THE ECOLOGICAL SELF
Over the course of my last two blog posts, The Ecological Self – Mind and The Ecological Self-Body I explained that the ecological self comprises a profound segment of our identity. It exists outside of the foundational beliefs and concepts associated with our upbringing and culture and, remarkably, can even transcend our sphere of personal experience.
Those of us who can move beyond these unconscious fields of influences are able to adopt an ‘I belong here’ attitude to life as opposed to the more tentative ‘do I belong here?’ mentality that many of us are limited to.
I have prepared a simple exercise in self-enquiry for you to utlise. As always, please be gentle with yourself and ensure you meditate, breathe and bring yourself into the space of the heart before commencing.
If you are new to meditation or my practice, I invite you to join our Facebook group, Playing Bigger and Playing Beautiful, and familiarise yourself with my philosophies coaching, and guiding style. Once your join request is approved, you will be greeted with a meditation to get you started. Click here to access it.
If you are someone who wishes to move beyond unhelpful, or unhealthy, family patterns and negative energetic connections then tuning into the ecological self may provide you with clarity. If we are able to step away from these foundational influences and avail ourselves to new possibilities — even new experiences —we are often able to reframe challenges and identify pathways previously unavailable to us. What typically follows is self-acceptance and the ability to forge deeper, and more meaningful connections, and to become attuned to personal and professional opportunities for growth. Just imagine the way you would enter a room — even a networking event or social function in which you don’t know anyone — if your neutral position was one of ‘I belong here.’
With regards to The Ecological Self, our self-enquiry will examine how the personal and professional relationships in our lives impact our spirit.
We will be isolating your ability to differentiate between what your head (rational brain), heart (emotional brain), and gut (intuitive brain) are telling you. With this layer of awareness, you are able to make better decisions, respond rather than react, learn from the past, and end the cycle of unhealthy patterning. Clear, honest communication will become the cornerstone of how you “show up” in your life and will help you to establish boundaries and know when the best course of action is to guide a relationship to a courteous close.
Through this structured process, the relationships which align most with your current priorities will be revealed. So too, those relationships that are counter to your goals will be revealed and will require a more discerning assessment in order to decide how they can be effectively managed or respectfully phased out.
For example, if our current focus is nurturing personal friendships or supporting a friend in need, bringing your family into awareness of this will help them to understand that your withdrawal is temporary and necessary. It may even serve to highlight opportunities for them to support you, as you support another.
Levels of Understanding
If you are familiar with my work and in particular with my model of emotional self-inquiry The 6 Selves™, you will know that there are three levels of understanding that inform connections to the self and how it manifests:
Level 1 – Intellect (Mind) – How we comprehend and make sense of the world around us
Level 2 – Emotion (Body) – How we physically feel the experience
Level 3 – Energetic (Spirit) – How we connect in to something greater than ourselves
Ecological Self – Energetic (Spirit)
In this post, we are looking at the Energetic (Spirit) and how this connects to the Ecological Self.
If you are sensitive to the energy of universal wisdom, or universal love, you will understand that this energy exists around us and within us at all times. When we are in a space of love, joy, peace and compassion it is easier to tap into this energy. Conversely, when we are sad, depressed, angry or hurt it is harder to discern.
Please ask yourself the following prompting questions. You will notice they are repetitive in nature. Please know they are designed this way to ignite deeper personal inquiry.
- How does my spirit feel when I surround myself with people in my personal life who I feel understand my point of view?
- Regarding the people I surround myself with in my personal life, how does my spirit feel when I understand their point of view?
- How does my spirit feel when the people I surround myself with in my personal life show empathy and compassion towards me?
- Regarding the people I surround myself with in my personal life, how does my spirit feel when I display empathy and compassion towards them?
- How does my spirit feel when I surround myself with people in my professional life who understand my point of view?
- Regarding the people I surround myself with in my professional life, how does my spirit feel when I understand their point of view?
- How does my spirit feel when the people I surround myself with in my professional life display empathy and compassion towards me?
- Regarding the people I surround myself with in my professional life, how does my spirit feel when I display empathy and compassion towards them?
This exercise is designed purely so you can witness what is happening for you, not to pass judgement on what you unearth. As always, I hope that the simple act of checking in with yourself opens up some avenues of insight for you.
My next post will introduce The Sexual, or Creative Self at a first-tier level focusing on the mind.
Big Love,
Deb x
For more information on how to work with me to go deeper into the benefits of The 6 Selves™ and the outcomes you can achieve when you focus intentionally on these areas visit https://debbiezita.com/coaching/
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