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perjantai 11. lokakuuta 2013

Day 332: Attraction, part 8 - refusal


 11102013



This post is a direct continuation to:


And a part of the following series:


“The thing is, I fear getting too close to people whom I perceive to be “beggars” - looking for company out of dependency. These kinds of people I usually kindly turn away, and one of the guys from yesterday to me appears to be “one of them” - although I really can't say because I've only met him very briefly. I do not want to support anyone's addictions, and this is why I find this principle one that I will stick to, as long as I take care to not assume people to be what I believe them to be and to communicate myself properly to the other.”

I am now increasingly anxious about the person I am referring to here, because I agreed to meet him and simply the discussion on how we should meet has revealed some points about the both of us that I find worrying. For now I have been able to direct myself according to self-honesty, but it has required immense effort as I am not completely clear on where I stand and how to communicate that to another.



I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that rejecting a person based on nothing but my initial feeling of resentment only serves my self-interest and does not support the other to understand the real reasons behind my refusal, not to mention I neglect my own process while doing so.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to reject another person based on my initial feeling of discomfort instead of refusing the proposal of another based on the incompatibility of our starting points at this point of time and space.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to feel guilty for rejecting another person, not realizing that it serves the benefit of the both of us to not direct our time and effort on something that most likely will not “work out” (become a platform of actual support for the both of us AND consequently benefit the rest of the world as well) and that in such a case where this seems likely it is reasonable to let go and move on.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to have negative expectations about dating, not realizing that a meeting with a person doesn't have to be about “falling in love” (creating dependency) and “planning a future” (writing a story in one's head), but that it can in fact be utilized to map out the foundation each one's life stands on and to see if they would benefit each other.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to consider canceling a date because of the meeting place the other suggested, not realizing that instead of escaping possible conflict I can actually direct the situation by communicating why I do not think the meeting place is good for our meeting and suggesting something else. [This is what I did after a long-ass struggle with myself, lol, and it worked out well.]

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear that when/as/if I refuse to keep meeting this person it will create a “disturbance” in the social structure we interact in – that we would feel uncomfortable in each other's presence – not realizing that this can be avoided (or at least I can do my share of preventing such a situation) through self-honest communication where the “air is cleared” and no points are left to accumulate under the surface.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not trust myself to be able to communicate myself properly in a situation that is loaded with expectations.



I commit myself to attend to this meeting from the starting point of mapping out the both of us.

I commit myself to support and assist myself to be clear with myself throughout the meeting by returning myself to breath and focusing on my breathing and grounding, thus slowing myself down, and by keeping track of any reactions/points that may occur during the meeting.

I commit myself to pay attention to my negative expectations (wanting to see the other in a negative light so that I would have an excuse to escape him) and to carry responsibility for them by ensuring that they are not the starting point for my actions and choices.

keskiviikko 9. lokakuuta 2013

Days 329-331: Attraction, part 7 - resentment




This post is a direct continuation to:


And a part of the following series:


 07102013

“The thing is, I am not particularly attracted towards any of the people who approached me yesterday – in fact, on some level I resent them all – and now I am faced with the question: “Now what?” What do I do here? What's the opportunity here? How do I communicate? What do I even want? What's behind the resentment?”

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that if I am attracted towards a person I “should” approach him/her and that if I resent a person I “shouldn't” approach him/her.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that my feeling of attraction/resentment is a sign/proof/evidence of another person's compatibility/incompatibility with me, not realizing that what I feel within me is in no way directly connected to the qualities of another person.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that another person is responsible for my feeling of attraction/resentment, not realizing that I create the feeling whereas the other person only acts as a trigger to the patterns I live as.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to justify including in my life only those whom I feel comfortable with and excluding those whom I feel uncomfortable with, because I have believed and perceived that it is “natural” for people to be drawn towards some and pulled away from others.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that by believing it is “natural” to like some and dislike others, I separate myself from this reality by refusing to include all kinds of people in “my world” - the subjective reality I create by piecing together my life experience.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that even though it is very common for people to like some and dislike others, this is not how things ought to “naturally” be, as it creates rivalry, competition and separation and alienates people from the reality that withholds ALL kinds of people, not just the people that one finds pleasing.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that in order for me to ever have a somewhat reliable and truthful view of the world, I need to interact with all kinds of people, because every single one needs to be considered when directing myself/the world towards a future that is best for all.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that the things I resent are outside of my comfort zone, which is an indicator of a lesson to be learned, an opportunity to expand my comfort zone.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not embrace resentment as an opportunity for growth.



I am now thinking of a model of learning created by a russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. He placed three circles inside each other and dubbed the innermost “Comfort Zone”, the second layer “Learning Zone”, and the third one “Panic Zone”. The point in the model is that when one is faced with suitably sized challenges, one will learn – and when the challenge is too big, learning becomes impossible. I am comparing my situation with this model and thinking whether or not these challenges are “too big” for me to handle and what kind of support I need to get through them.



I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear interacting with the people I resent.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear interacting with the people I resent because I have focused on what I dislike about the person and used it as an excuse to stay within my comfort zone.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself, when and as I have reacted with fear to another person, to search for and focus on the “flaws” I find in the person and then use these “flaws” as an excuse to keep the person away from me – not realizing that I am actually running away from my fear, which I ignored in the first place.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to ignore and cover up the fear reaction that occurs in me when and as I create resentment towards another person.

--

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that I reacted with fear when X asked me out and that every thought I had about the situation from that point onwards was influenced by that fear.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to resent agreeing to go on a date with X because I believed my resentment to be founded on facts (who the other actually is), not realizing that my resentment is founded on excuses, assumptions and interpretations as I have only met the person a couple of times and thus cannot say that I have any real idea of who he actually is.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to ignore the fact that when X asked me out, my experience/thought was “oh fuck no, not him as well”, within that moment my perception of him collapsing and changing from neutral/friendly into one loaded with sex/relationshit/assumptions/fear/resentment.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that it is my attitude/approach to romantic interest that is fucked up, not the situation itself.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that a person expressing their interest towards me with whatever means they have learned to be “appropriate” (i.e. asking me out for a date) is this person's self-expression and nothing personal towards me.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to feel burdened whenever someone expresses their interest towards me, feeling somehow obligated to not “hurt” them.

  • A memory of couple dancing lessons from school (at the age of 13-14). We were told that if someone comes to ask you to dance, it is incredibly impolite to refuse. We were told that everyone should have that one dance, and after that it is OK to refuse to dance anymore. This felt suffocating to me because I imagined all the worst-case scenarios of having “creepy” and “disgusting” boys/men come over to me and me being obligated to dance with them.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to resent dancing with people whom I have defined as “disgusting”, not realizing that my definition is based on the fear reaction I initially have towards these people, from which point onwards I search for their “flaws” and create resentment.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that the people I have defined as “disgusting” are not in fact disgusting but that my experience towards them is, and that therefore I cannot blame them for being disgusting but myself for creating that experience within myself.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to refuse the chance to face my own fears when and as I have been approached by people I have feared, resented and justified feeling disgusted towards.

--

08102013

I realize there are some words and terms that I am now reacting to. They are:

  • date / dating (in finnish: treffit)

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to define the word “date” (“treffit”) to mean such an event where two people meet each other with expectations, hopes and wishes of romance, sex, intimacy, company and partnership, which makes them blind to what is actually HERE (who the people actually are) as everything within the meeting is filtered through the expectations, hopes and wishes – anticipation - making it impossible for the situation to end up in anything but disappointment or fulfillment.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that even if I go on a “date” (“treffit”) with someone who has expectations, hopes and wishes about the situation, I don't have to position myself towards the situation in a similar manner.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that when I go onto a “date” (“treffit”) with expectations, hopes and wishes that are directed towards the other person, I am (indirectly) asking for the other to fulfill my desires, to feed my addiction, to be what I am not to myself – and that I am thus living as a beggar only caring about my self-interest and seeing the other as a “tool” to get what I want.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that a “date” (“treffit”) does not have to include expectations directed towards the other, and that instead I can go onto a date without expectations, with no desire, plan or a goal of what I would like to do with the person, and through getting to know the person create the interaction moment by moment.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear going on a “date” (“treffit”) with someone whom I perceive and believe to be “begging” me for something (directing his/her expectations towards me) because I have felt like I am obligated to not “hurt” that person and that I am thus “powerless” in front of their desire.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that living according to a thought pattern where I cannot “hurt” the other by being honest and refusing to participate in their energy possessions, I make myself a victim of abuse. [This is how people get raped, for example.]

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that the “hurtful” experience of another is in fact created by the other.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to carry responsibility for “hurting people” when I have been honest and not participated in their romantic/lustful energy possessions.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear other people getting disappointed because they might exert and blame their experience on me, and thus rather try and keep people from getting disappointed.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that when another person reacts to their “energy train” hitting the wall and crumbling away, I am of most support to the person by keeping myself stable and NOT by giving into fear and trying to get their energy up and running again.



When and as I react with fear to another's disappointment (as expressed through anger, depression, spite etc.) - I stop, I breathe and I realize that the fear is a remnant of a thought pattern that is no longer functional. I realize that by giving into my fear and trying to “soften the blow” for the other I will only make the situation worse. I remind myself that by keeping myself stable and focusing on forgiving and releasing my own reaction I am of most support to the other as well as to myself. I focus on my breath and on my body, letting go of all tension that occurs. I allow the other to express their disappointment, and when/as/if they are done expressing themselves, I will move myself according to self-honesty.


--

09102013

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that even the people I am overwhelmingly attracted to do in fact have “flaws” that I pick up - they are not perfect as opposed to those I resent – but that I am too busy with my experience of “falling in love” to pay attention to and define them according to these “flaws” YET.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that each and every person has lessons to offer me as there are points in every person I react to with fear. [In theory I guess it's possible that those points might run out eventually, at least with some individuals, at least for a while.]

--

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that when I look at these dates I have now agreed to attend I have expectations myself, and that even though they are not positive expectations but negative ones (fear, standing back, keeping a distance, being wary, expecting the worst, being in escape mode, keeping an emergency exit, “what if things go wrong”) they do in fact influence my positioning in the situation – they are the polarity of positive expectations and carry the exact same amount of consequences.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to blame others for having expectations towards a meeting when I have had expectations all the same.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to demand that others take care of their shit so that I wouldn't have to deal with mine.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to expect that these dates will “not go well”.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to hope that these dates will “not go well” because then I'd have an excuse not to face the fears the other triggers in me.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to expect that when I invite Y to my house he will try to take advantage of the situation, not realizing that I base this expectation on who I believe him to be – the two-dimensional paper doll labeled “Y” I have painted within my mind – and not on who he actually is because I don't really know him all that much.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to filter my perception of Y through the initial fear he triggered in me through some romantic gesture some weeks ago, thus ignoring all the “signs” that tell me he might as well be a decent person that I can trust to not be an abusive asshole.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear being abused, not realizing that I accept and allow abuse to happen throughout the interaction that leads up to the act of abuse by making myself less than who I am.

--

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to react with fear to “romantic gestures” because I have perceived and believed them to be a sign of the other having expectations, hopes and wishes towards me, not realizing that no matter the other's intentions these “romantic gestures” are only “romantic” if I believe them to be, and that in essence they are just actions: giving a “romantic gift” is just giving a gift, a “kiss on the hand” is just a kiss on a body part, “sweet-talking” is just giving a compliment.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to react with fear to “romantic gestures” just as I reacted to X's dating proposal: with my stance collapsing from neutral/friendly into negative expectations, “oh fuck he wants something from me”.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that if another person wants something from me I am somehow responsible for it.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to be burdened by other people's desires, not realizing that even if the desires are directed towards me I am still not connected to those desires – I am just the trigger for who the other one is as behavioral and mental patterns.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that “romantic gestures” are the self-expression of another, which is nothing personal towards me (even if the other personifies their feelings with their image of me) and that I do not have to participate in them in any way whatsoever if I so choose.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to take a “romantic gesture” as a sign of “who I need to / am expected to be” and not as an indicator of who the other one is.



I commit myself to participate in these dates aware of my own movements, not blaming my reactions on the other but bringing them back to myself.

I commit myself to support and assist myself to stand clear within these meetings by focusing on my breath and taking note of any and all reactions that may occur.

I commit myself to expect others to be no less than the best they can be.

sunnuntai 6. lokakuuta 2013

Day 328: Attraction - part 6 - intermission


07102013



This post is a part of the following series:



I've been meaning to “wrap up” the attraction series by writing commitment statements on it, but something else relating to the subject has surfaced, and I need to write about it first to get some clarity.

Yesterday within the time span of 4 hours two people asked me out on a date and a third one expressed his interest. Now, because I have been very withdrawn and shy throughout my life I haven't really come across situations like this before (I've only had, like, ONE dating request per day, thankyouverymuch), so I have been surprised and confused about all this unrequested attention, especially because I have had feelings of attraction towards some other people I've met recently. The thing is, I am not particularly attracted towards any of the people who approached me yesterday – in fact, on some level I resent them all – and now I am faced with the question: “Now what?” What do I do here? What's the opportunity here? How do I communicate? What do I even want? What's behind the resentment?

I am asking myself: what have I done to “ask for attention”? Am I somehow sending a message that says “I'm available, come and get meeeeee”? Who have I been within the interaction with the people from yesterday – have I been sending cues?

I realize that with two out of three I have had fleeting thoughts of “what if” - in other words, I have considered them as possible partners if only for a little while. This, of course, can be picked up in my behavior. The thing is, with these guys I have already decided (based on the few encounters I've had with them) that I will not go into an intimate relationship with either one. But hang on, what exactly do I base this decision on? The resentment I have? Isn't fear what's behind the resentment? If so, why would I succumb to my fear and stay within my comfort zone? Isn't that precisely where I stagnate?

The thing is, I fear getting too close to people whom I perceive to be “beggars” - looking for company out of dependency. These kinds of people I usually kindly turn away, and one of the guys from yesterday to me appears to be “one of them” - although I really can't say because I've only met him very briefly. I do not want to support anyone's addictions, and this is why I find this principle one that I will stick to, as long as I take care to not assume people to be what I believe them to be and to communicate myself properly to the other.

Right, so long story short: in my surroundings there are people I am attracted towards and with whom I feel comfortable and “nice” all around – there's a positive excitement. And there are also people I have been approached by and who on some level do seem genuinely interesting – but not in the romantic, exciting, feelgood way. AND there's also people that I am even frightened of because of what I see of myself with them. My problem is, I don't how to “organize” my situation, so to speak – how to define all these people, what I do with them, what is “allowed” and all that. In other words: by going through what I have in these attraction series so far about polygamy, limitations, self-expression and fear of undefined relationships, I have actually summoned this situation upon myself. Lol, what a fucking challenge! Thanks a lot, me! Lol, no really, I am quite cool with this now that I'm somehow starting to grasp what's going on.

There are some specific points relating to this situation that I will go through.

  • reaction to a romantic gesture: “did I insult him by not responding to his gesture?”
    • the “pleaser girlfriend” / “ideal girlfriend” persona – wanting the other to feel good and thus responding as I think I “should” respond
  • accepting date requests – not being able to say “no”
  • private writings on each person specifically
  • resentment and fear
  • plus others that emerge while going through what I wrote today.

Alright, I will continue tomorrow.

torstai 3. lokakuuta 2013

Day 327: Attraction, part 5


 03102013



This post is a continuation to:



The connection personality (see yesterday's post for context)

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to seek for a connection in relationships because I have felt disconnected from Life.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to disconnect myself from Life – from all that there is – by believing and perceiving that I am somehow “special”, “unique” and “individual”, that I am “different” from other forms of Life because I have a consciousness of my “own”.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to seek for the experience of “being alive” from the energetic experience of “connecting” with another person as I have separated/alienated myself from the experience of being alive in every single breath.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to separate/alienate myself from myself as a being of Life by not realizing I am in fact alive in every single heartbeat, every single inhale and exhale, every single moment that passes by.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to create an expectation that “being alive” should feel somehow “big” and “overwhelming” and to thus feel disappointed when my life does not include that rush of energy. *

* I need to investigate where this expectation/definition has been created. Probably somewhere in my childhood, where positive life experiences have been experienced with a rush of energy, thus confusing this energy and “good living” to be connected.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to seek for a connection in relationships because I have felt disconnected from myself.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to disconnect myself from myself by resenting myself, thinking that life experienced through “who I am” is not “good enough” - it doesn't feel big, strong, overwhelming, ecstatic, powerful, fulfilling enough – not realizing that I have created “who I am” and that I am thus responsible for my life experience not being enjoyable, and that I cannot mend this by seeking for fulfillment from outside of me, as if I was abandoning a sinking ship.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that my life does not feel fulfilling because of how I live from within myself, and that I have created my experience of unfulfillment/disconnection by living as a being that is limited, suppressed, fearful and self-dishonest.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to seek for a “cure” for my unfulfillment/disconnection from other people, wanting to live through others as my “ship” has already been sinking, not realizing that I cannot escape this “ship” and jump onto another – it is simply physically impossible – and that if I want to live a fulfilling life I am going to have to fix THIS “ship” - myself – so that this “ship” could sail on its own.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to resent facing my own misgivings and finding a way to mend them because they have felt “too much” and “unmendable”, thus giving up on living as self-fulfillment/self-connection and only seeking fulfillment/connection from other people.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to give up on myself.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to desire for the moment where I “connect” with another because within that moment we become an entity – two beings energetically synchronized – which makes me feel more “fulfilled” as I for a moment live through/in a symbiosis with the other and thus can ignore myself and not live within and as myself.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive it is justified for me to neglect myself and to seek for the experience of “connection” from others as “fulfillment”, because this is what I have for all my life seen others do – this is what my world taught me through example – and because “everyone else is doing it” I believe and perceive myself to be excused to do it as well.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to crave for the moment where I “connect” with another because within that moment I feel accepted, seen and heard, meaningful, worthy, special and loved – not realizing that I do not experience any of this as myself but only through the other, meaning that if the other was not there I would not experience self-acceptance, self-attention, self-direction, self-worth and self-appreciation but would feel “empty” and “unfulfilled”.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that the “magnetism” I feel between me and another is a sign that I'm doing the “right thing” - that getting closer to the other is justified – when in fact that “pull” I feel is me moving within and as my mind according to my desire to get to the acceptance I might get from the other, like a beggar approaching a man with a wallet.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to try to replace self-acceptance with the acceptance I get from others, not realizing that this is not a sustainable way of living as the acceptance I get from others always fades so that I have to go “hunting” for more, whereas I could build self-acceptance into my very structure so that it would be with me no matter “where I go” – even if there were no other beings around me to make me feel accepted.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that a “good life” is a life lived – meaning that every moment of life is in fact lived within and as breath, as the being that I am in the flesh within the physical existence, and not escaped by jumping from one energetic experience to another.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that “fully living” means that every moment should “feel like something” - that every moment should be energetically charged.


I will continue with self-corrective statements and commitments on what I have written during the past few days.

tiistai 1. lokakuuta 2013

Day 326: Attraction, part 4


 01102013



This post is a continuation to:


An interesting thing occurred. All of what I wrote yesterday was a cool realization in itself, but later I realized that I had used it as a justification to follow those “attraction patterns” or “pathways” I mentioned before. “It's OK to do stuff with people? Then go ahead, follow your desire!” You know, lol, kinda looping around myself, thinking I'd figured out something and then it turns out I had missed something essential. So, I will now return to writing about these patterns/pathways.



“Oh right, another point I've been thinking about in relation to this are attraction patterns: how mutual attraction usually “ends up” in sex through certain layers of interaction. I've realized that one reason I have refrained from acting upon attraction is the fact that I already saw the whole pathway leading up to sex looming in front of me and I got really fucking scared of it, and so I rather just staid away from people. What I've realized now is that I don't (necessarily) have to follow that pathway. I have a choice in each moment of breath – I have a choice in every single moment I interact with another, and so in a way every moment is a blank slate. This realization has been a great relief for me, because I have understood that I am in fact in charge of myself and my life, and that such a thing as attraction is no longer “in the wheel”.”

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to desire to follow a specific pattern of behavior and interaction with a person I feel attracted towards, because what I have seen at the “end” of the “pathway” I have defined as the “ultimate reward” - the climax – the peak of the energy I accumulate within me from the very moment the attraction is triggered in me. *

* Quite revealing how this is an analogy to sex.

--

In private spoken and written SF on specific events I came to realize that what I seek for when following this attraction pattern that would eventually lead up to sex is connection. I remembered listening to an interview of the Relationship Success Support -series about the “connection personality” - at the time not really seeing myself in what was discussed - and now everything suddenly making sense! According to what I've seen of myself so far, the energy I seek for in the fulfillment of attraction is acceptance, being heard and seen, feeling “special” and elevated, becoming an entity with the other if only for a single moment of contact.

I realized this when I looked at a moment where I looked another person in the eye after wanting to get closer to him for a while, and where in this moment I felt a slight “oomph” in my being, like a shockwave being sent through me, where I felt like I was seen, I felt like the look was “special”, I felt like that one look was speaking a thousand words, as if I knew exactly what was going on, as if we were “meant to be” there – when what in fact happened was probably some sort of a synchronization of energy (resulting from mutual attraction) AND my anticipation being fulfilled / my accumulated energy being released. So what happened was not a “real” “connection” in that sense: it was just me rolling around in my energy (and him rolling around in his).

When I look at this desire to have a “connection” with someone another point I was thinking of some weeks ago now starts to make sense. I thought to myself: “am I really myself with anyone at all?” With this question I realized that I am not really allowing myself to be exposed and to show all of myself with everyone and anyone, and instead I resort to personalities, within which I feel “easy” and “chill” around people. The search for connection thus makes sense: the connection I would naturally have with everyone if I hadn't locked up my expression into personalities driven by fear, I now seek for in “special” relationships that would be an outlet for all the things I “can't be” with everyone else. The interesting thing is: my “hunt” for this “connection” where I could expose myself also happens from within personalities. So while searching for the “right person” to expose myself to I'm not even being myself! How would they ever know who I am?

And this is why this insane looping has got to stop. No matter how I look at it – rationally or emotionally – it just doesn't make any sense. It's a self-contradicting, self-justifying cycle. So hear me now: The connection I seek for is the connection I have lost with myself and with all Life. I will never regain that connection from special, exclusive relationships that are based on energy, because energy will fade and die out. I will only ever find it from within myself, and consequently from every single facet of Life inclusively. I am in fact able to connect with every single being and element there is to this reality we live in. The connection I look for is LIFE – the connection I look for is HERE – the connection I look for is waiting for me here in every moment of breath.

To clarify, because I am prone to feel guilty: There is nothing wrong with interacting with people on different levels, as I have established during these past few days of writing. It is in fact recommendable. So go ahead and adventure, but be aware of what is going on within me and why. That's where I learn – that's where I grow – that's where opportunities are not wasted.

I'll continue with SF and commitments.

Day 325: Attraction, part 3


 30092013



This post is a continuation to:


“Lately I've been thinking a lot about attraction. When one is attracted to someone, in essence it is a kind of a pull – being drawn towards something – but these phrases suggest that it is someone else pulling, that a force outside of me is drawing me towards someone, when in fact I create the pull as I have created who I am at the moment.”

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that when I feel attraction I am not responsible for that feeling because I have been taught by this world that attraction, romance and love are some kind of a magical mystery force that just comes from somewhere outside/above of us.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that I feel attraction towards another person because of that person, naming it “destiny”, “love” or “fate”, thinking we are “meant to be” or “made for each other” or “soulmates”, completely passing the responsibility on the other for a feeling that I HAVE inside of me, believing that he/she is “making me feel this way” – not realizing that I am the cause of every feeling and emotion I experience as nobody else can access my body nor my mind, and that I am thus responsible for the feeling of attraction within me.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that when I see another person and I feel attraction, the other person is working as a trigger to “who I am” (the patterns of thought, belief and behavior I am currently living as) - “who I am” is mirrored back to me within the interaction with the other - which is when I project the following experience of “who I am” onto another and feel drawn towards the other because of the experience of “who I am” - not because of who the other one is.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that I am attracted to another because of who the other is, not realizing that even though this is partially so, the primary reason for my attraction is who I am or who I “get to be” when with the other, as accepted and allowed by who the other one is.*

* For example, the other may be very kind I and I think I like the other because he/she is kind, when in fact when I am with that person I do not have to face my fear of aggressive people and I feel safe – I am within my comfort zone – I do not have to step outside of my comfort zone to face new challenges and grow as a person. Or: the other may be very active and energetic and I enjoy being with him/her because I can just follow his/her lead and do not have to motivate myself to be active. BUT these examples only show how attraction can be abused, when it can in fact also be used for growth.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to waste opportunities for growth when attracted to another being by accepting and allowing my feeling of attraction to “take the wheel” - believing and perceiving the other to be the cause of my experience and attraction to be something magical outside of me, thus only abusing the attraction as described above – not stopping to ask myself where attraction comes from, who I become with the other and what it is I could learn from the other.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to abdicate my responsibility for my experience of attraction by blaming it (very lovingly) on my target of attraction or on the “universe” ( = that great big something “above” me that can always take the blame when I don't want to).



“The issue that somewhat remains is the fact that I suddenly find myself drawn to many people at once – not that it wouldn't have happened before, but before I have simply told myself “no” and refused to explore the situation further. It's either been a “no, I'm already in a relationship” or a “no, I've already got a main romantic interest”. So basically I have already made up my mind about who I will be intimate with, as if there was a spot I'm reserving – and I'm not talking about only sex, but about all levels of physical AND mental intimacy.”

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to define intimate interaction to be such that can only happen in an exclusive monogamous relationship.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to justify limiting intimate self-expression into an exclusive monogamous relationship by thinking it is “personal”, “private”, “holy” and/or “special”, not realizing that all these concepts work as an excuse to keep a level of myself hidden form myself.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that a part of me is “personal”/”private” - something I am allowed to keep to myself because it is only mine – not realizing that there is absolutely nothing that is “only mine” as everything that I am and live as is a result of this reality AND affects all of this reality, which makes everything that I am “everybody's business”, in a sense, because nothing of me is fully separate from the rest of this reality and existence.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that a part of me is “holy” and thus needs to be hidden from the world and/or shared exclusively with “special” individuals only, such as a spouse, a spiritual guide, a therapeutist or a god – not realizing that even though this “safe zone” of exposing myself may be a necessary step for me to open up at all, creating excuses to stay within that “safe zone” - such as by claiming it to be “holy” - is an act of fear and self-dishonesty, because what I realize of myself within that “safe zone” is not fully integrated into my living regardless of circumstances.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to limit myself from exploring human interaction with the thought “I already have someone else”, not realizing that I am giving myself an excuse to not face my fear of undefined relationships and unforeseeable interaction and rather stick to my “safe zone” where I know what to expect from each person I interact with as I have already decided what is “allowed” and what is “not allowed”.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that I am only allowed to express my attraction towards one person at once, as this is what I have been taught within the culture I was born in, not realizing that this trait of this specific culture (monogamy) has not been inherently here within human beings since the dawn of time but is a concept and a tradition that has been created to serve a utilitarian purpose within a certain context.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not question my cultural context as I have believed that the authorities in my life (family, school, media) have taught me absolute, universal truths.



“The point is that what my relations are with the individual people I come across of the world's population of 7 billion are what I make of them – they are at best a creation by two – and that if I do one thing with someone it does not exclude me from doing another thing with somebody else.”

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to limit my self-expression into one “special” relationship because I have feared that the one I am in a relationship with might get hurt, insulted, angry, sad and/or depressed as a result.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to create this definition of relationships (one has to be “faithful” so that the other one doesn't feel bad) based on an experience within an early relationship of mine where I discussed this topic with my partner and my partner took it personally.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself, when and as I saw my partner getting emotionally hurt, to react with fear of losing my partner and decide that I will be “faithful” to make sure that my partner doesn't leave me.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that I am not responsible for the emotions and feelings of another when I do not purposefully provoke them, and that therefore my partner's reaction to our discussion was not my fault.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to “take the blame” for the fact that my partner reacted when I expressed that I would like to share myself intimately with other people as well – not that his reaction would have been surprising at all and that I would have had any idea how to handle it.

lauantai 28. syyskuuta 2013

Day 324: Attraction, part 2

28092013



This post is a continuation to:

Day 323: Attraction, part 1



Today I focused on writing privately about specific people and interesting stuff emerged. I was losing concentration on studying because these people kept on popping up in my thoughts. I will share some of the SF with names censored.




I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe it is justifiable to have a “goal” in mind when interacting with another person, not realizing that my justification is “because it would feel nice”, which is my desire talking: the desire would be fulfilled (I would “feel nice”) when the goal would be reached.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to place X into a “special” position where he is allowed to occupy my mind on an obsessive level – not realizing it's not even X himself in my mind but my image presentation of X, the paper doll I play around with in my scenarios – and that the real X here in the 3D I cannot predict because he is his own individual being who makes his own choices – which is why our interaction is created in the flesh and not within my thoughts.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive it is justifiable to be mentally occupied by thinking of another person because there is an attraction and it is “natural” to be obsessed – not realizing that this mind-wankery amounts to nothing at all as the real interaction with this person is not created in the mind but in the physical when and as it is here and not a moment before.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to be impatient to explore my relationship to X because he is not here right now, and to thus resort to playing around with the mind-puppets by replaying past moments in my head again and again – not asking myself where this impatience comes from.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to be impatient to interact with a person I feel attracted towards, not realizing that impatience is wanting to be “there” already – to be in a future moment – not realizing that when I want to be in the future I neglect the present moment, which is all there actually is, the only thing that verifiably exists.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to escape my present moment into the future because in the future there is something “exciting” which makes my present moment seem “less” in comparison – not realizing that the “more” in the future is actually excitement energy and nothing that would concretely make that moment more full of opportunities or such – and that the present moment is actually just “as good” as the future moment, but that they're just different in the opportunities they provide.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that the future I am impatient to live within is “better” than the present moment I live within right now because the future moment contains energy whereas the present moment doesn't.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that a moment that contains high amounts of energy is just that – a moment with energy – and that measured in breath that moment is equal to all the other moments of my life.

When and as I get impatient to be in a future moment already, I stop, I breathe and I realize that I am disregarding the present moment by longing for the future. I breathe and I remind myself that measured in breath each and every moment of my life is equal, and that the future I crave for is equal to the present moment I am breathing in. I ask myself what makes the future moment appear “better” and I utilize self-forgiveness to release the energy in question. I then look at my present moment from within and as breath and I move myself according to what is here now, and I release the future to be lived when and as it is actually HERE.


All of the above also applies to wanting to return to a past moment and replaying the past moment in the mind to re-live the energy one experienced. It's always away from HERE, be it in the past or the future.

I'll continue again tomorrow.

perjantai 27. syyskuuta 2013

Day 323: Attraction, part 1


27092013



Lately I've been thinking a lot about attraction. When one is attracted to someone, in essence it is a kind of a pull – being drawn towards something – but these phrases suggest that it is someone else pulling, that a force outside of me is drawing me towards someone, when in fact I create the pull as I have created who I am at the moment.

I think the metaphor “people are mirrors to each other” describes it quite well. When I am attracted towards another, I either enjoy something the other person “has” - like a trait or a quality – or I enjoy who I am in the presence of another, or maybe both. In other words, the other reflects back to me what I lack or I wish I had – who I am is reflected for me to see, which is an awesome opportunity for growth. “Who I am” is not a constant, it's not something that would remain unchangeable from situation to another, but is in fact relative to all the factors that affect any situation, such as the people who are present, the activities involved, the physical location, the time of the day... So when I find myself to be “more” in some way when in another's presence (more kind, more relaxed, more funny, more intelligent, more active etc.) I am drawn towards that person's company, because I haven't yet realized how to bring out that quality in me without that person around.

So basically I am pretty clear on what attraction is and how it functions, and when I have come across people I am drawn to I have stopped to map out what is going on in me when this happens. The issue that somewhat remains is the fact that I suddenly find myself drawn to many people at once – not that it wouldn't have happened before, but before I have simply told myself “no” and refused to explore the situation further. It's either been a “no, I'm already in a relationship” or a “no, I've already got a main romantic interest”. So basically I have already made up my mind about who I will be intimate with, as if there was a spot I'm reserving – and I'm not talking about only sex, but about all levels of physical AND mental intimacy.

The change I'm seeing in myself is that there's no longer that need to reserve intimacy for one person, and I am in fact very comfortable with these people all around. I have realized that all interaction is actually allowed, because all interaction – talking, touching, moving – is self-expression, and as long as I am honest with myself about what I am doing and why there is no rule that would forbid me from exploring human interaction with all the people I come across. And no, I am not saying that I will now go and have sex with everyone – that's not the point at all – even though I could do that. The point is that what my relations are with the individual people I come across of the world's population of 7 billion are what I make of them – they are at best a creation by two – and that if I do one thing with someone it does not exclude me from doing another thing with somebody else.

I'm still trying to find the right words to crystallize this realization, and I'm sure I'll find them once I just write about this enough. So pardon my messiness! Lol.

The thing is, I don't think that attraction is a “bad thing” in itself. Attraction is an indicator of who I am and the people it is pointing me towards may provide important lessons. Attraction becomes dangerous when I forget that it is my creation, because then I lose myself into the other. I believe the other to be my “destiny” or my “soulmate” or “the one” et cetera – I create an obsession of the other because I believe the other to be the cause of my attraction when in fact he/she is just the trigger.

Oh right, another point I've been thinking about in relation to this are attraction patterns: how mutual attraction usually “ends up” in sex through certain layers of interaction. I've realized that one reason I have refrained from acting upon attraction is the fact that I already saw the whole pathway leading up to sex looming in front of me and I got really fucking scared of it, and so I rather just staid away from people. What I've realized now is that I don't (necessarily) have to follow that pathway. I have a choice in each moment of breath – I have a choice in every single moment I interact with another, and so in a way every moment is a blank slate. This realization has been a great relief for me, because I have understood that I am in fact in charge of myself and my life, and that such a thing as attraction is no longer “in the wheel”. From this starting point of self-trust I am glad to continue exploring human interaction.



I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear attraction.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear being attracted to another because I have believed and perceived that attraction can only “end up” in a specific, predetermined outcome – not realizing that people never simply “end up” somewhere but always bring it upon themselves one way or another, and that therefore I have taken myself to situations where an attraction leads to a familiar result – and that if I am the one taking myself to places, I have the power to stop and decide to change my route.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to resist attraction because I have feared acting upon it.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear attraction because it is an indicator of my wish to be intimately close to/with another being which is something I have feared because I have not wanted to expose myself.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear exposing myself to myself by exposing myself to another.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to avoid acting upon attraction because I have not known what it will lead into.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear not being able to define what my relation to another being is.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to want to define all of my relations with other people so that I would know in advance what is possible and what is not possible within the interaction I have with each one – thus creating “safe zones” where I can “let loose” of one aspect of myself with one person and of another with someone else – not realizing that when I create these definitions (i.e. I can hug A, I can't hug B, I can hug C a little if it's the right moment, I can hug D all the time, I can't hug E unless I do it the right way...) I limit myself extensively by accepting and allowing my relations with people to remain the way they have initially appeared to “work” (not causing conflict or confusion), not realizing that for every limitation I place in interaction there is a cause – a fear – and a border I fear crossing.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear physically touching people in a way that makes them react because I have feared that they would then pull away from me.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear addressing topics that make others react because I have feared that they will blame their reaction on me and accuse me of being “invasive” and “inappropriate”.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to fear that if I behave in a way that makes the other react, the other will judge me and think less of me.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to want to create and uphold “safe zones” with other people where I can trust the other to not “invade” my “personal space” (to not do whatever I have defined to not be “included” in the relationship I have with the other).

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that by allowing these “safe zones” to exist I serve both my self-interest and the other's and in no way actually support and assist either of us to face and deal with what is really going on within us (the fears that create our limitations).

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to – generally speaking – define my relationships with female friends to only include specific kind of touching and only a specific amount of it.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not want to touch my female friends' breasts, butt, thighs, hips, neck, chest, ears, face, stomach or sides because I have defined these body parts to be “sexual”, “intimate” or otherwise reserved to only be touched within a romantic or otherwise “special” relationship.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to – generally speaking – define my relationships with male friends to only include specific kind of touching and only a specific amount of it.

  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not want to touch my male friends too much because I have feared it might be misinterpreted as “romantic interest” - not realizing that every time I fear this, I am actually on some level attracted to the person in question, and that I am covering my own ass while blaming my fear of facing myself on the other.
  • I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not want to touch my male friends' butt, thighs, scalp, face, ears, stomach, hips, sides or neck because I have defined these body parts to be “sexual”, “intimate” or otherwise only to be touched with a male I am in a romantic relationship with.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that I have limited myself from touching almost 3/4 of the human body regardless of gender because I have feared intimacy (which, in essence, is always self-intimacy - “in-to-me-I-see”).

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to deny myself to be touched anywhere but a very limited “safe zone” of my body as I have defined most of my body to be “too intimate/personal/private” for others to touch – when in fact I have isolated and separated my own body parts from myself, which makes them feel “private” and “different” when in fact they're just the same tissue as all of my body is.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to believe and perceive that I don't want others to touch a “private” part of my body (any of the ones listed above) because others “should not” be touching it, when in fact I avoid it being touched because I do not want to be reminded of the existence of the body part.

I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to not realize that all the limitations I have on my self-expression (the “walls” of discomfort I come across) are in fact a structure I have created in my mind and NOT some universal truth of “shoulds” and “shouldn'ts”.

--

This topic is apparently really vast and this SF seems to be a bit all over the place, so I will continue tomorrow in more specificity. Points to go through:

  • private writings on specific people
  • definition of attraction
  • reserving intimacy for someone “special”
  • attraction patterns

Plus others if they emerge.