pseudonymous
Obtuse Kineticist
Discernment
I feel blessed to be born of this time and in this place, for at what other time has the horizons of communication been so expanded, and in what other place is there quite such a melting pot of ideas and faiths and cultural backgrounds? In another time I may have been expected to follow the status quo, or be imprisoned or publicly shunned for my experiences. And in another place I may have access to only a small portion of the human experience. Here, today, I can benefit from those who may have tread the inner path before me...learn from their foibles and tribulations, as well as garner much needed experiencial advice from those who are familiar with the potholes along the way.
One of the very real limitations that I have encountered in my journey is the use of language. Two people from differing perceptions and vocabularies may find themselves at odds with one another and yet have the same experiences and awareness. That is why I try to 'see' and 'hear' another person by their presence. Words can be erroneously understood, but a person's energy cannot lie. It is the surest discernment that I can have of another.
I endeavor to never judge another on one take. The other may perhaps be having a bad day, or I may be hearing something out of context. For whatever reason, if I am a moral person then my goal should always be discernment. Like it or not, I have been guilty of preconceptions and being judgmental. The measure of my growth in awareness can usually be measured by the time it takes me to recognize my infraction with another, and the effort I make to correct it.
It has been my experience serving and being served that much friction can be eliminated if I can find discernment in my evaluation of others. The journey to Self awareness is not a race, and it should not be an opportunity to validate perceptions. That is why it was such a lonely world for me in the beginning of my journey. I would get frustrated and discouraged when others could not see through my eyes, or hear through my ears. Logic and reason should have told me that everyone was journeying towards Self awareness from different directions, and that no one should have been expected to understand my perceptions completely.
Only through sharing without walls and masks have I gained insights from others. In the beginning of my journey I had this communion handed out as samples, because of an inability to listen without reaction. Everything I received went through a comparison of my own perceptions, and once this happened I ceased really sensing on all levels the other's experiences. I saw their's through the filter of my own.
Discernment and dialogue is focusing on the person I am speaking with. Debating and finding the holes in the other's perceptions was focusing on myself. I already had my perceptions intact, but if my goal was to add to them and not to defend them, then I had to learn the art of seeing and hearing those that I communicated with, rather than continuing to communicate against new perspectives.
©2004 DC Vision
I feel blessed to be born of this time and in this place, for at what other time has the horizons of communication been so expanded, and in what other place is there quite such a melting pot of ideas and faiths and cultural backgrounds? In another time I may have been expected to follow the status quo, or be imprisoned or publicly shunned for my experiences. And in another place I may have access to only a small portion of the human experience. Here, today, I can benefit from those who may have tread the inner path before me...learn from their foibles and tribulations, as well as garner much needed experiencial advice from those who are familiar with the potholes along the way.
One of the very real limitations that I have encountered in my journey is the use of language. Two people from differing perceptions and vocabularies may find themselves at odds with one another and yet have the same experiences and awareness. That is why I try to 'see' and 'hear' another person by their presence. Words can be erroneously understood, but a person's energy cannot lie. It is the surest discernment that I can have of another.
I endeavor to never judge another on one take. The other may perhaps be having a bad day, or I may be hearing something out of context. For whatever reason, if I am a moral person then my goal should always be discernment. Like it or not, I have been guilty of preconceptions and being judgmental. The measure of my growth in awareness can usually be measured by the time it takes me to recognize my infraction with another, and the effort I make to correct it.
It has been my experience serving and being served that much friction can be eliminated if I can find discernment in my evaluation of others. The journey to Self awareness is not a race, and it should not be an opportunity to validate perceptions. That is why it was such a lonely world for me in the beginning of my journey. I would get frustrated and discouraged when others could not see through my eyes, or hear through my ears. Logic and reason should have told me that everyone was journeying towards Self awareness from different directions, and that no one should have been expected to understand my perceptions completely.
Only through sharing without walls and masks have I gained insights from others. In the beginning of my journey I had this communion handed out as samples, because of an inability to listen without reaction. Everything I received went through a comparison of my own perceptions, and once this happened I ceased really sensing on all levels the other's experiences. I saw their's through the filter of my own.
Discernment and dialogue is focusing on the person I am speaking with. Debating and finding the holes in the other's perceptions was focusing on myself. I already had my perceptions intact, but if my goal was to add to them and not to defend them, then I had to learn the art of seeing and hearing those that I communicated with, rather than continuing to communicate against new perspectives.
©2004 DC Vision
