Sunday, February 25, 2007

twice in three days?!

ohmygoodness! could I possibly be posting twice in just three days? has hell frozen over? nope...it's called the fine art of procrastination ;0)

So I'm thinkin' of writing a book...something along the lines of "the recovering perfectionist." doesn't that sound like fun? seriously, though, i think everyone needs to (1) find a good counselor, and (2) try meditation. fantastic!!! As long as you find a good fit of a counselor, and approach meditation gradually and with an open mind. The particular approach I am practicing currently is not about focus and concentration. It's about just being. If your mind wanders, it's okay, just acknowledge the fact and bring it back to a state of...well, a state of being. Not doing, not thinking, not ruminating or worrying, or all those other things we usually find ourselves doing (once we stop to think about it...problem is, most of these actions and reactions are so habitual we don't even notice). You just be in the moment. sounds cheesy, I know, but it is SO incredibly FANTASTIC once you start practicing. Carrie (who leads the classes I've been taking) refers to it as "falling awake" instead of falling asleep.

Anywhose, the changes I have been making are gradual, and there are always setbacks, but I'm making progress! And I'm trying to use the setbacks as "learning experiences" (yay for teacher jargon), rather than defeats.

And on another note, do you think sexism and racism and such prejudices will ever truly be eradicated? Can they be? And are they a result of nature, nurture, or a combination? These questions were spurred by discussion in my psych. history and systems class today as we discussed how prejudices are still alive and well, and some people seemed surprised. Not to sound cynical, but I don't know that we will ever be rid of prejudice. Humans generally seem to thrive off of "reasons why I'm better than you." We can continue working for equality, which I completely support, but can we get there?

A'ight, back to my real homework for now. More philosophical thoughts later...

1 comment:

Heidi said...

The first time I read this, I thought you wrote that everyone needs to try medication. Big difference, there. :)

I think that sexism and racism and other such isms are probably a combination of nature and nurture, like pretty much everything else about humans. So I think it would be next to impossible to completely eliminate them. But I do think it helps to encourage people to be more self-aware, to realize when they are being sexist/racist/whatever, and then not act on it. If you can understand that your thoughts or reactions to people are founded in prejudice, then you can work to overcome that. People don't have to be ruled by their instincts. The problem, though, is that too many people, because they know it's wrong to be racist or sexist, get defensive and say things like, "I'm not sexist just because I think all women should stay at home and make babies!" instead of examining where that belief comes from and thinking seriously about other points of view.

Interesting question! That's the kind of thing I like to ramble about. :)