Personal development: Trusting our natural abilities April 21, 2014
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Concept of personal development, Concept of personal growth.Tags: achieving goals, awareness, Carlos Castaneda, innate strengths, life purpose, personal development, personal growth, philosophy, self-improvement, spirituality
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The concept of personal growth does not necessarily mean that we have to improve virtually every area of our lives and personalities.
Each of us unique talents and abilities, and these strengths may be solid enough, without significant improvement, to serve as a strong foundation for our overall program.
A few examples of innate strengths
- We may have a strong sense of compassion, a quality which can help us in our efforts to build better relationships
- Our self-knowledge may already be well developed, and we can use this attribute to help us make decisions on which of our personality characteristics may need more work
- If we have good self-esteem we have an effective tool to help us avoid discouragement with the inevitable slow spots or bumps in our self-improvement efforts
- If we are analytical and logical in our approach to problems, we can use this characteristic in the difficult challenge of learning to manage our emotions
- If we have a strong sense of purpose, we can use that skill to better identify goals and be consistent in our pursuit of achieving them
To move forward with energy in our self-actualization efforts, we should trust in these collective capabilities because, combined with a positive mental outlook, they can help us achieve success.
Don Juan Matus, in one of his “conversations” with Carlos Castaneda commented, “Trust your personal power. That’s all one has in this whole mysterious world.”
Then speaking of the warrior class, he added, “A warrior is impeccable when he trusts his personal power regardless of whether it is small or enormous.” (1)
(1) Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan, Carlos Castaneda, Washington Square Press, Pocket Books, New York, 1974, pp. 167-168
Allowing the diminishment of the ego April 1, 2014
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Ego Management.Tags: A New Earth, awareness, controlling ego, Eckhart Tolle, ego management, managing the ego, personal development, personal growth, philosophy, spirituality
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As we have learned in our ongoing efforts with our personal development, our ego can have a negative effect on our ability to realize our growth goals.
This is because the ego frequently works against what we consciously know to be our best interests.
Eckhart Tolle has written and spoken extensively about these negative tendencies of the ego and of how we can control or better manage the ego’s destructive tendencies.
In his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Tolle offers a number of techniques to accomplish this.
One of these is “allowing the diminishment of the ego.”
Tolle considers the emotion of anger to be one of the ego’s main repair mechanisms. He cites the example of our being in a situation in which the ego wants us to react with immediate angry words.
Instead, Tolle suggests we resist the urge to react immediately and defensively. Instead, say nothing for a few moments, collect ourselves, and then speak with deliberation and calmness.
Reacting with anger Tolle says, “causes a temporary, but huge ego inflation.”
By contrast, reacting with calmness, yet still responding firmly and clearly, “diminishes” the ego and its defensiveness…There will be power behind your words, yet no reactive force,” Tolle explains.
By practicing this frequently, the ego’s repair mechanism of anger is thwarted, and the ego is diminished, thus making us more conscious and in better control.
Personal Development Ideas 