“Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave. ”
–G. I. Gurdjieff
A friend of mine was complaining about another friend, about how unfair and tyrannical he was and she really wanted me to agree. She even offered me a transcript of a conversation she had with him as proof. Therein lay the problem.
Within four lines of dialog she was calling him names, telling him what he meant when he said things, willfully misinterpreting his words in the most insulting way possible. In short acting in a manner that fit fully what she was accusing him of. What seemed like a classical case of projection.
How often I have found myself getting angry at someone with whom I’ve had some interaction only to find that not only was I getting angry at the other person for doing things I did myself but that the other person was not actually doing it. My subconscious was sending me a wakeup call by bouncing my own stuff back at me. Lately I have started listening more and more. It’s amazing how insidious our robots, the part of us that react on automatic pilot can be. Luckily, if we are working towards awareness and practicing reflection, meditation and self-knowledge it becomes easier to catch ourselves. Well, most of the time.
Blessings, G
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Colour Wars by G A Rosenberg
Bedazzled by G A Rosenberg
How often have i heard myself complaining about someone else’s behaviour only to realise it was my fault all along.
Good timing on this post Gary. Lately I’ve found myself being frustrated with some other people for doing EXACTLY what I am doing. Of course I have a really good reason, do they;-) As soon as I realized this it actually felt funny to me and I laughed at myself because it’s not a major situation. But it’s a good lesson to learn; when we feel anger or frustration with someone we need to look inside ourselves first. Thank you,
Good timing on this post Gary. I recently found myself frustrated with some other people for doing EXACTLY what I was doing. Of course I had a good reason for doing it, do they? 😉 As soon as I realized this I had to laugh at myself. The thing is, when we start to feel angry or frustrated with others we need to first look at ourselves. Is this part of the message of “Be the change you want to see”?
Definitely That Lori, But also an element of compassion, finding the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes — I don’t know that anyone sees themselves as a villain attacking others even in discussion. My friend who I refer to in this became quite offended at the possibility that it might have been her lashing out…