A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Via Ram Dass
April 6, 2016
Your anger and your inspiration are all inside you. They are just being who they are. Your reaction is your reaction. It is showing you your attachments and aversions.
Via Good Men Project: 5 Ways to Reconcile With an Unreconcilable Someone
Reconciliation is a team effort.
—
I recently attended a conference for dads and, in one session, a man
described a bitter divorce, resulting in him losing all contact with his
young daughter, now 26-years-old. He expressed the pain and
powerlessness of not being able to reconcile with her and of his
daughter’s refusal to connect with him in any way. Others in the session
found this difficult to comprehend and suggested he try again to
reconcile with her.I understood some of the pain and powerlessness this man described.
Sometimes reconciliation is not possible. What do you do then?
- See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/5-ways-reconcile-unreconcilable-someone-bbab/#sthash.uAb80Uyc.dpuf
Reconciliation is a team effort.
—
I recently attended a conference for dads and, in one session, a man
described a bitter divorce, resulting in him losing all contact with his
young daughter, now 26-years-old. He expressed the pain and
powerlessness of not being able to reconcile with her and of his
daughter’s refusal to connect with him in any way. Others in the session
found this difficult to comprehend and suggested he try again to
reconcile with her.I understood some of the pain and powerlessness this man described.
Sometimes reconciliation is not possible. What do you do then?
◊♦◊
In a previous post I shared some details surrounding my divorce and a few of the lessons
I learned in the years after. I briefly mentioned that my ex-wife made
the decision to end all contact with me. This was very painful. She’d
been my best friend since I was a teen and now she was cut completely
from my life.
However, one must also come to accept the situation for what it is and realize what you are unable to change.
|
Sometimes reconciliation is not possible.
I wanted to come to some kind of reconciliation with her but this was made impossible by her refusal to speak with me.
Over the years, I gradually came to understand that I could still reconcile the relationship within myself.
◊♦◊
If you are dealing with an irreconcilable someone or situation you
might find some peace by implementing the following five practices:- Recognize and accept how you feel. There is nothing wrong with feeling angry or upset about a situation. These feelings are normal and appropriate. However, one must also come to accept the situation for what it is and realize what you are unable to change. You can change your response to the situation. Choose to focus on what you can control.
- Change how you think about the other person. If something triggers a negative thought do your best to quickly replace it with a positive thought and memory. This will help with the next point.
- Speak positively. Do your best to avoid saying negative things about the other person if they come up in conversation.
- Recognize and appreciate the other person’s positive qualities and strengths. There are, in most cases, traits we can appreciate in another person and it’s always best, regardless of the situation, to concentrate on these.
- Offer up prayers or peaceful thoughts & wishes for the other person. When you think about the person you are unable to reconcile with say a brief prayer for him or her or express a wish for happiness.
There are, in most cases, traits we can appreciate in another person and it’s always best, regardless of the situation, to concentrate on these.
Even if the other person refuses to participate in reconciliation you can still come to some place of peace and reconciliation within yourself.
Previously published on STAND-Magazine
By Dwayne D. Hayes, Managing Editor
- See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/5-ways-reconcile-unreconcilable-someone-bbab/#sthash.uAb80Uyc.dpuf
If you are dealing with an irreconcilable someone
or situation you might find some peace by implementing the following five
practices:
- Recognize and accept how you feel. There is nothing wrong with feeling angry or upset about a situation. These feelings are normal and appropriate. However, one must also come to accept the situation for what it is and realize what you are unable to change. You can change your response to the situation. Choose to focus on what you can control.
- Change how you think about the other person. If something triggers a negative thought do your best to quickly replace it with a positive thought and memory. This will help with the next point.
- Speak positively. Do your best to avoid saying negative things about the other person if they come up in conversation.
- Recognize and appreciate the other person’s positive qualities and strengths. There are, in most cases, traits we can appreciate in another person and it’s always best, regardless of the situation, to concentrate on these.
- Offer up prayers or peaceful thoughts & wishes for the other person.
When you
think about the person you are unable to reconcile with say a brief prayer
for him or her or express a wish for happiness.Offering up well-wishes for the other person will
also improve your mood and prevent you from dwelling on frustrating and painful
memories.
There are, in most cases, traits we can
appreciate in another person and it’s always best, regardless of the situation,
to concentrate on these.
Even if the other person refuses to participate in
reconciliation you can still come to some place of peace and reconciliation
within yourself.
Previously published on STAND-Magazine
By Dwayne D. Hayes, Managing Editor
- See more at:
http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/5-ways-reconcile-unreconcilable-someone-bbab/#sthash.uAb80Uyc.dpuf
Reconciliation is a team effort.
—
I recently attended a conference for dads and, in one session, a man
described a bitter divorce, resulting in him losing all contact with his
young daughter, now 26-years-old. He expressed the pain and
powerlessness of not being able to reconcile with her and of his
daughter’s refusal to connect with him in any way. Others in the session
found this difficult to comprehend and suggested he try again to
reconcile with her.I understood some of the pain and powerlessness this man described.
Sometimes reconciliation is not possible. What do you do then?
◊♦◊
In a previous post I shared some details surrounding my divorce and a few of the lessons
I learned in the years after. I briefly mentioned that my ex-wife made
the decision to end all contact with me. This was very painful. She’d
been my best friend since I was a teen and now she was cut completely
from my life.
However, one must also come to accept the situation for what it is and realize what you are unable to change.
|
Sometimes reconciliation is not possible.
I wanted to come to some kind of reconciliation with her but this was made impossible by her refusal to speak with me.
Over the years, I gradually came to understand that I could still reconcile the relationship within myself.
◊♦◊
If you are dealing with an irreconcilable someone or situation you
might find some peace by implementing the following five practices:- Recognize and accept how you feel. There is nothing wrong with feeling angry or upset about a situation. These feelings are normal and appropriate. However, one must also come to accept the situation for what it is and realize what you are unable to change. You can change your response to the situation. Choose to focus on what you can control.
- Change how you think about the other person. If something triggers a negative thought do your best to quickly replace it with a positive thought and memory. This will help with the next point.
- Speak positively. Do your best to avoid saying negative things about the other person if they come up in conversation.
- Recognize and appreciate the other person’s positive qualities and strengths. There are, in most cases, traits we can appreciate in another person and it’s always best, regardless of the situation, to concentrate on these.
- Offer up prayers or peaceful thoughts & wishes for the other person. When you think about the person you are unable to reconcile with say a brief prayer for him or her or express a wish for happiness.
There are, in most cases, traits we can appreciate in another person and it’s always best, regardless of the situation, to concentrate on these.
Even if the other person refuses to participate in reconciliation you can still come to some place of peace and reconciliation within yourself.
Previously published on STAND-Magazine
By Dwayne D. Hayes, Managing Editor
- See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/5-ways-reconcile-unreconcilable-someone-bbab/#sthash.uAb80Uyc.dpuf
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 06/04/2016
“O despertar espiritual é um processo de lembrança de si mesmo que
envolve a desconstrução do ego. Ego é uma palavra que tem diferentes
definições. Quando me refiro a um ego, estou falando de um falso centro,
uma falsa ideia de eu. Trata-se de uma falsa identidade construída a
partir de informações externas: você recebe um nome e uma educação;
adquire conhecimento e conquista coisas... Em outras palavras, você
constrói uma história sobre quem é você e
passa a acreditar que é essa história. Mas, para lembrar quem é você, a
falsa identidade precisará ser desconstruída. Esse é um grande
desafio.”
“El despertar
espiritual es un proceso de recordarse a si mismo que implica la
deconstrucción del ego. Ego es una palabra que tiene diferentes
definiciones. Cuando me refiero a un ego, estoy hablando de un falso
centro, una falsa idea de yo. Se trata de una falsa identidad construida
a partir de informaciones externas: recibes un nombre y una educación;
adquieres conocimiento y conquistas cosas... En otras palabras,
construyes una historia acerca de quien eres y pasas a creer que eres
esta historia. Pero para recordarte quién eres, la falsa identidad
necesitará ser deconstruida. Este es un gran desafío.”
“A spiritual awakening is a process of remembering one’s self and deconstructing the ego. Ego is a word with many different definitions. When I speak about the ego, I am referring to a false center, a false idea of ‘I’. It is a false identity built on external information such as the name we receive, our education, our knowledge and achievements. We construct a story about who we are and we begin to believe this story. In order to remember who we are, the false identity needs to be deconstructed. This is a great challenge.”
“A spiritual awakening is a process of remembering one’s self and deconstructing the ego. Ego is a word with many different definitions. When I speak about the ego, I am referring to a false center, a false idea of ‘I’. It is a false identity built on external information such as the name we receive, our education, our knowledge and achievements. We construct a story about who we are and we begin to believe this story. In order to remember who we are, the false identity needs to be deconstructed. This is a great challenge.”
Via Daily Dharma / April 6, 2016: Don’t Try So Hard
Trying
to find a Buddha or enlightenment is like trying to grab space. Space
has a name but no form. It's not something you can pick up or put down.
And you certainly can't grab it.
—Jisho Cary Warner, "The Snaggletoothed Barbarian"
—Jisho Cary Warner, "The Snaggletoothed Barbarian"
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