Posts tagged as:

ego

Socialized to Self Authoring – From What to How

April 30, 2010

The move from the socialized mind to the self authoring mind might well be characterized by the move from being told what to see, believe and how to fit in, to how to see, come to your own conclusions and what what it means to be an interdependent individual. (have you gotten his book yet?)

The question I think facing the church as we head into the second decade of this millennium is whether or not we are comfortable with facilitating peoples journeys within the context of community or whether we are more concerned to create cookie cutter clones who believe the same thing, quote the same verses, have the same views on the Left Behind series, homosexuality, politics, woman’s role in marriage and church and genetic engineering.
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Adult Meaning Making and Self Development

March 30, 2010

Jane Loevinger is one of the pioneers in the area of ego development or how we see the world and how we make sense of our lives (including God, others and the universe around us) are what experts refer to as meaning making systems. Meaning making, or the development of the “self” or “ego,” is what goes on as we learn to make increasingly sophisticated meaning of the world around us.

A five year old thinks there are monsters under the bed at night. When we come in and turn on the light and show them there is nothing to be scared of we are often greeted with the explanation that “of course the monsters hide for the light they are only there in the dark.” This is the way a 5 year old makes sense of their world. If that was still going on at 13 years of age we would be concerned. Most of us are familiar with child development and the name of someone like Jean Piaget. We are less familiar with adult development.
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Acceptance, Surrender and Synchronicity

January 18, 2010

Acceptance of the grace and mystery of life means that because of our practice of letting go the core posture of our soul and pattern of our life is letting go….letting go of the need to make every thing fit, cohere. We just need to surrender to what arises and allow the mystery and grace of life to come to us uncensored and unedited

When I say surrender what do I mean?

In fact coming from the old Covey school of thought concerning goal setting, 5 year personal planning, life goal achievement the idea of surrender might seem oxymoronic.

This is a move from planning to preparedness.

Surrender is radical acceptance of our lives just as they are, it is the active turning of the mind from willfulness (resisting or trying to change what is) to willingness, (meeting what is or accepting life on life’s terms)

THIS DOESN’T imply becoming passive or condoning an unacceptable situation; instead radical acceptance is an active engagement with whatever is happening in the moment.

Radical acceptance is precisely what decreases pain. Our ability to receive and accept instead of fight and resist is what decreases pain and discomfort.

I not only read about this a lot in the larger wisdom traditions but have experienced this first hand.

When I try to control or fight circumstances in relationships or in certain church setting I work that very resistance is precisely what heightens pain and angst.

Furthermore it is in the mystery the parts that don’t initially makes sense that often God is up to something that we couldn’t see before, hadn’t planned or didn’t anticipate.

SYNCHRONICITY may be one of the greatest by products of accepting what is arising. One of the most important leadership books I have read of the several hundred on my shelf and the one I go back to over and over again is Synchronicity by Joe Jaworski. First used by Carl Jung, Synchronicity is serendipity with the “universe behind it.” In Christian language…God is involved in what might look like a coincidence.

What if we remained just as connected to the adventure of mystery and the questions of life as we did the answer seeking we are so driven by and end up in the process with these incredibly synchronicity moments?

My guess is this too is a function at some level of years and maturity.

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Mystery, Unknown and Unpredictable.

January 14, 2010

Every once in a while a quick summary….for those that have been following skip to the “NEW MATERIAL” header half way down

transformation means a change in how you see the world and a shift in how you see yourself. Not just a shift in your point of view but a whole different perception what of what is possible.

DEFINITION- ongoing and integrated shifts in the way we see and make meaning of ourselves God others and the world.

Portals to Transformation

1 DEEP PERSONAL PAIN
jars us out of autopilot and causes us to ask deep questions and question the way things are supposed to be

2. Noetic Experiences…

3. The Right Resources, teacher, situations come on the scene

Choices that Cultivate Possible Transformative Moments – the gardeners metaphor we developed

1. Gardeners accommodate new experiences and resist assimilating them.
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