.. leave e-mail .. (for Monty or Carolyn)The difference between theory and experience generally lies in practice, and this is certainly true of Attitudinal Healing. Try to do one of the following personal practice exercises each day (but not more than once per waking hour). Most are five-minute exercises, but you may extend them to 15 minutes if you are comforatble with them. Try not to judge yourself for failing, or for doing them imperfectly, or for being distracted while doing them. Nevertheless, be willing to make an effort, and give them enough priority in your day to make the practice effective. In fact, it is your own "little willingness" that sparks the changes we come to know as "healing".
Practice Exercises:
"Giving and Receiving Are the Same"
The most powerful gift we can give ourselves and others is our "willingness" to see things differently. This can be as simple as saying "I think I know, but I am willing to recognize that I might not." With this statement, there is a little sliver of an opening for another way of seeing things. For Love to reveal Itself in our lives, that is all that is required. For five minutes in the latter part of your day, sit quietly in a quiet place. Think about a relationship that causes conflict for you. For several minutes, think clearly about the feelings that arise in specific situations with this person. You might say to yourself, "in this situation (name it) with this person (name them), I always/often/sometimes/ feel these emotions (name them: fear, anger, guilt, confusion, etc). Try to be nonjudgmental about naming the circumstances; in other words, resist attaching judgments like "because this person doesn't like me" or "because this person is inconsiderate". After a couple of minutes acknowledging these things, say to yourself, "I will receive what I am giving now, so I am willing to see things differently." Say this over and over for the remainder of the time you have, at least two minutes, but not more than ten or fifteen. Do not be concerned about seeing things differently, only about being willing to see things differently. Answers come in their own time; let your willingness be enough for now.
If giving and receiving are the same (as the principle suggests), and if we want to experience ourselves and others as loving beings (and thus be happy), we can offer what we most want to receive, and leave the rest to Love. For five minutes at the beginning of your day, sit quietly in a quiet place. One by one, think of the people in your life, and hold the thought, "(Name), true peace and joy I offer you, that I may have true peace and joy as mine" (or, "God's peace and joy I offer you, that I may have God's peace and joy as mine").
Throughout the day, whenever you are able, upon encountering another individual (stranger or not), say silently to yourself once for each encounter, "true peace and joy I offer you, that I may have true peace and joy as mine".
Certainly, our current notions of "what we are" and "what our purpose is", are not serving us well if we are anything less than perfectly at peace with ourselves and the world around us. Clearly, too, anything we do to open our mind leads us to the greater possibility that we may reach our full potential as loving beings. We find it enormously useful to envision ourselves as "radiant", for the purpose of opening to expanded ways of seeing each other. For five minutes at the beginning of your day, and five minutes toward the end, sit quietly in a quiet place. With eyes closed, imagine that a radiant light extends from your heart, outward to fill the room. Then imagine that the people in your life walk into the room one by one, then on their way into their own respective lives.
Throughout the day, whenever you are able, upon encountering another individual, stranger or not, silently and briefly bring awareness to your heart and imagine that its radiance extends outward to encompass them.
We all experience dis-comforting thoughts and feelings, and we've all tried various ways of dealing with them -- with various degrees of success. What if we resolved to give all discomforting thoughts and feelings to the vast, all-encompassing presence of unconditional Love? Would Love not respond by revealing to us Its spaciousness, Its compassion, Its insight, Its direction, Its peace? For five minutes at the beginning of your day, sit quietly in a quiet place. Think carefully what fears you have about the day (what situations may arise, what persons you might encounter). Name the persons and the situations explicitly but nonjudgmentally, and acknowledge the fear. You might silently say something like "In this situation (name it) and/or with this person (name them), I am afraid I will have this experience (name it)". After each acknowledgemnt, offer this thought; "I acknowledge that I am afraid, but I am willing to give my fear to Love."
Throughout the day, whenever you are able, upon encountering conflict, say once (silently to yourself), "I acknowledge that I am afraid, but I am willing to give my fear to Love."
Appreciation is a context of mind (i.e., an attitude) that colors our experience of life. For five minutes at the beginning of your day, and five minutes toward the end, sit quietly in a quiet place. With eyes closed, call to mind the people who have given you intangible gifts. (If this seems difficult, think of teachers, or childhood friends, or extended family). As you bring them to mind, say silently "(Name), you have given me the gift of (name it), and in appreciation, I offer that to you now". Then imagine that the gift is reflected back to them by the power of your appreciation.
Throughout the day, whenever you are able, upon encountering another individual (stranger or not) remember one of the gifts you reflected in the earlier exercise, and offer it silently for each encounter, "In appreciation for you, I offer you the gift of (name it)"
(Still Under Construction)
(Still Under Construction)
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