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Below are a few ideas I’m using…based on ideas I’m learning and using from Angeles Arrien’s books and workshops… “Second Half of Life: The Eight Gates of Wisdom” and “The Fourfold Way”
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The ideas below started out from “pages” I created with some of Angeles Arrien’s ideas from the 11/4/2013 Pocket Perspectives post “Becoming more open to noticing “gems” .
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Ideas from that November 4th post… questions to answer…
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After further thinking, reflecting and observation, I began to notice and realize that those positive and strengthening qualities might not be available from other people or from interactions with them…and “wanting” those from others might create unreliable or “unhealthy” dependency on others …..or discouragement when I don’t receive those from others…. and, therefore, I would, or might, benefit from learning to offer those important qualities to “myself”….to become an important, reliable and readily available “source” of those in, or from, my own mind, heart and spirit….
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So….. instead of “who or what am I being encouraged by?”…which is dependent upon receiving those from other people or situations…to think in terms of being the “source” of those important qualities…. such as “how am I offering encouragement to myself in this present moment?” or “how did I offer encouragement to myself during the day today? “
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Becoming more aware of offering these helpful “qualities” to myself, in each present moment….with the purpose of learning to offer each of them more often, more frequently and more consistently….keeping this page in an obvious place, to keep looking at it and reminding myself to develop these qualities “within” myself….to notice “specific examples” of how I am using each quality with myself…and if I’m not doing that, to gently, kindly and generously offer those right then….
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Below is a more concise reminder page that I cut into 3 sections….keeping a section in my pocket and referring to it repeatedly throughout the day…to “learn” to do these… to practice again and again and again… that’s how learning happens…and how “change” evolves…through “practice”…. to learn to “do” these with and for myself…to offer them to myself….
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Another reminder page below…to refer to and reflect upon… perhaps at mid-day, late day…or whenever there might be time… to look back, reflect, appreciate and acknowledge “progress” in oneself…again offering specific examples of how I may have offered each one to myself…and to “practice” doing that more often and more consistently…
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Below is one of the “pages” from that previous November 4th post… with that question “who or what” offered these qualities to me? …hopefully, an answer will be “I” offered those to myself today…
think of specific examples….
to pause, notice and appreciate that I did that…
what we appreciate appreciates…
these will increase with any sincere appreciation we offer to ourselves…
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so…a work in progress…both the pages and “myself”….so far, these most recent pages are really helping me . I used them repeatedly throughout a very stressful and overwhelming week last week, when I didn’t have familiar, supportive people around or available to offer reassurance to me …remembering to offer these special qualities to myself throughout each morning, afternoon and evening was very helpful and strengthening… thank goodness for a variety strategies…slowly, slowly we learn… thank goodness….
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we’re all “works in progress”….
so proceeding with kindness, gentleness, patience and persistence…
slowly, slowly, slowly
learning each day,
~ works in progress~
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Pocket Perspectives 