Posted by pseudoname on May 24, 2006, at 15:21:11
In reply to Re: Deneb, a request, posted by Deneb on May 24, 2006, at 13:29:37
Auntie Mel is right about Deneb's essay. It was exactly what the pdocs needed to hear.
If they just had Bob's introduction and Deneb's essay, they would've had a terrific, informative workshop.
Deneb, sometimes when one person does something different that other people aren't doing, it's great! This was one of those situations. Sometimes when a person takes a risk, it pays off: this was one those times.
Your self-critical thoughts, though, sound very familiar to me. Until recently, I used to beat myself up relentlessly for saying / doing supposedly “stupid” things that I was afraid “ruined” it for others, even though everyone was telling me otherwise.
Since I got in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, though, I got practice in leaving all those thoughts alone, just letting them hang around in my mind. I more often see myself as separate from all my thoughts, good or bad, true or false. So when “PN, you posted embarrassing, awful foolishness!” pops into my head, I can say, “Hmmm, that's a thought.” Or even, “Hmmm, that hurts.” I imagine the thoughts floating by me like a leaf on a stream.
They don't go away, but they don't set my agenda, either. A thought may be true, it may be false, it may be partly true or partly false, but it's still “just” a thought. All thoughts are like carnival barkers, always clamoring for all our attention.
I don't ignore them, AND I don't argue with them, and I don't agree with them. I just leave them alone in my head like they were unpleasant roommates I'm stuck with in a room. I *observe* them from a little distance. Usually my self-critical thoughts won't shut up, so this practice is a way to disengage a little from them and the pain they cause, even though it doesn't cure them.
Anyway, thanks for posting your whole essay. It's a keeper.
poster:pseudoname
thread:647529
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20060521/msgs/647906.html