Gooday Friends!
It seems all this work we are doing on gaining self-knowledge does indeed have a purpose. We are not only trying to wake up so that we may live life more consciously and be at peace within ourselves but that we can also live in peace with others; after all, we must live in relationship to and with others.
The author says, "the more clearly we can see our own inner conflicts, contradictions and inconsistencies, the less harm we will cause y projecting them onto other people. Likewise, the more clearly we can see our strength and aptitudes, the more delight we will have in living and the more positively we will influence and affect other people."
All this self-knowledge will help you to become comfortable with yourself or at least knowledgeable enough to make the changes you desire and create more ease and grace in your relationships.
The questions for today are:
. In what instances does knowing yourself give you stability? How has it helped you?
. What is your process for bringing yourself to a state of inner peace when in the midst of conflict?
. How do you determine your strength and weaknesses?
Enjoy the world beyond yourself!
Rev. Sylvia
Knowing myself gives me stability because through my life lessons I know that things will ALWAYS get better and that each situation is an opportunity to learn more about my lifes journey My process for being or returning to inner peace is to ask myself the question from an earlier lesson Am I willing to see this situation from a different point of view I have learned that anger is really a waste of time and it NEVER solves anything but regrets almost everything so why bother (This certainly comes with age and first hand experiences) I determine my strengths and weaknesses by not calling them strengths and weaknesses I call them the things that IAM good at and the things I need to work on. Language is very important in how we create the images or pictures in our minds so I see myself building on those things that IAM not as good at and enhances those things that IAM good at or do well with. Once I realized that IAM the common denominator in my life and everything is to teach me more about me and the kind of person I want to be.
ReplyDeleteAt first read, I focused on "the more clearly we can see our own inner conflicts, contradictions and inconsistencies, the less harm we will cause by projecting them onto other people." I was in full agreement. Yes, if only I was more responsible then I wouldn't be such a bad person. It was not until the third read that my focus shifted to the next sentence. "Likewise, the more clearly we can see our strength and aptitudes, the more delight we will have in living and the more positively we will influence and affect other people." The thought occurred to me, 'wait a minute, I am more than just responsibilities. I am fun'. Now for an eldest child who has spent her whole life trying to set a good example for her younger siblings, I have to admit that life has not been very fun for me. I have spent a lot of my life worried about other people and wishing for other people to be happy. I thought that was who I am, that was my strength. But I am fun. I have a quick wit, a great sense of humor and a great big laugh. Unfortunately, I have often shut off that part of me because it didn’t fit into my ‘responsible’ image. I can see myself as a whole person, with all of my characteristics, not judging any of them. I guess this answers the first two questions posed to us today by Rev. Sylvia. What if I brought fun to my commitments, fun to my responsibilities? If I can accept my whole self, not just those parts that fit into a contrived image, then I can reach a point of stability and some peace of mind to hold onto in the midst of conflict. Not having had access to my full self has limited my ability to feel delight in living.
ReplyDeleteThis is what came to me as I read the lesson this morning. I am part of a greater picture, just one speck in the Body of Light. Yet, it is important that I do my work which is to complete my divine plan because I play a part in the great tapestry of life. When I am gentle and accepting of myself and all of my “stuff”, then it is easier to be gentle, forgiving and patient with others. I know I’m not perfect; however, as a daughter of God I can look past my imperfections, strive to do better and assist my sisters and brothers who are traveling along the path with me. For together we create a beautiful symphony with God as the eternal conductor.
ReplyDeleteIn fits of rage and anger, knowing myself has given great stability to many situations. In that knowing of myself, I can strongly hear my inner voice telling me to calm down. That stability provides time for me to analyze the situation and deal with it from a point of love as opposed to a point of out of control anger or self righteous superiority. This stability in times of conflicts has saved me from many of unpleasant outcomes.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated on an earlier blog, silently saying the word NAMASTE', instantly calms me down. It allows me to INSTANTLY see the god in the situation and in all parties involved. At times, it will take repeating the word more than once, but it always work. The test of mastery is for me to push the ego back in every instance in order to address all situations.
I determine my strengths and weaknesses by how I give free reign to my ego. The more I keep the ego under control, the more I recognize my strength of self control and Godliness. Whenever my ego is allowed unrestricted freedom, the outcomes become a disaster and shows how much I lack self control. When my weaknesses are staring me in the face, I don't feel so great. So, to avoid this unpleasant inner feeling, I put forth extra effort to be strong by listening and following my inner promptings over the loud protesting of my ego.
NAMASTE'
Fisher
I and my partner are planning a wedding (whew!!). I have just come to the realization that we have different processes. I thought someone was just being stubborn (not me of course). :) I am a paralegal by profession and we are usually working under strict deadlines. One of my strenghts is being able to access a situation or project and get it done. I have come to operate that way in my life as well, I see something that needs to be done and I do it, I don't talk it to death, I don't agnozie over it, I do the research and I get the job done, that is my process, and it works for me. I have had to take a step back and allow my partner to follow their process and not look at it as a weakness on my part that things are not getting done as quickly as I would like. Reading todays lesson and all the lessons leading up to today have helped me. Being in a relationshipe is about respecting other peoples hearts, feelings and even their process and doing so is not a weakiness. So when the process is not going my way I just take a breath and say peace, all will get done when it is supposed to.
ReplyDeleteI think Knowing and embracing the truth of who you are leads to enormous peace and comfort, which leads to seeking loving responses to many of your challenges. I find that when you accept and live in your own personal truth, you are more accepting and non-judgemental of others and how they are showing up in life.
ReplyDeleteWhen my life is in conflict I observe how uncomfortable I am, usually in the area of my solar plexus. This is my flag to quickly find another way to see whatever is causing the conflict in a non fearful and threating way. I have gotten so much better at this process in the last 10 years. I have discovered that whenever you challenge yourself to see something in a different way, you begin to feel a level of peace almost immediately and suffering begins to dissapate. I have also discovered, that when you search for a way to see something differently, you always find a new way to look at the situation, without fail.
I have found that the best way that I have been able to determine my strenghts and weaknesses is by honest observation and a willingness to put voice to both strenghts and weaknesesse. Sometmes my ego prevents me from seeing some of this honestly, but I think that happens less and less as I work at it. The real truth is that I know that I'm still a work in progress and I am hopeful.
LIFE IS GOOD
Rev. Pat
A famous quote states, “the first step to knowing God is to know oneself.” I cannot think of any situation in which true self knowledge is not beneficial. Knowing who I am in spirit, I can refute erroneous thoughts generated by my mind-chatter and by others. Self knowledge has made me confident and more eager to share with others the excitement about my spiritual journey. In conversation with a friend, she made blanket statements that, “we cannot escape debt and good relationships are impossible to maintain.” I lovingly shared with her why “I did not receive or accept those statements as my Truth.”
ReplyDeleteI know when tempers and emotions are raging, it is challenging to really hear the other and challenging to truly be heard. In the midst of conflict, my objective is to say as little as possible. I am becoming more successful at this practice. To achieve inner peace, I immediately create emotional and physical distance from the situation/person(s), pray for Divine wisdom, analyze the situation and ask for forgiveness, if needed.
My strengths are weaknesses which I have taken action to conquer. Sometimes successfully and other times not but I confronted/acted on them. My weaknesses are situations based in fear which I have allowed to control me.
Today's readings were exactly on point for me. They affirm that what I've been trying to do in my relationships is the right path for me. I used to think in terms of black/white, right/wrong, good/bad. I think it's the way most of us are brought up and our religions tell us it's how things are supposed to be -- this is right, and this is wrong. But, who's to say and under what circumstances? There's a lot of gray out there and getting comfortable with that does seem to make one less judgmental of others. Isn't that what Jesus preached? Matthew 7....
ReplyDelete