Specificity and concreteness are key points

Today, I went to the Academic Writing Support center at JFKU to have my paper reviewed.  My advisor told me that my writing sometimes included grammatical mistakes and ambiguous sentences.  She said that my weak points are arisen from the direct translation from Japanese to English.  As a result, some important information tend to be omitted in my sentences and then my writing gives an unclear image to my readers.

I’ll be careful to specificity and concreteness for my readers.  How about my blog?  Please forgive me for this blog…                                                                                                                           

Integral Life Practice and Integral Theory study group through Skype

I have a study about Integral Life Practice and Integral Theory through Skype.

This is a 1 on 1 study session.  Yesterday, I conducted a regular study meeting with my friend in Japan for five hours!!  That was a little bit crazy, but it was so fruitful for me.  The following is the contents of yesterday’s session.

1 Reading “A Guide to Integral Psychotherapy: Complexity, Integration, and Spirituality in Practice (Suny Series in Integral Theory)”: 2.5 hours

2 Mantra meditation: 10 minutes (I made a mistake.  Playing music files through Skype didn’t work well)

3 Disidentification exercise: 30-45 minutes (I learned this exercise in Psychosynthesis class @JFKU)

4 Gross-Subtle-Causal meditation: 25-35 minutes (My friend’s part)

5 Big Mind: 45-60 minutes (My friend’s part)

6 Dream work

This study meeting is so important for me in order to apply my skills and knowledge I learned in America.

Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play. ~Immanuel Kant~

Do you have a place outside the campus where you can apply various theories or techniques you learned in classes?   Are your knowledge and skills mere knowledge and skills?  Or your knowledge and skills are beyond intellectual play? 

From Eco-Grief to Active Engagement: Workshop @JFKU

Yesterday, I joined a wonderful workshop at JFKU, which my friend facilitated.  The presentation, exercises, and sharing each participant’s ideas or experiences were great.  I noticed that sometimes defense mechanism toward ecological issues appeared in me.  I seemed to have two types of defense mechanism: regressing and submission to authority.  Actually, I often think about global environmental issues, but I’m suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of despair… “I want to do something for the global environment, but what can I do?  I may not have anything I can do…”  Then, I tend to look away the reality and I wish some environmental experts will solve the issues… 

This workshop provided me an opportunity to think about and feel what my defense mechanism is or what my dark emotions are.  Especially, the ideas of “Reframing & Detoxifying Emotions” and “Working with Dark Emotions” were new perspectives and useful for me.

Memo

Reframing & Detoxifying Emotions

-          Our pain for the world is natural/healthy, if misunderstood/repressed = dysfunctional

-          Honor our pain – gateway to deep participation in world’s self-healing

-          “Dark Emotions” is wake up call, transformation

-          “Emotional Ecology” connection personal suffering to larger context

Working with Dark Emotions

1 Attending: learning to listen

2 Befriending: extending emotional attention span

3 Surrendering: Not becoming passive or losing self in them rather becoming fully present + letting it pass through until it is gone