Yesterday a friend of mine asked me if I'd be willing to let him put some of his comics on this site. I said "sure why not?" then he said "thanks I will." So today at some point he's going to put up a comic or two. They will more than likely be offensive but that's ok. I don't mind. I would definitely like to hear from you if you find it offensive, not because I'll take it down but I always like to discuss such limited views with people.
Speaking of which I'd just like to mention something that I've been working on for the last few months. I was introduced to something called "the inquiry process" through Paul Scheele's Abundance for Life course. It originally came from a woman by the name of Byron Katie.
Essentially the work is just a few questions that are supposed to lead you to uncover the truth behind limiting beliefs and false perceptions of reality. So far I've had a whole bunch of great successes. Like yesterday I finally realized that I struggle to keep my apartment and stress over money for absolutely no reason. The money I need, whether I have it or not, does not control me. I am in control of where my attention, energy and emotions go, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the money. I also realized that living on the street wouldn't be so bad. Like the last time I lived on the street I got used to it. It's only bad or uncomfortable when we attach our sense of self to these external circumstances. If we can realize that our state is only dependent on our thoughts then the external reality matters much less than our internal reality. Though we might be in a "bad situation" we can still be perfectly happy and fulfilled.
I really want to give you the questions because I think they really could benefit anyone who uses them but I'm sure they're copy written. Whatever, if they want to try to sue me for a few books and some kettlebells they can go right ahead.
The inquiry process is as follows.
First make a statement about whatever it is thats been bothering you. This works really well for dealing with petty interpersonal problems, jealousy, "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" and just about anything else. It might look something like "I'm angry at Sylvia because she treats me badly."
Now ask yourself the first question "is that true?" Usually you'll get something like "yeah it's true I feel terrible every time she treats me bad."
Now ask yourself "do I know absolutely that it's true?" and you might get something like "well no I'm not feeling it right now and I'm not sure I'll react that way in the future, but in the past it has been true."
Then you ask "how do I react when I believe that it's true?" and you'll get all sorts of reasons like "angry" "I feel useless" "I hate her" etc.
Now ask "who would I be without that thought?" and you'll find your answers.
Once all these questions are answered (this should be done on paper by the way. The mind is difficult to pin down so writing things helps keep them steady) you can do whats called a turn around. Just play with your original statement to see if you can come up with another statement that is at least as true, if not truer, than the original. You'll get stuff like "I'm not angry at Sylvia because she treats me badly" "I'm angry at myself because I treat me badly" "My thinking is angry at Sylvia because she treats me badly" and tons of others. With each of these new statements just ask yourself if it's true. Often you'll be surprised at which ones really are truer than the original. For instance the first turn around might be truer because you'll realize that you really aren't angry at Sylvia you're angry at yourself, or you're just not actually angry. Lots of new considerations can come of this and rarely will you find that you've not received a whole new perspective on the situation.
Seems too simple to be effective I know but just ask yourself "if there really was such an easy way to permanently improve all my relationships would I take it?" and if the answer is yes then check it out.
Loving What Is
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