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Post Written By Eugene Morgan
“If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”— Pema Chodron
observation
Digging Deeper
Post Written By Eugene Morgan
Sometimes we need to dig a little deeper to learn about ourselves. It is easier to stay on the surface of things than to dig deeper. Digging deeper is about stopping for a moment and paying closer attention to our behaviors, our thinking and our feelings. It is easier to be on autopilot and not dig. But if we continue on autopilot, we continue to stay unchanged in our ways without an understanding of self. It is about knowing “thyself”. It is learning about why we feel a certain way in one situation and not feel a certain way in another. Learning about the self is a humbling and a wonderful experience.
See What’s Really There
Post Written By Eugene Morgan
It is better to pay attention to things around us because it helps us to be more observant. Being observant is a useful skill to help us interact with the world effectively. Observing ourselves is important because we can find clues about ourselves we didn’t know existed. Learning about our thoughts, our feelings, and our behaviors can also give us clues as to how we respond to different situations. Sometimes we react to a situation instead of stepping back for a wider scope. Being an active observant means seeing things that others missed. Observation requires us to painstakingly watch something or someone to compare a hunch or an idea to what we’re observing.
Observation brings to life Variety
Post Written By Eugene Morgan
Sometimes we go through life without really looking at things. Observation can bring to life variety, because when we don’t look for details, we miss out on something new. Learning something new excites us because of the discovery element.
We learn something interesting that we didn’t know before, or we see something little different from what we’ve seen before. The magic is in the details. Learning about the details take the mystery out of something.
Milton Erickson thought it was very important to experience things without analysis. When we analyze things, the experience becomes lost. But details are different from analyzing an event or something we do like walking and talking.
Learning the details are learning the ‘what’ and analysis is more about learning the ‘why’ we do things a certain way. Observation looks for the ‘what’ to find new discoveries of life.
Observe, then Change it
Post Written By Eugene Morgan
If we want to learn something about ourselves, we must observe ourselves. Most of our behaviors are done without our knowledge. If we want to make a change in a certain area in our lives we must observe what we do to resist change.
Change isn’t easy. But if we want to do something to fulfill our purposes, change is a prerequisite. Change is required. That’s why it’s true that if we want something, it requires great labor to get it.
Change requires labor. And labor that we’re not used to isn’t easy. Change is difficult but not impossible. However, observing our behaviors will help us seek out those behaviors that are keeping us from doing what we need to do to make change possible.
The hardest part about change is to maintain it. It’s something that we can continue to do is to keep out old habits and to maintain new changes until those new behaviors become new habits.
Time is the important element to the process of change. It takes time to develop new habits. Instead of waiting until tomorrow to start changing old habits, why not we start today.
It’s just a delay, if we wait for tomorrow. Remember tomorrow is just an illusion. If we think about it, tomorrow is not real but today is real because we’re in it.
The Sun is Out; Challenging Assumptions
Post Written By Eugene Morgan
We all make assumptions that aren’t true. There are assumptions that are even in our language, for instance, most of us would say, “The sun is out or the sun is going down.”
Even though, we know that the earth rotates and orbits around the sun. Therefore, the sun isn’t moving up or going down, it’s the earth’s rotation that’s causing the illusion of the sun moving up and down.
We don’t normally say I can’t wait for the earth to rotate enough to see the sun or to see the sun set. We base our assumptions on our experiences and our personality and background.
Assumptions ought to be challenged. When we challenge our assumptions, we can see farther than before. Questioning assumptions is one of the most useful techniques that help broadened our minds. Challenging assumptions is a useful skill to get to a better understanding of things.
Creativity, Learning and Wondering
Written By Eugene Morgan
There will always be a battle between what we don’t see and what’s revealed to us. Creativity is not easily given away. We must work for it. We have a lot of questions unanswered. Creativity is a glimpse of some of those answers that we seek.
Learning the wonderment of life is our entertainment. Learning is entertaining. Learning is seeking enlightenment. Life is our teacher; it’s a continuous learning.
When a flash of creativity opens up our minds, we experience an exhilarating feeling of understanding that we never experienced before. Scientists, philosophers, spiritualists, and other leaders have given their lives for the quest of understanding and experience so as the rest of us, its human nature to search and wonder about life and how we play a part in the universe.
Mistakes convert into a Wealth of Learning
Written by Eugene Morgan
“There’s a wealth of learning you get from making mistakes.” Milton Erickson
We have to risk doing something to make a mistake. It’s okay to make mistakes as long as we can learn something from them. Learning something from a mistake means making adjustments to the situation. If we continuing to make the same mistakes, this means we haven’t learned anything yet or made any adjustment to our attitude and behavior. Making adjustments mean making changes. As long as we’re alive we’re going to make mistakes but also we’ll have accumulated a wealth of learning. Learning used as resource to breathe wisdom into a difficult situation.
Diversity and Acceptance
Written by Eugene Morgan
“I think the faults that you recall in human beings give their charm to that individual that enable you to recognize and remember that individuals,” Milton Erickson
No one is perfect. We all come in different shapes, sizes and colors. Perfection is an internal standard that blinds us from what is real. It can keep us from being objective and observant. But in the above quote, Erickson reframes it nicely. He wants us to see our faults as charming and unique. Erickson believes that acceptance is possible when it comes to our faults. When we accept ourselves as we are, then we can focus on our potentials and on what’s possible for change. And when we accept ourselves, we can then easily accept the faults of others. So let us charm ourselves and everyone around us and no longer look for faults to fit some internal standard. Instead, we see that our faults are just another characteristic or attribute of ourselves.
Claim Our Independence
Written by Eugene Morgan
“When one knows the boundaries, restrictions and limitations that governs them he is free to utilize satisfactorily whatever is available.” Milton Erickson
Today is Independence Day. This is a time to celebrate our Independence, not just with our country but ourselves. When we started learning how to walk, we were on our way of claiming our independence. When we started learning how to speak, we were on our way of independence. When we got our driver’s license, we were on our way of independence. When we graduated from high school we were on our way of independence. When we got our first job, we were on our way of independence. When we turn 18 and then turn 21 years old, we were on our way of independence. Erickson’s implication in the above quote is that if we don’t know the boundaries, restrictions and limitations that we place on ourselves we won’t believe we have at our disposal the choices to claim our independence. Apparently, knowing something is about knowledge and knowledge is power. Therefore, knowing the boundaries and restrictions that governs us is even more powerful; because we are free to use satisfactorily whatever is available within ourselves.