Comments on: What’s Love Got To Do With It?!

By: Dan Wilson

Dan Wilson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:31:41 +0000

Well, Geuka, you asked what a good mechanism is for achieving and remaining in a state of self awareness. The caveat to my answer is that you must allow me the grace to preach what I don’t always practice.
One method goes back thousands of years and is practiced by several mystical traditions. The practitioner attempts to achieve stillness or centering every day for at least 30 minutes or more. This is done by getting in a comfortable position, relaxing and closing one’s eyes. The goal is let the mind slow down until the thoughts stop. One stays in the moment and tries to maintain an empty mind. Variations involve simply focusing on one’s breathing. With a disciplined approach over time this simple exercise can begin to liberate a person from the tyranny of their emotions and reactionary thoughts.
I could go on but the technical aspects of this are best investigated through those who are experts on the subject. Similar practices are found among yoga practitioners, Christian mystics, Buddhists and those who study bio-feedback. Sometimes it is simply referred to as relaxation techniques but I would argue that it is much more than that. In the mystical tradition it is a slow dissolving away of the artificial shell we have built up over time because of hurts, disappointments and conflicts. The problem with this shell is that we mistake it for reality. True reality is richer and fuller than this shell even as it is shared with all over living creatures. Getting in touch with this reality can make us more forgiving of ourselves and others setting us free for growth and incite.

By: Geuka

Geuka — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:31:47 +0000

Sounds interesting Janet. Please do share [smile]!

By: Janet Marinaccio

Janet Marinaccio — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:21:25 +0000

Your post inspired me… I think I feel an essay coming on!

By: Geuka

Geuka — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 17:07:35 +0000

Janet, Thank you for your comment. I really loved the part when you said:

But we can’t really do a “not”…

I think that’s such a powerful way of looking at things. I love it! Thank you for sharing!

By: Geuka

Geuka — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:57:51 +0000

Dan, thank you as always for what you add to the conversation. Your comments are much appreciated and are right in line with my article titled "Life is Dynamic!". I'd love to hear your comments on that one too. I have a question for you. It seems to me (Janet touched on this in her comment as well) that self-awareness is a challenging and often dormant process for many. What's a good mechanism for achieving and remaining in this state?

By: Janet Marinaccio

Janet Marinaccio — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:25:43 +0000

Geuka! I have been meaning to read your blogs for several months now. This morning as munched on breakfast and sipped coffee in an attempt to avoid exercising, I began to read. I love this stuff and appreciate the depth and sensitivity you are sharing with us, especially as a man. (Sorry, guys if you are one of the “I can express my thoughts and emotions type” many of of your compadres are not. So you are an inspirator, instigator and role-model. I agree that a great place to start is to love ones self. To Dan’s point, a most important step in personal growth is self-awareness. You gotta be bold enough to look at yourself with careful scrutiny to identify your self-defeating patterns (ie, it’s not always everyone else who has the problem), become aware of what triggers then, and have a plan to do something different. So often we speak in “nots”. EG, “I am not going to lose my temper with my children any more.” But we can’t really do a “not”. We just create a void. Active, conscious choices take us to the next level of consciousness and coping. Cheers! Keep up the great work.

By: Life is Dynamic! | humancipate! Connect, Live Free . . . Be!

Life is Dynamic! | humancipate! Connect, Live Free . . . Be! — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:22:39 +0000

[...] a big advocate for living a life based on appreciation, generosity and abundance. I believe that giving is the essence of love, so don’t let the heading for this section make you frown for too long. Stinginess is not an [...]

By: Dan Wilson

Dan Wilson — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:20:14 +0000

So Geuka I am back from my break. I wanted to give others a chance before I hogged the conversation. But I will be concise this time. In my opinion personal growth require ruthless honesty with one’s self. I have to be able to shatter the false images I create for myself and look at who I really am but to do this I have to be very forgiving and accepting of myself and of others. Thus as everyone seems to be saying, self-love and love of others go hand in hand.

By: Geuka

Geuka — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:11:23 +0000

Thank you for the kind words Bagger. I am happy that my writing is enjoyed and valued. This community is what it is because people like you decide to share and participate. Thank you again.

By: "Bagger Vance"

"Bagger Vance" — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:42:41 +0000

WOW!!! Geuka, I must say that you are the man! And being that you know me I mean that with the utmost respect and appreciation for who you are and what you are doing with this “community” that you have created for all to have a peak into your insight on the different subjects that you choose to share with us. Thank you thank you and thank you! Bravo sir.

I have to agree with you, “Start Within…” I really appeciate this because I too had to learn this lesson in a big way recently, forgiveness of oneself is crucial in this process of “loving” yourself. Once I learned this and really came to an understanding of it I was able to see and understand things much more clearer.

I could go on and on about this but I will not. Just thank you for this article. Keep up the good work that you do. Take care and take charge.

“Bagger Vance”