A New Earth Class 4: Creating Space
March 27, 2008 at 7:35 pm (A New Earth, Class 4, Eckhart Tolle, Oprah, attention, creating space, inner journey, personal growth)
I found Class 4 to be the most interesting of the series so far. Eckhart Tolle recommends to a caller that does a lot of centering, breathing, and presence work at home; but doesn’t sustain it when he is criticized be his boss; that the caller incorporate stillness and presence all through his day, not just at home.
In another part of the conversation, Tolle tells the story of a Zen master watching an archer try to win a contest. Because he wants to win so much he is drained of his power.
This is particularly interesting to me because I have always been driven to succeed. This has entailed a lot of stress and anxiety which I believe has taken away from my performance in the moment.
So one of the key messages from Monday night is that we can create tiny spaces for stillness and presence at work, or wherever we happen to be; and these spaces grow over time.
The other message is to be in the moment. Plan if we have to; but when we begin to execute the plan we must be totally in the present, or as athletes say, “In the Zone”. If we are thinking ahead or worrying, it takes away from our performance.
pete
Heidi said,
March 28, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Hi Pete,
I haven’t watched this class yet - thanks for the summary!
I can relate to the drive to succeed - for me I’ve been realizing that it was often about trying to be better, because that deep-down message I carried was I wasn’t good enough!
It’s been frustrating sometimes to try to learn to be motivated by passion and my purpose in this world instead. So, still drive myself to succeed, but do it from my heart! Most frustrating step of all has been trying to figure out what that purpose is… It’s a work in progress!
For me, getting to a point where I can stay present, even when being criticized (or otherwise feeling attacked or angry), has only been possible as I start to figure out what my triggers are. What are the inner messages that my ego holds? The ones about not being good enough, about not being lovable, about all the things I “should” be (as a wife, as a mother, as a friend, etc…). I wrote about it here: http://www.iwasthinking.ca/2008/02/09/fixing-the-foundation/
As I recognize these hidden messages, it starts to take away their power - which is exactly what Eckhart has been saying. It’s the consiousness - the awareness of that voice, our ego - that brings us presence. For me, though, just being aware I was thinking wasn’t enough - I needed to be aware of WHAT I was thinking and how that was connected to my emotional reaction before I could manage not to get “hooked” into the same old patterns.
Before I started recognizing some of these thought - I would just end up reacting the same way again and again and again. And beating myself up for not being able to stay calm or handle situations better!
I’ve been finding those “tiny spaces” you talk about throughout the day by using the physical signals my body sends me. If anything, I tend to overthink things - so I’ve found it very powerful to step out of the analytical on a regular basis and just check in with myself on a purely physical level. I find I can recognize the stress there quicker.
I can notice that my neck muscles are tight or my stomach is in knots. Then, without understanding it (so I can do it in the middle of a work conversation or a fight with my husband), I just quickly center and ground myself - I imagine letting go of all that stress and dropping it down a big hole beneath my feet right down to the centre of the Earth. That immediately brings me back to the present so that I can complete my conversation more respectfully and present to the other person’s (and my own) needs.
Later on, I often come back to those moments and think about what was going on that caused me to react (those hidden messages I talked about above) - so that I can still move forward with personal growth.
I started with months of just checking in with my stomach a dozen or more times a day - because that’s where I hold most of my stress. Now I’m finding that it comes more naturally, so I’m getting better at calling on this technique even in moments of strong emotion or reaction.
I believe that these two things together (physically checking-in to recognize & release stress; and recognizing my hidden messages or childhood “wounds”
are helping me find more presence, peace & joy throughout every day!
Whew - that ended up being a longer comment than I intended!
Take care,
Heidi
Heidi said,
March 28, 2008 at 1:58 pm
One more thought as I re-read your post.
As a project manager, I plan. And I’ve thought a lot about how planning works when you’re also trying to stay in the present!?!
I won’t start another long comment but I wrote about these thoughts in my blog recently.
Pete - I know you’ve already read it, but perhaps some of your other readers might be interested.
http://www.iwasthinking.ca/2008/03/13/in-this-moment/
Enjoy!
Heidi
Pete Reilly said,
March 30, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Heidi,
Obviously, you are on a path…that is bringing you closer to home.
I love this poem by Mary Oliver.
The Journey
Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew
What you had to do, and began,
Though the voices around you
Kept shouting
Their bad advice-
Though the whole house
Began to tremble
And you felt the old tug
At your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
Each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
Though the wind pried
With its stiff fingers
At the very foundations-
Though their melancholy
Was terrible.
It was already late
Enough, and a wild night,
And the road full of fallen
Branches and stones.
But little by little,
As you left their voices behind,
The stars began to burn
Through the sheets of clouds,
And there was a new voice,
Which you slowly
Recognized as your own,
That kept you company
As you strode deeper and deeper
Into the world,
Determined to do
The only thing you could do-
Determined to save
The only life you could save.
pete