Pretending

Posted to Facebook Apr. 20th.
We cannot benefit from who we really are (WWRA), we cannot be all that we were born to be, when we are pretending to be other than our genius selves.

Pretending can happen in the most innocent of ways.  We can agree with something when we believe differently.  We can do something when it feels not quite right.  We can buy something we don't really love.  We can do a partial job on something just to get it done.  And, we can attend things we feel obligated to attend.  Each one of these situations is an opportuniy to ask ourselves, "Who am I really in this situation?"

I know we do most of the above to be nice, to not offend, to fit in, to be helpful.  But if we could really begin to fathom how loving, uplifting, perfectly timed, and appropriate WWRA truly is, we would never again pretend to be nice, and fit in.

So if I am not pretending to be the way I think I am suppose to be -- how do I be?  Ahhhhh, now that's the perfect question for practicing LOP. 

Try spending a day not pretending.  No faking, no shoulding on yourself, no appeasing.  If you come across a situation that does not feel good/right, don't pretend your way through it, step back and say, "Oh, this is an opportunity for me to remember WIRA."  Take a moment to see if there is any response that immediately comes to mind that feels more genuine.  If not, postpone your comment, decision, action, response (if possible) until an ah-ha, a sense of clarity, has a chance to express itself.

LOP is giving WIRA a chance to express out into the world.

Hypersensitivity

Posted to Facebook Apr. 16th.
I recently stuck my nose into a book called "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D.  In it she describes people who may experience any or all of the following: acute physical senses such as smell, taste, or touch; being deeply affected by other's moods and emotions; a need to withdraw from busy days and over stimulation; annoyance or overwhelm-ment when needing to do too many things; uncomfortableness with violent movies/TV shows; uncomfortableness with loud noises; a history of being called too sensitive or shy; an aversion to, or uncomfortableness with, changes in ones life.

In LOP I wrote about being hypersensitive.  It was what I experienced after my depression and when I was no longer choosing to be, as Pink Floyd calls it, 'comfortabley numb'.  I had probably been 'highly sensitive' my whole life but had never been taught what it was, or how to use it.  I had been taught by Western society that emotions and acute awareness were things to dull, ignore, control, stifle, and avoid. 

I have come to see that my sensitive emotions, and acute awareness, are actually a finely tuned guidance system helping me to discern who I really am (WIRA).  It no longer feels like hypersensitivity is an uncomfortable, unwanted thing, but a valuable, finely crafted, precisely set, Geiger counter that has the ability to guide me through life with immense skill and precision.

LOP is listening to what our hypersensitivity is helping us to know, and discover, about ourselves.