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Try Out Other-Centeredness: Difference between revisions
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* Acknowledge to yourself that from their experience they are the center of all sensation and experience. | * Acknowledge to yourself that from their experience they are the center of all sensation and experience. | ||
* Be a little creative and put yourself in their position. What sensations would they be experiencing? The sounds coming from their mouth. Their hair itching, their feet hurting, their finger tapping on the table. Rest with this mindful exercise for a little while, really absorb this imaginative perspective. | * Be a little creative and put yourself in their position. What sensations would they be experiencing? The sounds coming from their mouth. Their hair itching, their feet hurting, their finger tapping on the table. Rest with this mindful exercise for a little while, really absorb this imaginative perspective. | ||
* If you're familiar with | * If you're familiar with [[The Headless Way]], shift into that. If not, simply use your own visual field to find that you are in fact pretty unimportant in this scene, because the other person is all that matters. | ||
* The last thing is to shift that perspective onto the other person - from their visual perspective they are the center of everything and you are just there in their consciousness. | * The last thing is to shift that perspective onto the other person - from their visual perspective they are the center of everything, and you are just there in their consciousness. | ||
This might not be easy to do at first, but feel free to do as much of it as you can, and experiment with the concept. Regardless of how deep you are able to experience that shift, try this next exercise which takes the idea in a slightly different direction by applying it to someone in the distance. | This might not be easy to do at first, but feel free to do as much of it as you can, and experiment with the concept. Regardless of how deep you are able to experience that shift, try this next exercise which takes the idea in a slightly different direction by applying it to someone in the distance. | ||
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|Topic2=They are the Center|Question2=Can you reverse that perspective? And most importantly can you see that your relative importance is essentially an illusion? | |Topic2=They are the Center|Question2=Can you reverse that perspective? And most importantly can you see that your relative importance is essentially an illusion? | ||
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These steps can be done almost anywhere but will work much better outside or near window where you can see other people going about | These steps can be done almost anywhere but will work much better outside or near window where you can see other people going about their business. You could also look at an airplane or a window in a building and picture a person there. | ||
* Mindfully engage everything near you, the sounds, the sights, the sun, the wind, whatever it is that grounds you to your immediate position in the world. | * Mindfully engage everything near you, the sounds, the sights, the sun, the wind, whatever it is that grounds you to your immediate position in the world. | ||
* Look over at your chosen person and acknowledge them as another thing in your visual field. Notice other things near that person such as a | * Look over at your chosen person and acknowledge them as another thing in your visual field. Notice other things near that person such as a streetlight or a cloud or a pigeon. Allow that person to be on equal footing as everything else that is distant from you - more or less inconsequential, but still at least a small part of what you're experiencing. | ||
* Acknowledge clearly that you are the center and they are not | * Acknowledge clearly that you are the center and they are not | ||
* Now, being creative again, shift your perspective to that other person, even if you can't actually see that person. What are they experiencing? Go as deep as you like | * Now, being creative again, shift your perspective to that other person, even if you can't actually see that person. What are they experiencing? Go as deep as you like but stay mindful - don't slip into a daydream fantasy, stay present. | ||
* Notice that this other person, if they could see everything you could, would see it from the "opposite" viewpoint. This person has every experience you have, but from the perspective that they are the center of all experience. | * Notice that this other person, if they could see everything you could, would see it from the "opposite" viewpoint. This person has every experience you have, but from the perspective that they are the center of all experience. | ||
* Acknowledge that to them, they are the center, and you are not. | * Acknowledge that to them, they are the center, and you are not. | ||
* Finally, relax your attention and acknowledge that the billions of people in the world exist in a world where they are the center and you are not. | * Finally, relax your attention and acknowledge that the billions of people in the world exist in a world where they are the center and you are not. | ||
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