbolism of Kundalini Yoga,” and Lecture II.1.3 The Sound Aum and Kundalini Yoga
The audio books are great and can be found http://www.jcf.org
PeterParticipantChange happens slowly then all at once – every victory is a victory! Congratulations on your success the next victory is just around the corner. Well done!
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This reply was modified 8 years ago by
Peter.
PeterParticipantWe are overwhelmed and become stuck when are mind tries answer all the questions we have at once.
Change happens slowly then all at once. Change starts with focusing on one doable thing at a time. My suggestion is that that first thing is not this fuzzy thing we think of as purpose.
I have read many books on the subject of purpose and have found that the question is a unskillful distraction. As Joseph Campbell noted its pointless to ask the question when you are the answer. You are the Answer! Your Being in all its messiness is Purpose. Life does not have some mysterious purpose that you must somehow find. You are already purpose. Its not what you will do that will create a purpose but who you are, your being as you act in this world that will. From this perspective of being everything you experience is purpose.
TS Eliot wrote “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” You can choose to go down this road frantically, longingly seeking out purpose that is one path but there is another to go down this road calmly and with assurance that you will return home and see it for the first time as it is, for what it is. And in seeing it so find yourself able to say Yes, Yes to all of it.
I’ve been re-reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Today I read the following: “stuckness shouldn’t be avoided. An egoless acceptance of stuckness is a key to an understanding of all”. So Great News! You are just where you need to be to get to where you want to go! The first step towards change perhaps learning how to give egoless acceptance of where you are. No need for labels, like purpose, for your experiences. Accept where you are and you will know where you need to go next. One step at a time. Trust Life and trust your inner self and one day you will find yourself content that you gave life purpose and it being you is amazing.
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This reply was modified 8 years ago by
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