Completing the
universal loving kindness exercise in our textbook generated many thoughts. The first realization is that I need a lot of
work towards selfless thoughts. The initial
thoughts I had were of me gaining freedom of suffering. I apparently still have many obstacles I need
to overcome. However, I was able to
quickly shift my thinking towards gains I’ve made even before coming across
these techniques for loving kindness. There
was a time while seeking out support with some troubles I had inside that I was
described as a people pleaser. I was
directed to not do away with this quality but to treat myself well to. This is where I think my suffering comes
from. I still do not know how to take
time for me. The first time I did something
for me in a big way was actually arriving here at Kaplan. When I did this, I felt guilty of some things
I had to leave behind. Some, not all
causal friendships for example were some things I felt I needed to maintain but
couldn’t. The universal loving kindness
exercise eventually brought me to wanting to go back and reestablish some of
these relationships. But that would not
leave time for this right now. If
anything, the exercise made me think of the details of conversations that I
have to have on a daily basis and how those can transform into more valuable
outcomes for all parties.
While completing
the integral assessment, I think I may have loosely began the process of
betterment with my worldly flourishing over a year ago. I say this because as time progressed and I
got older, I felt my contributions to the world could be better. This is how I arrived at Kaplan with you
guys!
Given the formal
process I now realize that this is work in progress and can use support with my
psychospiritual quadrant. As we all have
learned, this is the most underdeveloped part of many of our lives right? Meditation to bring me to a higher level of consciousness
to strengthen this line will be an effective practice to start with. I also discovered that I am pretty good with
fitness and nutrition with my biological quadrant. Having strength in this quadrant has possibly
integrally brought me attending to the other quadrants though. I tend to be a big believer of most, not all,
most of how we fuel our bodies can influence the rest of the parts of our lives
(A partial truth).
Hi Ron! I also have a hard time taking time for myself. I often feel obligated to others and their needs and schedules. I often wonder when this way of being took place for me. As a child I was a bit of a goody two shoes, but not really a people pleaser. As a teenager and young adult, I was mostly about pleasure, and acted mostly from my own desires. Even those things that benefited others, often came from self-pleasure. Since I have become a mother, I have felt less deserving, and more subservient.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I think I have been on a path toward human flourishing for some time. I believe that my relationships is lagging. I also feel as though I am working toward being of service.
Laura