Get Real

"The key to unlocking this dilemma is recognizing how the ego activity of judging divides the self into judging and judged parts, thus destroying the unity of the self. It is only from unity, from a whole and complete contact with all of the self that we are able to embody and recognize perfection."-The Enneagram Institute

It turns out that I chase perfection by judging myself. According to this little nugget, my methodology is so flawed that I won't be able to even recognize the perfection to which I aspire.

I don't speak in metaphor--here is an literal picture of perfection from one of the magazines I am obsessed with....sigh...so pretty.

gin and dys-tonic (part I of II)

egosyntonic /ego-syn·ton·ic/ (e´go-sin-ton´ik):
a psychological term referring to behaviors, values, feelings, which are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, or consistent with one's ideal self-image ... Acceptable to the aims of the ego.

egodystonic /ego-dys·ton·ic/ (e´go-dis-ton´ik):
a psychological term referring to thoughts and behaviors that are in conflict, or dissonant, with the needs and goals of the ego, or further, in conflict with a person's ideal self-image ... Repugnant to or at variance with the aims of the ego.
- Wikipedia

As parents there are things we're really proud of. We tend to express these things vocally, while actively disowning (just as vocally) what does not fit with the complex beast of a self-image we have constructed. My question is: why? Why are we making these loud and bizarre announcements?

Got your ears on, good neighbor?

Lately it has come to my attention that I do not attend well when listening. My mind is very busy and the more scattered I become the more I realize the technical impossibility of trying to multi-task in this way. Trying to simultaneously listen AND think AND/OR talk yourself is like trying to listen and talk on a walkie talkie or CB radio. You simply aren't allowed to by the function of the machine. You must hold a button to talk and then stop what you're doing and let the button up to listen. The point is maybe we would all be better off if we had to choose which mode we were in and stick to it. And if that involves colorful, CB trucker talk, then so be it. Or, big 10-4, mama bears. (http://classifieds.columbiatribune.com/truckstop/articles/003.asp-these slang terms are great . I am really starting to want a handle and who didn't love "Smoky and the Bandit").

cha-cha-changes

For fun I thought I might cross reference each of my new posts against my "Manifesto" and see how many of my own rules I am in violation of with each tangent. Before I even begin I feel just a hint of "stating opinions as facts" creeping in.

Anywho, what is up with new moms who are "not going to change?" Perhaps I can also pose this question to Myself Circa 2006. For more fun, mayhaps I will include a list of pronouncements and proclamations that I made while kid #1 was in the metaphorical oven.