February 17, 2016 - 07:17
Tomorrow (today 2/17) would have been my great grandmother's 80th birthday. Knowing that this day was fast approaching, I sent the above reminder to my family members via groupme to our chat title Hollen's Kids. Up until today, I didin't know how I would react to this day but it was important to me to remind my family that it's okay to feel and exist and to be kind to yourself and love. I think that the message that I sent to my family is similar to the message that Ram Dass is sending about witnessing yourself. The idea of neutral, judgment-free self awareness resonated with me because I think it gives people the ability to exist, as they are, and to truly be kind to themselves in this world. I also think that this is important for understanding holistic education. In noticing yourself and just being aware of yourself, you can begin to be aware of yourself in different settings and different learn environments an recognize your energy and self as existing and belonging in those spaces.
Comments
existing and belonging
Submitted by alesnick on March 11, 2016 - 07:59 Permalink
The idea that witness consciousness facilitates a sense of belonging as one is well as awareness of what is is very interesting. Non-judgmental awareness can in this way lead to self-empowerment in that it allows us to occupy our existence without validating it using external criteria, scales of value, hierarchy, discourse, or anything else. It establishes a locus of existence/presence that is within the individual, not contingent on the approval or recognition of others. And the idea that each individual has this as a birthright, or more basically as a quality of our being, offers a way to think about others outside frameworks of social inequality.