Guest guest Posted April 5, 2007 Report Share Posted April 5, 2007 Amazing ! I want to do this too .... how did you get the idea to do this exercise ? Is it part of 's Work ? And what about the people you see in the parade... are they faces of people you actually know or just abstract personalities, or a mix? Best, Leonie I am the Impersonal I just did an interesting mental exercise. I envisioned myself sitting on a lawn chair at the edge of a street, as if about to watch a parade. I imagined a throng of people passing by me, each one looking at me. Each person signified each thought passing through my mind. As I sit in the chair quietly observing, I notice the expression on each person's face as they look at me. Some are cheerful faces, filled with love. Others are downright nasty and judgmental, their faces screwed into disgusted contortions. " Whew, " I think to myself, " That particular thought does NOT like me! That's for sure! " I know how to handle other people judging me, usually. But that's just the thing, other people ARE thoughts. Their own. And their faces mirror their own thoughts just as I am envisioning my thoughts as people walking by me. I realize I am a million different people. (Aren't those song lyrics? Yes. They are. But so true!) This exercise has served an interesting purpose or two. One, it pulled the thoughts away from my core, from my authentic, true self, so I can get a better look at them. If I can pull these thoughts away from me and quietly observe them, then they cannot be me at the core. I just sat and watched one go by, and she hates me. I don't know why. She was so judgmental, unforgiving, hateful, and disgusted by me. Hell, she's not the only one. There's a whole team of thoughts that would like to see me dead. (Who knows? Maybe that's where my cancer is stemming from.) Another, is that I recognize that the power that these thoughts have over me are just as insignificant as the power of other people's thoughts on my life. I just happen to be witness to my own 100% of the time where, mercifully, I don't know for sure what other people think about me. I was mistaken, however, that these thoughts are me and somehow more persuasive than others' opinions of me. Since I have a pretty good handle on dealing with other people's judgements of me, then I should be able to deal with my own in the same manner. That one thought that hated me, she's just believing herself, that's all. If she knew how to love me, she would. I know she would. But here I am, observing her and allowing her to be. I allow her! How loving I am at the core! I didn't know I was so accepting that I would even allow my own thoughts to hate me. And I can even appreciate her. She is fearful and just wants the best. She just wants to love herself by her own standards. She is a powerful woman incapacitated by the reality of me. Not only that, but there's another thought. A male, and he's going to bat for me. He stands between me (sitting in that lawn chair) and her. He fights with her saying I've got every right to be who and what I want to be. He is angry, though, and feels he needs to defend.(And that's humorous in a sense because I need no defense. I am reality.) But there is a war now going on inside of me. And I still sit quietly and observe. So many thoughts jumping into the mix, so many differing opinions. I watch, amused, as if it's nothing more than a movie where the characters are just pretending that li'l ol', innocent me, sitting out in the audience, munching on some popcorn, is somehow the cause of this uproar. It's a fun exercise. It's also very relieving and enlightening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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