In a previous post, I wrote about how creating something tiny, like a drawing for instance, can show us just how distracted we are. By creating something tiny, we build focus. We might even achieve flow state.
Creating something large and majestic, on the other hand, can show us something different. Creating a larger piece of art does something more than build focus. It shows us our level of inner maturity.
Continue reading “Create Something Great”
Cultivating self-awareness isn’t easy. An honest and serious look at our own behaviour and habits might not be such a pretty picture. But the fruits of expanded self-awareness are great. It helps us to do work that is important without constantly getting distracted. It helps us to cultivate inner strength to meet ongoing criticism and hurdles. It helps us to become more stable in a chaotic world. Investigating our own tendencies can be a powerful tool for emotional growth.
Often, the thing that will benefit us the most is the hardest. It’s also likely the thing that we’ve been avoiding for months, years, or decades.
If it’s really hard to stay away from sugar, then that’s probably a priority. If a certain exercise is really hard, that’s probably the thing that will yield significant gains. If we tend to avoid difficult conversations with a certain person, it’s likely that this tendency has caused some buried resentments and internal knots.
Continue reading “What’s the hardest?”
When Jung was around twelve years old, a fellow school student knocked him over. As the young Jung fell, he hit his head such that he nearly lost consciousness.
It was after this point that Jung experienced fainting spells every time he was supposed to go to school. For more than six months, Jung stayed away from school. He spent his time in nature and isolation. He read and played in the woods. He drew pictures of battles and castles. And he drew pages and pages of caricatures.
Here’s a quote from Memories, Dreams, Reflections about the period:
“But I was growing more and more away from the world, and had all the while faint pangs of conscience. I frittered away my time with loafing, collecting, reading and playing. But I did not feel any happier for it. I had the obscure feeling that I was fleeing from myself.”
Continue reading “Confronting Fear | How Jung Cured His Own Neurosis”
Over the years, when I talk to people about mathematics, reading, writing, and even artistic pursuits, like painting and drawing, I encounter this block that says, “I’m not smart enough to do that.”
This idea of not being smart enough prevents many people from trying anything new. It prevents them from stepping out of their comfort zone. It prevents them from exploring new interests and skills.
Continue reading “Not Smart Enough? Or Just Afraid To Feel?”
Many years ago, a woman shared with me that she really wanted to paint more but her husband thought it was useless. I could see that she had an internal struggle about this. A part of her had the view: “To hell with it. I like it. Why must I explain myself?” Another part wanted to find some reason, or utility, for it because people around her required it. She could not allow herself to just paint.
Continue reading “The Utility of Art”
Detached analytical knowledge will always be less accurate than deep intuitive knowing. Reality is much more complex than even an intricate mathematical model. There are unseen things beneath the surface—strings of cause and effect. These strings are deeply connected.
Continue reading “Intuition”
The idea of titration as it pertains to trauma comes from Peter Levine’s In An Unspoken Voice. As Levine explains in his book, when we add a huge quantity of neutralising base to a strong acid, we end up with an explosive reaction. Conversely, if we add the base to the acid in tiny amounts we can eventually neutralise the acid without an excessive reaction.
This idea can be related to trauma. Deep trauma leaves the body frozen. The energy locked into that frozen state is often explosive and enormously difficult to deal with. When we force awareness into the totality of what is buried, we might become entirely overwhelmed.
Continue reading “Emotional Work: Titration”In my previous post, I argued that deep states of meditation can be likened to reaching your own natural frequency. The stillness facilitates a spaciousness that can be felt. I also make the case that moving from presence is an easier way to move through life than constantly reacting from a worried or restless state.
Continue reading “Meditation and Emotions”