A couple of Human Givens people have left comments (under Day 3/4, part 3, & Day 1), for which I'm grateful. They're thinking about setting up an HG blog so are looking around to see what there is already. They were quite complimentary but they might not be quite so keen on what I'm going to say today.
I've already mentioned that I'm a Buddhist of sorts and that I meditate. Coincidence or not, I don't know, but about the time I started reading the Human Givens book (see Day 1), I also had a really good meditation (though some say we shouldn't judge them). In fact, I caught a glimpse of emptiness. That's a Buddhist concept, for which the best online explanation I've found, after an admittedly brief search, is here.
I really think it's pointless to try to separate out influences here: did my mood upswing owe more to the book or the meditation? How much did the meditation owe to the reading? I don't know, but I am convinced that I'd have no need of any such reading if I could catch such glimpses on a regular basis. I practice mindfulness meditation everyday, and despite what I just said about judgement, I do need to improve its quality.
Lightening up a bit (because although I've been going on about them, I don't really attach much significance to them), here's another coincidence: in my work I deal with lots of people in the local area, so I collect loads of local phone numbers. I visited one client yesterday, and in the six years I've been doing this, I've never come across a number so close to mine as his: to turn one into the other, all you do is transpose two adjacent digits. And this chap is called Robin too, a name so uncommon that I don't think more than a couple of other clients share it. What are the chances of that?
The Stephen Fry documentary last night (previous post) was very interesting, by the way. I've decided that if I am bipolar, it's a very mild case—certainly compared to some of those in the film! So I'll just carry on trying to do what I know is good for me, which includes not worrying about things like that.
2 comments:
Meditation is a form of guided imagery in itself, and many positive changes can be made in such a state. The good feelings you are having after such activity prove that it's beneficial to you, and whatever personal methods you use to improve your mood and quality of life in an effective and healthy way are of great importance. Your brain is wired to unconciously work towards what it focuses on, so thinking about positive changes you could make in your life during your periods of meditation and calm will be of great help.
Thanks, Eleanor, that's genuinely helpful.
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