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The emotions of transformation
From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee
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| Chum For Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters |
The emotions of transformation
[With appreciation to
the research of Susan Cook-Greuter]
The language, concepts, and vocabulary that people use forms
the filter through which they see and understand the world. At higher levels of
development, you become aware of this process. You are more-able to stand back
and observe, not just everything else with dispassion, but your own actions,
reactions, emotions and motives as well. You can enter the ego and see that you
are playing this game or that game and be a genuine witness to your own
struggles.
At first, you feel suspicious of this new perception. You don’t
understand it well enough to defend it. It feels threatening and disturbing.
Your foundation of assumptions has begun to crumble. You become aware of more
of your mental processes such as creating explanatory stories and drawing
conclusions. You begin to question all of the stories that you have previously
created to explain things. But gradually you become more comfortable with the
process of watching your mind at work.
Once you can begin to see yourself reaching the limits of
previous understandings, struggling with inadequate ideas, and struggling to
sort things out in a new way, there is a joyful satisfaction, an uplifting glow
as you feel yourself
