IS: Shooting the messenger
Upcoming events:
- Sunday Sept 21: Community Hub Call 19.12 for members
- Tuesday Sept 23: The Oasis
- (Seasonal rest day Sunday Sept 28)
- October 5: Season 20 formation
Last week's newsletter was "Attendance data from a free course" and the Community Hub session was titled "Changes for IS".
All of mankind's miseries stem from our inability to befriend our feelings.
(James's version, with apologies to Blaise Pascal)
Our inability expresses itself as a "flinch and turn away" as contrasted with a "soften and turn towards". The feelings themselves are messengers bearing wisdom - and we shoot the messenger, as if that will erase whatever sent the message.
Conscious, spacious presence can welcome the messenger, thank it for the message, digest the learning with equanimity, then act with integrity. We have so much capacity for wisdom, when our awareness is expanded enough that we don't lose ourselves in reactivity.
Suffering, the very thing that causes us to flinch away from a feeling, comes from the flinch itself — not the feeling. When the resistance is dropped, we find that we are okay: we can be with the feeling, no matter what caused it, and we can be in contact with the reality of the cause.
If we flinch away and resist a feeling, that doesn't even make us okay — it makes us stuck instead. Stuck in fear and denial. Stuck in behavioral patterns that sabotage our desires. Stuck in conflict. Stuck in relational patterns that sabotage our work and collaborations.
Don't shoot the messenger. That feeling is a gift from your embodied wise self. Accept the gift. If you don't know how, then spend time with those who do.
Sincerely,
James
P.S. Psst! If you've read this far, and you enjoy casework practice (ala Case Clinic), we have 2 open spots in our upcoming Casework Pods (4 people, 4 calls, 1 turn each) starting in October. Reply to this email if you're interested.