Aa
Who we really are at our divine center
http://acupofocean.wordpress.com/
“Each of us has a divine name. Mindfulness is the key to unlocking its secret. The term in the Talmud for mindfulness is kavanat lev, ‘the directing of the heart.’ Real mindfulness comes about not by an act of violence against our consciousness, not by force, not by trying to control our consciousness, but rather, by a kind of directed compassion, a softening of our awareness, a loving embrace of our lives, a soft letting be.
What were to happen if we were to look more deeply at the things we don’t like about ourselves instead of beating ourselves up about them? Maybe, just maybe, they would turn out to be strengths and not weaknesses after all. …
What is it about ourselves that we really hate? What is it we would do anything to change? And how is the very thing we hate our divine name? How might it express our purpose in life…? This is the kind of question we might spend our whole lives wrestling with. But if we turn a soft, loving eye on the thing we can’t stand about ourselves and keep it there until the thing we can’t stand falls away, this wrestling will become a loving embrace and our divine name wil emerge in its stead.”
[One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi, by Alan Lew with Sherril Jaffe, Kodansha Publishing; 1999; pp. 300-301.]
“Each of us has a divine name. Mindfulness is the key to unlocking its secret. The term in the Talmud for mindfulness is kavanat lev, ‘the directing of the heart.’ Real mindfulness comes about not by an act of violence against our consciousness, not by force, not by trying to control our consciousness, but rather, by a kind of directed compassion, a softening of our awareness, a loving embrace of our lives, a soft letting be.
What were to happen if we were to look more deeply at the things we don’t like about ourselves instead of beating ourselves up about them? Maybe, just maybe, they would turn out to be strengths and not weaknesses after all. …
What is it about ourselves that we really hate? What is it we would do anything to change? And how is the very thing we hate our divine name? How might it express our purpose in life…? This is the kind of question we might spend our whole lives wrestling with. But if we turn a soft, loving eye on the thing we can’t stand about ourselves and keep it there until the thing we can’t stand falls away, this wrestling will become a loving embrace and our divine name wil emerge in its stead.”
[One God Clapping: The Spiritual Path of a Zen Rabbi, by Alan Lew with Sherril Jaffe, Kodansha Publishing; 1999; pp. 300-301.]
Sorry...typo there... that's meant to read as "Creativity" (I've got my laptop up on a chair and can't see the keyboard properly!! I need to go to BED!) HA HA
This philosophy sounds very like embracing the Shadow in Jungian psychology. The Shadow (usually formed of the things we don't like about ourselves, and can often project onto others) can be a rich source of inspiration and cretaivity. I think this is very like the story of "Beauty and the Beast".
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