A New Earth discussion
Chapter Five: Share Your "Aha" Moments
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I started Chapter 5, must have been Friday, but didn't read much. I'm now a little into it and wanted to share my favorite things so far. (I post before I finish the chapter otherwise I'll never remember!)pg 136 - Almost every human body is under a great deal of strain and stress, not because it is threatened by some external factor but from within the mind. The body has an ego attached to it, and it cannot but respond to all the dysfunctional through patterns that make up the ego. Thus, a stream of negative emotions accompanies the stream of incessant and compulsive thinking.
now this is the truth! stress comes from within from worrying about things that are beyond our control. I know this happens to me and I just do my best to put things out of my mind and not let them get to me.
I love the duck story on page 138. This is so true, that when a duck gets into a fight it will forget about it once it is over because they do not have human emotions. Humans will dwell on the smallest factors for years and that does not do anything but eat away at happiness and positive outlooks.
I'm up to the discussion on pain bodies in chapter 5. I find this very interesting and oh so true especially when they mention the media does not primarily sell news, but negative emotion, food for the pain-body. I guess this is why I don't keep up with the news, it is too depressing and really not worth my time. I like the happy and upbeat stories.Then there is the sub-chapter about the female pain body and boy is this not true?! it talks about women being "demoted" to being child bearers and men's property. granted we have come a long way from those days but not far enough. It all came down to the male ego and being threatened by women. go figure!
The story about the ducks is very powerful reminder of how we tend to hold onto resentments and stay in the past, basing our behavior in the future on thoughts and emotions from another time. One of my yoga teachers reminds us regularly to go with our breath. We're either in our breath or in our ego. So true. This has been a great exercise to remind myself of the presence--going back to the breath.
The concept of how the pain-body feeds off of negativity and drama in relationships is something that I tend to see on a regular basis. It is true that one negative comment tends to breed resentment and suddenly, the room is filled with complaints and gossip from others who were exposed to the negativity. We become fierce in competition with others, for mates, for socio-economical status, physical appearance...all ego driven, yet we aren't Being. As I have been reading this book, certain sections have stood out to me very boldly and really many of them have not been regarding me, but more for other people in my life. So I'm reading this almost as a learning tool not just for me but to learn about others.
I'm hoping that I might be able to help them grow and experience their New Earth though mine!
After reading Chriss' comment I realized that a friend of mine seems to live off of drama and it is getting to the point where I dread talking to her because everything in her world is bad and it drains me talking to her. I did mention yesterday that maybe she should focus on the good and positive, not sure if that made an impact or not but you just never know! I can always hope!
Yes, hugbandit7, I know exactly how you feel because I seem to find myself amongst these folks (mostly at work where I can't get away from them) and it really is hard sometimes because you'd think the world was crashing in around them. They just fail to see anything good and the next thing you know, others are joining in on the bashing, complaining, negative cycle back and forth. I just dread this myself and try to point out the fact that they sound pretty miserable and might want to consider therapy. I think this is where my "Being" is tested because no matter how hard it is to hear, I just become transparent to it and try not to let it affect me. Believe me, it's hard sometimes but I don't want my pain-body to score anymore face time. It has already had enough!!!
I agree. Some people have doom and gloom all over them. It's ingrained in their personalities. From my experience, you can't convince them otherwise. I create distance from them because it wears me down. If anyone knows of ideas in dealing with people with the "woweezeme" attitude, please let me know. I haven't found it yet.
I used to think that older people were more mellow, but you know some people just get meaner and nastier as they age and don't mellow. Bitter. No inner peace.
The Pain Body, Emotions and the Ego, The Duck with a Human Mind, Carrying the Past, Individual and Collective, How the Pain-Body Renews Itself, How the Pain Body Feeds on Your Thoughts, How the Pain-Body Feeds on Drama, Dense Pain-Bodies, Entertainment, the Media, and the Pain-Body, The Collective Female Pain-Body, National and Racial Pain-Bodies.