As (and on behalf of those with the same name or for whom Im sharing these names), The Screaming Blackberry, The Bright Green Interrobang, Cat-Dog, the Crow Bard, Super Meta Anti-Cognitive Dissonance Man, Moop-Man, The Frack!, Cognitive Dissonance Man, the Both-And Person... well, one can keep coming up for different hats to wear -- different lenses and frames (ha!) to practice seeing the world through -- different perspectives to gain a fuller image of what this is all pointing at ... As someone who wears many hats and enjoys the superhero framing, I enjoyed reading this from Martha Beck. As a roaming member of The Possibility Alliance* (which facilitates Superhero Bike Rides!), home of the International Superhero Headquarters (in La Plata, Missouri), and friend of the Superhero Training Academy (in Detroit), I enjoyed your use of this framing -- this context -- and the meta-cognition you practice (a learnable skill!) to see the distorting lenses that people wear (generally unconsciously) which prevents them from seeing a truer picture of Reality. As the Bright Green Interrobang (one of my many superhero names), I say bless the work you are doing to help dispel ignorance in our world and to help people liberate their hearts and go for their big beautiful dreams! * * * Every statement is equally true.** That statement is true in at least the context that I wrote it above -- tautologically (Ha! Tautology Man is Tautology Man!), it is true in all contexts in which it is true (AND -- not true in those contexts in which it isnt true!) -- and, it is true in the context that every statement HAS a context (in which it can be considered true). Ah, meta-cognition. My favorite kind of cognition. (Except for meta-meta cognition. Which I think is technically just included in meta-cognition. :-D) Statements (strings of words) come with (andorpersand from?) contexts, perspectives. They are INDEPENDENT of the content (meaning). But the words we choose we fill with meaning that points to the true content of Reality. Practicing shifting contexts / lenses / perspectives, gives us a more complete view of this Reality. And practiced properly, as Martha mentions, can give you a sense of being a super-hero. Why? Well, like Morpheus suggested to Neo (and as Paul suggests in the New Testament), this is some of the work (not all of it -- in a context that is very alive for me :-D), of Freeing your mind. Holding to tightly to one context can be very ... stultifying. A rigid box in which your being struggles to break free -- and which stuck thought patterns contribute to holding in place. Im not an important person. This statement is true in the context in which it is spoken. Here, its context is simply as an example. I could imagine it spoken in a context in which someone was obviously burdened or reduced by believing that this thought were objectively true. Valuing the importance and the story behind being an important person -- I hear grief and sorrow in these words, and if the person does not connect with their unmet needs behind the words, and sticks only hearing and believing the words, words and ideas like these can construct narrow prisons for a persons being. It is perhaps unwise for one to believe all of their thoughts. - Misquoting some bumper sticker (and the lady who founded Windhorse Integrative Mental Health) Believed, a thought becomes subjectively true, however, not all of our thoughts (in all of their contexts) point to what is objectively True. And so, we play the game of enslaving ourselves to illusions and the game of self-deception. A most hazardous game, indeed. But anyway. I could also imagine hearing someone say these same words sarcastically (as I might do from time to time). Oh, Im not an important person. Im only a manifestation of all of Reality, and an integral, part of all of Creation. But you know, whatever. [Funny story, I actually told one of the men who had detained us at Cove Point where we were arrested for trespassing that I was a manifestation of all being, and so was he and he replied, I was just telling my buddy that the other day. Little does he know...] Is that objectively true? *shrugs* :-D Its certainly a life-enriching context from which to observe this life from time to time. One of my favorite contexts? Matter-of-factly. Im not an important person. Dissolve the stories and what am I left with? What is important mean? If I use that word, you might misunderstand me. So, throw it away! Or define it! Arguments usually arise when people are talking from two (or three or four) dissonant perspectives. Words can be filled with meaning on many (actually infinite) perspectives (hence the fun of wordplay, insightful replies, watching Hannibal (his words always have many, many laters), reading and writing poetry, and EMPATHY -- the practice of wearing anothers shoes, seeing from anothers perspective and, for me, in seeing my own I often want to offer my own perspectives (as I do -- like, you know, right now! Ha! (Im So Meta, Even This Acronym!)). So, either I throw it away (leaving I am a person) or define important. Please, define important. How would you like to? There are so many ways. And it is valuable to do so. Ill wait. * * * Good, now define person. :-D And, eventually, after youve dissolved all confusion from your mind, you will be left with I am -- that reminds me of something, but I just cant quite put my finger on it ... :-D As you come to know me, youll come to realize that I resonate very strongly with the words of J.R. Krishnamurti when he says “The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” In the practice that Marhsall Rosenberg talks a lot about (in Nonviolent Communication) -- he talks about a lot of valuable things -- he talks about the importance of sharing what is objectively true to promote connection -- understanding. I observe that Tamir Rice was shot by a man who many call a police officer. I observe thoughts inside myself around cultural and systemic violence. Im aware that it would take awhile to go into those thoughts. Im feeling kind of numb. A little excited because of writing these words. Im glad to share insights especially if they are valuable. Im remembering crying at the last gathering at the gazebo where he died. I notice a sort of meta-sadness -- that is what I notice myself calling what Im feeling -- I feel a little sad, and Im thinking it is because Im not feeling his loss in this moment as Im writing. Im aware of a background longing -- Im wanting to live in a world where everyones needs are met. Im having a thought about what needs being met means to me and wondering if anyone reading this might misunderstand my meaning. Id love feedback and reflections from readers of this paragraph (andorpersand, anything I share / do). So -- thoughts, feelings, needs, requests. All observational -- use of I statements -- coming from a consciousness of love for self and other -- noticing judgments and coming from a desire to understand ones judgments. Coming from a desire to really understand the self and the other (or the Whole Self). [And being aware of the lenses we wear has helped me really see our stories and our self-limiting thoughts and our delusions and hold them lightly, playfully, and help others see them too.] Are you beginning to get a slightly deeper sense of how the ability to do context shifting and practice deep-empathy might give one super-powers? Theres one other piece thats super vital, that Id like to mention right now. (There is a context in which as you come to understand more and more of Reality, you can see that the pieces are infinite -- and they are all connected. Coming back to life, for me, has been a process of the convergence of all the various pieces into a coherent experience. But anyway.) Emotional healing. What do you think of the word trauma? What are the traumas in your life? How do animals deal with trauma? How do babies? How do you? A story -- a perspective -- that I have around mental constructs that weve been holding on to -- is often (but certainly not always) they are the walls of ones pain body (see Eckhart Tolle) -- they are the walls holding back pain we have not let go of -- that we hold onto as our own (ha! what a funny story). We hold on to the pain of the original experience (the trauma) and when we think about it, we experience the pain again, as if it is happening all over again. A practice that friends at the St. Louis Catholic Worker introduced to me is all about healing from trauma. By yourself (or preferably with a partner or a group ?) one way to release pain is to feel it and *allow* it to pass through you -- to release it -- to allow it do do what it wants to do. Give the pain a voice. Its a part of you that wants to be heard. This counseling in pairs is done holding the consciousness or perspective of loving non-judgment and with the intention to support the other in releasing whatever needs to come out. It holds the perspective that Life is essentially good, safe, rational and that our feelings are rational. Often what fairly traumatized people are aware of feeling and needing (in NVC lingo) is the surface level of a lot deeper feelings and needs. I consider the process of giving voice to that part of what I like to call Deep Empathy or deeply understanding. To see another is to see them in their pain. This processed was formalized under the name co-counseling or Re-evaluation counseling (for when someone releases a lot of their stored pain, often a new perspective on the original trauma arises that is filled with a lot of meaning, and the original trauma dissolves and no longer is traumatic -- notice that in this way of understanding, the new perspective wouldnt have been particularly meaning-filled without the release of the stuck, stagnant, emotional energy). Harvey Jackins is the name of the man who did a lot of formalizing of this process. And I can learn from it and practice it without all the formalization (respecting the value that the formal practice has as well). As he describes the process -- the capacity to release stuck energy and re-evaluate past traumas liberates a person to return to their beings natural intelligence. Hes witnessed many people become radically more intelligent (or regain their intelligence of their childhood) and believed his work could change the world. [Id also suggest learning about Joanna Macy, who is doing amazing group grief work, especially around issues of systemic violence, environmental violence, and so forth.] So yeah. Superpowers. Superheros. But you wont do the self-awareness / perspective shifting / emotional healing / inner-peace work to become a superhero -- youll do it because youve always been a superhero, and it is who you are. (In a certain context!) And doing this work, you can re-discover (uncover, again), a deeper understanding of your True Identity. So: what are your super-powers? Whats your super-hero identity? *For those interested, interview with Ethan Hughes, co-founder of The Possibility Alliance / Superhero Bike Ride: davidsheen/sharing/interviews/ethan.htm **I first read this statement in the book: Rebirthing: The Science of Enjoying All of Your Life -- I have found their perspectives and insights on understanding our thoughts and liberating our thoughts to be especially useful. They also go deeply into some of their own ideas about ways to heal the pain-body and transform the embodied pain from traumatic experiences quite a bit -- with different perspectives that presented in other places. Interesting stuff (to me). David Johnston -- Id love for you to read this and Martha Becks work -- All three started with firm objectives, which, as I hoped, they almost immediately abandoned. I thought of you when I read that -- not because I hope you abandon your strategy (objective) -- but because I think doing the work to get in touch with who you are, doing personal healing, understanding what youre needing, and practicing context shifting can liberate you. And from that work, Im sure youll find strategies that are exciting and meaningful to you.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 10:58:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015