| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 07:44:36
"The urge to just be done with what we are doing and to go on to the next task is the number one cause of tms and everything is compounded on top of this. It is so ingrained that most will not see it even when they are told that it is there. It took me a long time to see this and figure this out through deductive reasoning. It also explains why our society has a lot of back pain but it is non-existent in tribal communities." --- Ace
And Ace's key 14: "One of the biggest sources of tension and strain is being in a rush or wanting to be somewhere other than where you are right now. Another way to look at this is one is always projecting themselves into the future. You for example may want to get to work so intensely, that anything that gets in your way will cause a conflict and thus pain, be aware of this and work on this. I also believe that the symptoms intensify the need to be in a rush because when someone is in pain or uncomfortable, they just want to get tasks of daily living just "over with". I think this somehow intensifies the strain and illness and makes it present almost all day, with every task present in life. Also a lot of times there is a feeling to escape the symptoms themselves and that somehow perpetuates them too. When someone has symptoms and they can't figure out what’s bothering them, it is usually the need to be in a rush, to escape, or to just want to get a task just out of the way. Another one is the feeling that one should be doing something more productive than what they are doing right now. See if you can recognize these feelings when they happen and try to resolve them along with the use of the affirmations. One very good way to recognize this is by asking - AM I OK BEING IN THIS SITUATION I AM IN RIGHT NOW? Recognizing these feelings when doing the mind power techniques is VERY helpful."
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“Nonresistance, nonjudgment, and nonattachment are the
three aspects of true freedom and enlightened living” -- Ekhart Tolle |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 19:34:35
A DIALOGUE ON INNER PURPOSE
From: A New Earth (Ekhart Tolle)
The following dialogue condenses numerous conversations I have had
with people who were looking for their true life purpose. Something is true
when it resonates with and expresses your innermost Being, when it is
alignment with your inner purpose. This is why I am directing their attention
to their inner and primary purpose first.
I don't know exactly what it is, but I want some change in my life. I
want expansion; I want to be doing something meaningful and, yes, I want
prosperity and the freedom that comes with it. I want to do something
significant, something that makes a difference tin the world. But if you asked
me what exactly I want, I would have to say that I don't know. Can you help
me find my life purpose?
Your purpose is to sit here and talk to me, because that's where you
are and that's what you are doing. Until you get up and do something else.
Then, that becomes your purpose.
So my purpose is to sit in my office for the next thirty years until I
retire or get laid off?
You are not in your office now, so that's not your purpose. When you
do sit in your office and do whatever you do, then that is your purpose. Not
for the next thirty years, but for now.
I think here is some misunderstanding here. For you, purpose means
what you are doing now; for me it means having an overall aim in life,something big and significant that gives meaning to what I do, something
that makes a difference. Shuffling papers in the office is not it. I know that.
As long as your are unaware of Being, you will seek meaning only
within the dimension of doing and of future, that is to say, the dimension of
time. And whatever meaning or fulfillment you find will dissolve or turn out
to have been a deception. Invariably, it will be destroyed by time.
Any
meaning we find on that level is true only relatively and temporarily.
For
example, if caring for your children gives meaning to your life, what happens
to that meaning when they don't need you and perhaps don't even listen to
you anymore? If helping others gives meaning to your life, you depend on
others being worse off than yourself so that your life can continue to be
meaningful and you can feel good about yourself. If the desire to excel, win,
or succeed at this or that activity provides you with meaning, what if you
never win or your winning streak comes to an end one day, as it will?
You
would then have to look to your imagination or memories – a very
unsatisfactory place to bring some meager meaning into your life.
“Making
it” in whatever field is only meaningful as long as there are thousands or
millions of others who don't make it, so you need other human beings to
“fail” so that your life can have meaning.
I am not saying here that helping others, caring for you children, or
striving for excellence in whatever field are not worthwhile things to do. For
many people, they are an important part of their outer purpose, but outer
purpose alone is always relative, unstable, and impermanent. This does not
mean that you should not be engaged in those activities. It means you should
connect them to your inner, primary purpose, so that a deeper meaning flows
into what you do.
Without living in alignment with your primary purpose, whatever
purpose you come up with, even if it is to create heaven on earth, will be of
the ego or become destroyed by time. Sooner or later, it will lead to
suffering. If you ignore your inner purpose, no matter what you do, even if it
looks spiritual, the ego will creep into how you do it, and so the means will
corrupt the end. The common saying “The road to hell is paved with good
intentions” points to this book or walking across the room. The main
purpose for turning the pages is to turn the pages; the secondary purpose is
to find a phone number. The main purpose for walking across the room is to
walk across the room; the secondary purpose is to pick up a book at the other end, ad the moment you pick up the book, that becomes your main purpose.
You may remember the paradox of time we mentioned earlier:
Whatever you do takes time, and yet it is always now. So while your inner
purpose is to negate time, your outer purpose necessarily involves future and
so could not exist without time. But it is always secondary. Whenever you
become anxious or stressed, outer purpose has taken over, and you lost sight
of your inner purpose. You have forgotten that your state of consciousness is
primary, all else secondary.
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“Living up to an image that you have of yourself or that
other people have of you is inauthentic living – another unconscious role theego plays.” -- Ekhart Tolle |
| gailnyc |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 18:02:02
quote:
Originally posted by shawnsmith
"The urge to just be done with what we are doing and to go on to the next task is the number one cause of tms and everything is compounded on top of this. It is so ingrained that most will not see it even when they are told that it is there.
I've been noticing lately that I do this a lot. I guess noticing is the first step, but it's awfully hard NOT to do it. |
| RageSootheRatio |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 15:49:00
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts on this.
Ace1: LOL !! YUP, I am impatient and being in a rush to "stop this engrained habit."
In other words, straining over my straining. 
pspa123: thanks .. I have also heard of that Jon Kabat Zinn exercise done w/ a potato chip!
bryan and chickenbone: YES, "takes a ton of cognitive work" ... Dr James explains this as the "top down" approach ...
all1Spirit: Yes, I take your point about it "being a temporary exercise in willpower." I have done some reading about willpower over the last year and know that it is an exhaustible resource. Not everything can be a priority in my life and I am always trying to use my limited willpower resources in an optimal way. So I am interested in "bottom up" approaches also.
Shawn and Ace: thanks again for commenting on this. Ace1, I especially appreciate your confidence that the affirmations, practice etc over time worked for you.
RSR |
| Ace1 |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 13:07:26
Yes Shawn I agree with you. It is very possible to change these strain habits through recognition, practice, and affirmations. The affirmations make this seemingly impossible task possible with time. They are the most subtle but also the most overlooked. |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 12:14:16
quote:
Originally posted by All1Spirit
Unless you discover those core drives any attempt at stopping strain is just a temporary exercise in will power.
I don't know why, but I find that to be very bleak and pessimistic. Probably because its sounds a lot like Sigmund again. Sigh......
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“Nonresistance, nonjudgment, and nonattachment are the
three aspects of true freedom and enlightened living” -- Ekhart Tolle |
| All1Spirit |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 11:05:55
In psychology we do what is called “Peel the onion” of get back to the drives behind a behavior. Rushing and strain are behaviors that are proceeded by assumptions, beliefs and thoughts.
Unless you discover those core drives any attempt at stopping strain is just a temporary exercise in will power. However once the central nervous system becomes upregulated for a period of time it can take a “set point” where it thinks this tension is normal – the brain is a learning machine and to preserve energy it will commit parts of homeostasis to a “process” memory and the process takes over.
Simply the brain concludes I was here yesterday and the organism is still alive so today I will repeat it.
"Around and Around the Circle We Go....
The Answer Sits In The Middle and Knows..." |
| chickenbone |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 10:38:15
I do agree that this is probably the main cause of TMS. I am constantly trying to keep my central nervous system calm. A revved up central nervous system is really a problem. I tend to over react to a lot of things and obsess about things a lot. The first step is to realize when I am doing it. It seems like I do extremely well for awhile and then fall back into bad habits. Lately, I have gotten somewhat lazy and have not been following they keys the way I should. I need to start reading them at least once per day again. I guess old habits die hard. My major TMS system has gone away, but I have other mental and physical symptoms that I cycle through. Some of them are foot cramps, allergies, headaches and sleep problems. I generally have one at a time. I know that if my central nervous system stays revved up, they will just cycle through one at a time. It takes so long to heal because the new, healthier habits need to become habitual and I have not reached that point yet. |
| bryan3000 |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 09:34:10
Rushing, living in the fututure is a major anxirty (TMS) behavior.
Changing that takes a ton of cognitive work. I'm in the midst of trying to work on this about myself. This belhaviot ties in closely with perfectionism, IMO. |
| Ace1 |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 09:07:50
Hi pspa
The kicker is if you just do mindfulness techniques it is not enough because it is first important to see your urge to rush. You kind of are seeing your intense train of thought first and with knowing that, you pull back and do it differently. The mindfulness by itself would not have been enough for me. |
| pspa123 |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 08:49:50
One of jon kabat zinn's exercises involves eating a raisin REALLY slowly and trying just to focus on the experience. I think it is meant to counteract the same mindset ace describes.
Thich nhat hanh also has an exercise about how to do dishes mindfully that is the same idea. |
| Ace1 |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 08:32:15
You just have to see it first, then sit in it and not go with the urge, act the opposite along with affirmations. Sometimes you just have to pause from what your doing and take a breather. Now this is where patience comes in because remember I said it takes time, months to years. This is why I am suspicious of 1 month cures. It seems rsr that you want to be able to stop this engrained habit in a matter of days and that is just simply not possible. |
| RageSootheRatio |
Posted - 03/10/2013 : 08:22:50
Thanks, Shawn. Interesting highlight!
OK, so Ace1 says: see if you can recognize these feelings when they happen:
• being in a rush
• or symptoms intensifying the need to be in a rush
• just wanting to get a task out of the way.
• wanting to get tasks of daily living just "over with"
• wanting to escape
• or a feeling of wanting to escape the symptoms themselves
• feeling that one should be doing something more productive than what they are doing right now
• wanting to be somewhere other than where you are right now
for example: you may want to get to work so intensely, that anything that gets in your way will cause a conflict
quote:
See if you can recognize these feelings when they happen and try to resolve them
I am good at recognizing these feelings but not so good at RESOLVING them. Can anyone provide some other, unusual examples of how they resolved the urge just to be done with what they are doing? (and I mean other than by using affirmations or other than a quote by Tolle.)
RSR |
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