OT: A tidbit from a book I am reading

[Guest guest]

The Book I am reading was recommended by the Vanderbilt Counselor I am

seeing for Biofeedback. It is called " Blessed Relief: What Christians (from

all denomanations) can Learn from Buddists about Suffering " . It is written

by a Methodist Pastor and I am finding it to be very interesting, so I

thought I would share a thought from it from time to time with everyone as I

go through it. I find these topics to be right on in regards to how we think

in general and that they may help some of you to. Consider it the Stills

Readers Digest Version of some of the book.

For today's topic - It's about " Telling Your Story " , " Dropping Your Story "

and " Changing Your Story "

In America (and probably other countries too), in Christian communities, we

are taught at a young age to 'Tell our stories', this typically means to

talk about what has happened to us. Which in some ways is good, because we

have to tell our stories to share with others who we are, what our

background is and what has happened to us. For instance, when we got stills,

how we got diagnosed, etc.

But because we are taught this so well, we get stuck in telling our stories

so well, that we get caught in a rut. We do this so well, that we take

things very personally. The more tightly we hold on to our story, the more

tightly we hold on to self and the bigger the problem (the bigger our mind

thinks the problem is (illness, etc)).

" Dropping your story line " is, first, a way to notice the suffering that

comes with attachment to your story about what has happened and what is

going to happen. It is a way to 'let go' of constricting your identity of

yourself as 'the sufferer' and to come into the freedom of the present.

Both have a place, we can't not tell our story's, because then we wouldn't

be able to share 'who we are' with others. But we have to be careful to not

let ourselves become stuck in our stories of the past, because if we do,

that is who we become, 'our past', and if we focus totally on our illness

for instance, that is also who we become, 'our illness'.

What I learned from this is that there is a balance for both. This is

actually something that I have been trying to work on over the last couple

of years when I met people in town, etc. It's been hard for me because in my

past life I was a 'VP of Information Services'. But Now, I am not that

anymore. But I am not just a 'Chronically Ill Person', I refuse to be

defined by that. So I have been introducing myself as an 'Artist', if they

ask what I do for work, I just say that I have a chronic illness that

prevents me from working and I stay at home. It feels much better than what

I would say the first few years when I was so sick, right after stopping

work which was " I am chronically ill, but was a VP of Information Services

and hope to get back " - Man that hit my ego hard!!!

Anyway - this is just some food for thought for those of you that read

this.

I will post some more in the coming days if anyone is interested. (Please

let me know if you want more posted).

Hugs to all,

Alli

In Eastern cultures, they are taught to " drop