Being Human
Our perceptions are limited by psychological phenomena, and our interactions with others are clouded by our own conditioning. We’ll spend the month exploring how there’s no escaping the fact that being alive and relating to others is really messy!
Complex (2 April)
It was Carl Jung who coined the phrase ‘complex' as a way to describe the knot, or convergence of belief, feeling, and sensation that leads us to behavior that can feel quite out of control and very confusing. Why can’t I do this differently? Why am I so stuck? What is it going to take to change this? How on earth do I find myself here again? We’ll take a compassionate view of the great big mess that it is to be human.
Watch the full zoom recording or listen to the practices.
Story Telling (9 April)
For millennia, human beings have been telling stories about the world and themselves. These stories help us find meaning. We’ve constructed shared stories about money and social constructs to modify our behaviour, and personal stories about how we are the way we are. Yet, what would it be like to put down those stories? What would happen if we let them all go?
Watch the full zoom recording or listen to the practices.
Projection (16 April)
A fundamental part of being a human being is our tendency to project our unwanted thoughts and feelings toward another. When we feel angry or upset, it is very natural to want to place those feelings outside of ourselves and make them someone else’s fault. We’ll explore how projection is a helpful psychological mechanism that allows us to get closer to our core feelings, and share a practice that will help get in touch with what you want to put ‘out there’
Watch the full zoom recording or listen to the practices.
Transference - 23 April
Another part of the mess of perception and human relationships is something called transference. Not just reserved for the therapy room, we all tend to see either positive or negative qualities in others that may be rooted in early relationships. That teacher that reminded you of your father or the work colleague you just love, because they remind you of your sister. It’s just one more way that we can fail to see clearly…
Watch the full zoom recording or listen to the practices.
Going Beyond - 30 April
What lies beyond this great big mess of perception, complexity, projection, and transference? Is there any other state we might learn to occupy that is clearer than the confusion of what we believe is real? How would it be to recognise that you don’t know nearly as much as you think and that your certainties are indeed worthy of questioning? Take some time to give up your stories and rest in the stillness beyond them.
Watch the full zoom recording or listen to the practices.
