Comments on: The Importance of Awareness and Acceptance http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/ a tongue-in-cheek quest for understanding... Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:51:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Erin http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-341 Erin Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:37:37 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-341 Thanks Jason. Thanks Jason.

]]> By: Jason http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-339 Jason Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:36:17 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-339 Internal quiet - force yourself to take a few minutes just after you get up and get ready in the morning, and a few minutes after you get ready for bed (but before you get IN bed), and sit somewhere by yourself to let whatever thoughts come into your head come and go. All those things that lurk in the background will come out (sometimes it will take several sessions to get to the really deep ugly ones), and when they come out, the pain associated with them will go away, allowing you to heal. Once you heal, then you can forgive, and like I said above, just keep it as a part of your understanding of who they are, without spending energy on thinking about it and how it hurt you. Hope that helps... if you want more you can go to my site and check out things under the "Internal Quiet" category. Internal quiet - force yourself to take a few minutes just after you get up and get ready in the morning, and a few minutes after you get ready for bed (but before you get IN bed), and sit somewhere by yourself to let whatever thoughts come into your head come and go. All those things that lurk in the background will come out (sometimes it will take several sessions to get to the really deep ugly ones), and when they come out, the pain associated with them will go away, allowing you to heal. Once you heal, then you can forgive, and like I said above, just keep it as a part of your understanding of who they are, without spending energy on thinking about it and how it hurt you.

Hope that helps… if you want more you can go to my site and check out things under the “Internal Quiet” category.

]]> By: Erin http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-331 Erin Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:53:33 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-331 Ouch Jason, that hurt. Which means there is truth to what you said. Once one gets into a pattern of returning to the past in a relationship, it is hard to get out of it (maybe I have carved too deep of a path in my brain) So, the million dollar question is - how do you keep from dwelling on what happened in the past and feeding it more energy? Ouch Jason, that hurt. Which means there is truth to what you said.

Once one gets into a pattern of returning to the past in a relationship, it is hard to get out of it (maybe I have carved too deep of a path in my brain) So, the million dollar question is - how do you keep from dwelling on what happened in the past and feeding it more energy?

]]> By: Jason http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-301 Jason Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:04:14 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-301 Erin - having that understanding that the person did something to you in the past as part of your total understanding of who that person is can be useful, but if you actually consciously think of it every time you're with the person, you're doing both that person and yourself a disservice. Thinking about something invests energy into that thing, which gives it importance to you, which makes it a bigger part of your life. So if you invest energy into thinking about what they did to you in the past, then you're making that thing they did a bigger part of your life, and even more so making it a bigger part of your relationship with them and your understanding of who they are. Erin - having that understanding that the person did something to you in the past as part of your total understanding of who that person is can be useful, but if you actually consciously think of it every time you’re with the person, you’re doing both that person and yourself a disservice. Thinking about something invests energy into that thing, which gives it importance to you, which makes it a bigger part of your life. So if you invest energy into thinking about what they did to you in the past, then you’re making that thing they did a bigger part of your life, and even more so making it a bigger part of your relationship with them and your understanding of who they are.

]]> By: Liara Covert http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-284 Liara Covert Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:07:36 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-284 This guest post is fabulous. It draws my attention to people I know and have known who lean toward the negative in everything. Now, my instinct used to be to distance myself from such people because, well, it can be disconcerting to listen to complaining all the time. Spending less time with certain friends was possible but distancing yourself from negative and the relatives of close friends can be harder. Then, at one point, I-got-to thinking, maybe I've attracted such people into my life. I realized they had never perhaps learned how to embrace Eckhart Tolle's idea of 'the moment,' how to love and be loved, how to express compassion, and how to see differently than they always had. Rather than avoid such people, I reflected about how being myself was a way to reveal another perspective. Although its not possible to change other people unless they choose to change, I've been repeatedly surprised at how sharing love and positive thinking can rub off and enrich others. This guest post is fabulous. It draws my attention to people I know and have known who lean toward the negative in everything. Now, my instinct used to be to distance myself from such people because, well, it can be disconcerting to listen to complaining all the time. Spending less time with certain friends was possible but distancing yourself from negative and the relatives of close friends can be harder.

Then, at one point, I-got-to thinking, maybe I’ve attracted such people into my life. I realized they had never perhaps learned how to embrace Eckhart Tolle’s idea of ‘the moment,’ how to love and be loved, how to express compassion, and how to see differently than they always had. Rather than avoid such people, I reflected about how being myself was a way to reveal another perspective. Although its not possible to change other people unless they choose to change, I’ve been repeatedly surprised at how sharing love and positive thinking can rub off and enrich others.

]]> By: Jenny http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-283 Jenny Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:33:10 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-283 It's truly our pleasure Mark! You'll be seeing us soon. ;) It’s truly our pleasure Mark! You’ll be seeing us soon. ;)

]]> By: Mark http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-282 Mark Tue, 24 Jul 2007 02:18:13 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-282 Jenny: Yup, that's why I mentioned it, I've heard that question asked a lot, "How can you be fully in the moment and still live in this world?" The idea of completely ignoring all thoughts of past and future seems like the path *towards* suffering. Erin: That's right, if you think of the issue between the two of you in the past, you can make sure you don't repeat it in the present. If you don't acknowledge that thought you're likely to make things worse. Thanks again to both of you for inviting me to do this guest post. I look forward to having you as guests in my part of the world :) Jenny: Yup, that’s why I mentioned it, I’ve heard that question asked a lot, “How can you be fully in the moment and still live in this world?” The idea of completely ignoring all thoughts of past and future seems like the path *towards* suffering.

Erin: That’s right, if you think of the issue between the two of you in the past, you can make sure you don’t repeat it in the present. If you don’t acknowledge that thought you’re likely to make things worse.

Thanks again to both of you for inviting me to do this guest post. I look forward to having you as guests in my part of the world :)

]]> By: Guest post on Jenny-and-Erin.com | The Winding Path http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-281 Guest post on Jenny-and-Erin.com | The Winding Path Tue, 24 Jul 2007 02:02:14 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-281 [...] over to Jenny and Erin’s site to see a guest post I’m honoured to have been asked to do. If it weren’t for my pure, pervasive masculinity [...] […] over to Jenny and Erin’s site to see a guest post I’m honoured to have been asked to do. If it weren’t for my pure, pervasive masculinity […]

]]> By: Erin http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-280 Erin Tue, 24 Jul 2007 01:14:36 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-280 Mark - Great post! You pose some difficult questions. I have been grappling with the same thing Jenny mentioned - awareness is about sum of the moment, not only the moment. For example, when I talk to a friend that did me wrong, I don't simply focus on our conversation in the moment, but it is appropriate to keep in mind our history too. Not as a grudge, just as an awareness. Mark - Great post! You pose some difficult questions. I have been grappling with the same thing Jenny mentioned - awareness is about sum of the moment, not only the moment. For example, when I talk to a friend that did me wrong, I don’t simply focus on our conversation in the moment, but it is appropriate to keep in mind our history too. Not as a grudge, just as an awareness.

]]> By: Jenny http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-279 Jenny Mon, 23 Jul 2007 23:43:10 +0000 http://jenny-and-erin.com/2007/07/the-importance-of-awareness-and-acceptance/#comment-279 Hey Mark, Great article! While I was reading it occurred to me that you touched upon something that confused me for a very long time. The point of being in the present isn’t to have no awareness of anything but the moment but instead to have one's awareness in the sum total of the moment as it occurs. I don't think this is possible to be fully present in the moment without giving thought to both the past and the future. I agree that it is distracting and unproductive to follow those thoughts whenever they occur but think in addition to ackowledging the thoughts it is important to spend some time examing the past (and when doing so to be fully present in that process) as well as thinking about the future. If the hard work of self-examination never takes place those random thoughts just keep popping up no matter how little attention you pay as acknowledging (and I'd argue understanding) them is essential to being fully present in any moment. Hi Nancy and Dennis! Haven't heard from you in awhile. Nice to see you are still around! :) Hey Mark,
Great article! While I was reading it occurred to me that you touched upon something that confused me for a very long time. The point of being in the present isn’t to have no awareness of anything but the moment but instead to have one’s awareness in the sum total of the moment as it occurs.

I don’t think this is possible to be fully present in the moment without giving thought to both the past and the future. I agree that it is distracting and unproductive to follow those thoughts whenever they occur but think in addition to ackowledging the thoughts it is important to spend some time examing the past (and when doing so to be fully present in that process) as well as thinking about the future.

If the hard work of self-examination never takes place those random thoughts just keep popping up no matter how little attention you pay as acknowledging (and I’d argue understanding) them is essential to being fully present in any moment.

Hi Nancy and Dennis! Haven’t heard from you in awhile. Nice to see you are still around! :)

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