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Teacher: Rodney Smith
Date: 2002-03-11
Venue: Seattle Insight Meditation Center
Series
- Distortions of Mind 1 2002-01-14
Homework
Observe how loneliness fosters the view of being disconnected. Loneliness has a compelling thought stream that reaffirms how cut off and tragic you are. There is often the accompanying pain from the belief in one’s insufficiency that says you are not worthy of connection. Are you able to see how self-mistrust helps engender the feelings of disconnection and loneliness? The mind identifies with the pain of being cut off and confirms its premise through external observation. The mind sees according to the emotion it is struggling against, not according to objective reality. To arrest this process, track the source back to the pain of feeling disconnected.
Let thoughts of your lack of self-worth go. Relax with the emotion, as painful as it might be. Bring caring attention (connection) to the emotion and then expand it to your whole being. Finally, soften your eyes and allow everything to be just as it is. Ask yourself, “Where am I disconnected in this moment?”
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