I love to watch the snow fall for me it is like watching the flames in the fireplace. The result of the snowfall is much less exciting. Here in Boulder the ground had finally been cleared of the snow but not any longer. Life is like this sometimes. I think I have cleared something up and then it reappears. I think I have ended some limited thinking or changed my emotional reaction to a certain circumstances but there it is again. I use to think when stuff came up, I didn’t like, there was something wrong with me and I needed to fix who I was. Now I tend to be much kinder to myself and accept myself while looking further into whatever is coming up. I remember Ram Dass talked about this kind of thing happening to him and how much I enjoyed his perspective. He said, “I use to have all these neurotic reactions to things and they drove me crazy, now many of those odd reactions still arise in me but instead I just sit down and have tea with them.” Yes having tea with my reactions would be much more pleasant.
What I have learned to do with my reactions is to be more impartial. I am better at watching objectively what is happening in me. This creates a viewpoint where I can better choose my responses. I don’t have to be run by my reactions. Frankly sometimes I still am, but much less so these days. When I am in awareness I can even catch my reactions in the early stages and keep them from blossoming into an unwanted tizzy. This works better all around for me.
Developing impartiality is a very valuable tool to take back your life from parts of you that are yet whole and healthy. Impartiality allows you to witness without judging who you are and how you are being in the moment. This objectivity is very valuable for your growth and personal development. When you can see clearly who you are then you can grow the positive aspects and refine the areas in need of improvement. The following are two ways to grow impartiality:
• Imagine that a part of you is standing next to or slightly above you and watching as you go through the day. Make sure it keeps from judging and just watches to learn about yourself.
• Find time to go for a quiet walk or take time to sit quietly and listen to what comes up in you. There will be reactions, thoughts, feels and sensations both on the surface and on a deeper level.
Both of these experiments will give you lots of awareness. Explore what you learn and see what you want to do with that information. I suspect you will feel more empowered in life?
Let me know how it goes, what you learn and how your life is enriched.