10 Comments

Wow! This made me think of two things in particular.

One is, in 12 step fellowship, we talk about our “isms.” And one of the acronyms is I Sabotage Myself (another favorite is Incredibly Short Memory).

Also, having your inner saboteur as a scorpion is brilliant! Surely you are familiar with the story of the scorpion and the frog? The scorpion asks for a ride across the river on a frog’s back, and halfway across stings the frog (in other words sabotaging himself). Before they both die the frog asks, why? And the scorpion answers, because I am a scorpion.

🦂 🐸 💕

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ISM = I sabotage myself and/or Incredibly short memory is also brilliant🙏🏼

And yes, I love that story of the scorpion 🦂 and how it shines the light ☀️ on the importance of knowing and accepting ourselves and others as we/they are, and by being aware of inner and outer scorpions we get to protect ourselves from their sting♥️🙏🏼🕊

Thanks for being here Bridget.🥰

I also love the Buddhist story of the two arrows, that points towards the idea the that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional. i.e. the First arrow represents the initial painful experience, like a physical injury, loss, or disappointment, which is just a part of life. The Second arrow represents our mental reaction to the first arrow, like self-blame, worry, anger, or ruminating on the negative event, which is often the source of additional suffering.

It also points towards the importance of recognizing the second arrow.

When faced with a challenging situation, we get to become aware of thoughts and emotions and get insight if we’re adding unnecessary suffering by our reaction.

We get to practice mindfulness: by observing our thoughts and feelings without judgment, we can get space around the negative reactions and choose a more accepting response.

This also encourages compassionate self-talk: Instead of criticizing ourself for experiencing pain, we get to treat ourselves with kindness, understanding, and compassion.

I love this space for sharing wisdom and supporting each other.❤️🙏🏼🕊

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I never tire of reading about the insights you uncover and there hurdles you are faced with along your spiritual journey. There is something very uplifting about people who just continue to show up over and over to their chosen path, and you are certainly one of these people Camilla.

Also the scorpion factoid was fun :)

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And I never tire of reading your responses Michael😁you have a talent for feedback/response that reflects the essence of the writing, makes the writer feel ‘seen’, and of course also that makes me smile too. Thanks for being here❤️🙏🏼🕊

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Thank you for this insight and resource. I took the assessment and People Pleasure is #1 for me... and something I've increasingly aware of as I work with/through grief. Very timely!

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I'm very happy to hear it resonates Julie. Thank you for letting me know.

I actually just came from a Buddhist Sutta Study group where we were studying a sutta called, "Maratajjaniya Sutta: The Rebuke to Mara." Buddhists call Mara "the evil one" and they have this phrase, "I know you Mara" and I got the sense that it's similar to recognizing one's own Inner Critic or Inner Saboteur. Once you recognize Mara, Mara can't hurt you. I love the synchronicity of writing this post and discussing Mara in our group. So many pointers to help to ease our suffering😁❤️🙏🕊️

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Sabots- I never knew!

Thanks you Camilla!

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Thanks for reading and responding Jill😁❤️🙏🕊️

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I totally relate to your being aware - identify - observe stance with your inner critic- ego. This is how l try to manage mine when she wants to run rampant in the emotional stakes. And l try to keep a humour with her, as you say … they have a purpose to serve. I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you 🙏

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Thanks so much for being here Simone and letting me know how this writing landed in you. It's truly meaningful to me when I hear that my writing resonates❤️🙏🏼🕊

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