That's the title of the chapter discussed last night during the webinar with Oprah and Eckhart. One thing that stood out for me was his answer to a question posed by one of the Skypers. She described herself as highly sensitive (I am, also) and asked how to avoid reacting to the "small stuff", as he advises in the book, when sensitive people are bothered by small stuff every day.
He asked for an example, and she mentioned noise and chaos, both of which bother me, too.
What he said was that the most important thing she could do would be to understand that that there are three levels. One level is her awareness of the bothersome stimulus (noise, etc), the second level is her reaction to the bothersome stimulus (irritability was one possible reaction) and the third level is her awareness of that reaction.
He did not deny that she was sensitive, but he did insist that she was more than her reaction to it and that as she became more aware of that distinction, she might find that her reaction would diminish.
Well, that would be great!
He also talked about experiencing spaciousness, which I think is what I do when I stare at the moon or watch the trees blow in the wind.
And I loved what he said about abundance because it was a great reminder to practice gratitude!
Each week, I am surprised by how much I get out of the webinar. Like Oprah said, the more you encounter the material, the more it sinks in and also, you may notice something you hadn't before.
Showing posts with label Oprah and Eckhart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oprah and Eckhart. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
"Worry pretends to be necessary!" ...
"But it serves no useful purpose."
This is a quote from Eckhart from last night's webinar with Oprah. I quite agree and it's one of those bad habits that can creep back in when you're sure you've banished it forever!
For the past few years, I've been eliminating worry by replacing worry thoughts with more positive ones. That has worked amazingly well! But worry thoughts do still tempt me from time to time.
I also liked what Eckhart said about complaining. It doesn't do any good whatsoever, but it does reinforce the feeling or conviction of being right at the expense of whoever has been declared wrong. I think wrong-making is most tempting to me when it comes to my son and his character.
I so want him to be kind and loving. And when he is unkind, I don't just say it's unkind (like Eckhart's point about stating a fact: "the soup is cold"), I make him wrong. And perhaps that's because of some avoided awareness of unkindness in myself. I've actually worked on that issue because it's so important to me, so the whole thing definitely is worth exploring a bit more.
One thing I think Eckhart fails to address is the possibility of healing!
We have conditioned responses and beliefs because of unhealed wounds, cellular memories that are buried alive within us. They can be healed, and when they are we move closer to our essence, to being who we truly are.
This is a quote from Eckhart from last night's webinar with Oprah. I quite agree and it's one of those bad habits that can creep back in when you're sure you've banished it forever!
For the past few years, I've been eliminating worry by replacing worry thoughts with more positive ones. That has worked amazingly well! But worry thoughts do still tempt me from time to time.
I also liked what Eckhart said about complaining. It doesn't do any good whatsoever, but it does reinforce the feeling or conviction of being right at the expense of whoever has been declared wrong. I think wrong-making is most tempting to me when it comes to my son and his character.
I so want him to be kind and loving. And when he is unkind, I don't just say it's unkind (like Eckhart's point about stating a fact: "the soup is cold"), I make him wrong. And perhaps that's because of some avoided awareness of unkindness in myself. I've actually worked on that issue because it's so important to me, so the whole thing definitely is worth exploring a bit more.
One thing I think Eckhart fails to address is the possibility of healing!
We have conditioned responses and beliefs because of unhealed wounds, cellular memories that are buried alive within us. They can be healed, and when they are we move closer to our essence, to being who we truly are.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Insights from A New Earth
Tonight's webinar with Oprah and Eckhart was wonderful! I had several thoughts I want to share before I forget them :) ...
1) Part of my desire to acquire things is my ego's attempt to enhance itself. But it's also a way to appreciate beauty! And what Eckhart said tonight that really struck me was that we can really admire and enjoy the beauty of something and then leave it where it is!
I love to look at catalogs. But perhaps I can apply the concept of "window shopping" to them, too, and just enjoy looking at pretty things without feeling bereft as I decide not to buy them?
It's worth a shot!
2) Today, when my son and I went to his ballroom dancing class (for homeschooled kids), there were too few girls and many of the moms were called upon to join in, much to the dismay of the male students. One little boy told me he'd rather dance with someone else and instantly, I remembered junior high!
Later, during the social graces portion of the afternoon, I looked at the woman presenting the class and instantly decided that she was both beautiful and rich. I compared myself and did not fare well in the comparison!
Well, I heard Eckhart say tonight that those kinds of feelings arise from the ego. And I wondered what would have happened if I'd had the awareness at the time that my "being" had just been interrupted by my ego.
Would I have been able to shake off the sense of junior high rejection?
Would I have been able to let go of the comparison?
It is certainly worth the experiment to find out!!
1) Part of my desire to acquire things is my ego's attempt to enhance itself. But it's also a way to appreciate beauty! And what Eckhart said tonight that really struck me was that we can really admire and enjoy the beauty of something and then leave it where it is!
I love to look at catalogs. But perhaps I can apply the concept of "window shopping" to them, too, and just enjoy looking at pretty things without feeling bereft as I decide not to buy them?
It's worth a shot!
2) Today, when my son and I went to his ballroom dancing class (for homeschooled kids), there were too few girls and many of the moms were called upon to join in, much to the dismay of the male students. One little boy told me he'd rather dance with someone else and instantly, I remembered junior high!
Later, during the social graces portion of the afternoon, I looked at the woman presenting the class and instantly decided that she was both beautiful and rich. I compared myself and did not fare well in the comparison!
Well, I heard Eckhart say tonight that those kinds of feelings arise from the ego. And I wondered what would have happened if I'd had the awareness at the time that my "being" had just been interrupted by my ego.
Would I have been able to shake off the sense of junior high rejection?
Would I have been able to let go of the comparison?
It is certainly worth the experiment to find out!!
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