Tracy Anderson, I will comment on Chapter 7 with you on
being present without resistance. The author states presence without resistance
frees you and allows other pathways to begin to appear, presenting other
possibilities. I get caught up sometimes in worrying about how things should be
rather than accepting how they are.
I have been practicing living in the now for a few years
after listening to Eckhart Tolle when he did those podcasts with Oprah. I think
I will listen to them again because it was freeing to be able to just accept
and be. Life took on a new perspective and I was much more able to handle the
now and not resist.
This has helped me immensely in my classroom this year. I
had a tough group of students and I was placed in an environment that I wasn’t
highly qualified for and it was sad, frustrating, at times maddening and I felt
terrible that I couldn’t give the class everything that I was capable of
because I had never taught the subjects I was trying to teach.
If it hadn’t have been for those audio books and podcasts, I
wouldn’t have survived as well as I did. I would just take a breath, and say
this too shall pass, accept where you are, be in the moment and find something
about the situation that is positive and work from there.
That worked and I learned to pace myself differently and let
go of mind traps. I have become a better teacher because of this year. I did
ask for a transfer. My mind isn’t that strong.
That was my crisis and it really felt like where am I in my
life now? Facing the unexpected that truly confuses and disappoints and as you
stated, I will now follow my own connection to the possibility.
Image Source: Microsoft Office Clipart; MP900438964
Tracy Anderson
Metal sculpture titled” Spreading Peace on Butterfly at a
Time” by David Kracov
In this countdown to month 12 in the EMDT program, I
indulged myself with an audiobook version of The Art of Possibility.
My thinking was, at this stage of the game I really need to multi-task.
This is something I really do not favor, as it forces my attentions in
far too many directions. Like the conductor exclaimed in chapter 5, “They
need me everywhere!” Good grief, I hope that part of my life and thinking
has passed. I have no aspirations that are that grandiose.
Now that it seems deadlines are coming as if induced by some
force beyond my control and I really need a way to say I have had some
introduction to the assigned chapters. Today, I actually managed to
listen, for the second time, to chapters while walking 2.0 miles around the
local neighborhood track. The weather was cooperating, a pleasant 80
degree and not a cloud in sight. I put in my ear buds and commenced my
lap count whilst listening to the narration of possibilities.
My disclaimer, my comments are in no way a comprehensive
study of the Zanders. Just my own little quips and recollections of
points that made an impact, or, better still, made me laugh.
Chapter 5 offered its own bit of salve. We all know tyrants
and professional bullies. If you find yourself in the company of such a person,
plan your exit. No point in posturing yourself against them. I do like the
white paper practice Zander described. It’s very much like the feedback
we provide at the end of each course. No harm, no foul, just a decent way
to offer comments from a personal perspective.
Fast forward to chapter 7, on being present without
resistance. Now, let me just say that I have a problem with being present with resistance
or just plain tuned out. It has taken years for me to take my interests or
fears (calculating self) out of the equation to lessen my resistance to a
situation, good or bad. By developing that muscle of resistance I have found
myself in some painful situations. My piano teacher often asks, “Are you
present today?” Funny how that resistance comes through in any
endeavor. Thankfully, of late, I have been fully present. Which
leads into the next chapter, Giving Way to Passion. This is where I need
some remedial help! Where am I holding back? I am familiar with
notion of the long line but I am far too familiar with the disorientation
expressed by Amanda Burr. How many times have I felt that I don’t
know where I am in my life? Let a crisis (bar line) present itself and
all but for the Grace, there I go. Now my more mature and cooler head has
begun to prevail. I think I must be taking my lead from someone close to
me who shared that he hates the bar line in music because musicians react to it
as if it were a stop sign. It is time to follow the long line and my own
connection to possibility.
Photo retrieved
from http://www.spiritofspider.com/2012/01/spreading-peace-one-butterfly-at-a-time-metal-sculptures-by-david-kracov/
No comments:
Post a Comment