Deeper awareness of ourselves

A leap of faith
I was just reading Kierkegaard, and something he described really hit me. I recognize my life in it. To see yourself going through these things is quite striking.
I will post it here to share it with more of you, and if this can help anybody like it does for me , I would be very happy.
- Aasa

Kierkegaard, in "Sickness until death" analyzes despair as a dis-relationship to the Self, to the source of being human. For Kierkegaard there are three major forms of despair :
first, despair that is subconscious;
second, despair that is conscious and which manifests itself as weakness;
and third, despair which is conscious and manifest itself as defiance.

In the subconscious form of despair, the person is out of relation to the Self, but is unaware of it. Such a person, according to Kierkegaard, tends to live a hedonistic life, dispersed in sensations of the moment, having no commitment to anything higher than ego-impulses.
This is the stage of aestheticism and Don Juanism.
Here one can see a type of existence in which people not consciously realize they are in despair, although as Kierkegaard points out, the compulsiveness for infinite sensation and pleasure together with intruding dark moments of boredom and anxiety reveal that all is not well.

If the person allows the dark moments of boredom and anxiety to enter fully into consciousness, then comes the awareness of de-relationship to the Self (Jung), and the feeling that one is too weak to choose the Self since that demands the acceptance of one´s strength to make that decision.
Here the person despairs over weakness to commit to something higher than ego-impulses.
But if the person penetrates more consciously into the reason for weakness, then comes awareness that the excuse of weakness was really only a way of avoiding the strength already there. What the person originally took to be weakness is now understood to be defiance, i.e.,a refusal to commit!
For Kierkegaard,the despair of defiance is a higher consciousness, a realization that one has the strength to choose the Self, or in his terms, to make the leap of faith which requires acceptance of the uncontrollable and transcendent, but that one chooses not to do so in dark defiance against the powers which transcend reason and man´s finitude.

In defiance, one refuses to change! In the despair of defiance, one refuses possibility and infinitude. In the despair of weakness, one refuses actuality and finitude. To refuse one is to refuse both.
Those caught in the despair of weakness need to become aware of their strength and shake of their victim identity. Those who control need to see how control can be a false strength and to value the openness to what cannot be controlled.

For Kierkegaard, resolution and transformation come ultimately when despair in all stages is overcome through a leap of faith. In this leap one accepts at the same time one´s weaknesses and one´s strength, the inter mixture of the finite and the infinite realms in being human, and the realization that human beings must move between the opposites rather than identifying with an absolute.
...
The famous psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung also had similar thoughts on the last stage of this inner journey. He thought that the life of each person was a complex and mysterious whole. But the particular course of their development coming from personal family experiences, cultural influences, and innate temperament, tended to lead a person to emphasize one part of the personality and to de-emphasize the conflicting part

Yet, that other opposing, unaccepted side was there wanting to be acknowledged and often intruded upon the consciously accepted side, affecting the person´s behavior and disturbing his or her relationships.
Jung thought the task of personal growth was to see the value of both sides and to try to integrate them so that they could work together in a fruitful way for the person.

Redefining emotions

I found this online, and I think it is a good method. It is also a known technique in classic psychology, only the approach is somewhat different. For me it did a lot, so I want to share it with those who read my blog.

"In order to be brave you must first start by being afraid
for true courage lies in the overcoming of fear
not in its absence"

~ Aasa

Learn to feel your emotions fully and not resist them
Allow your emotions to flow, even the painful ones

1 Accept full responsibility for your emotion
No matter who or what you think caused your emotion
You take full responsibility now

2 Name your emotions
Giving your emotion a name increases clarity, awareness and consciousness
Don't just say you feel sad bad or mad
Expand your emotional knowledge until you can positively identify the feeling of violation, disappointments, anxiety, shame, embarrassments and much more

3 Let go of the story
The story is whatever outside yourself that you think caused your emotion
Literally see the story being cut off from your emotion and fading away
Let go of the story and keep the emotion that you created which now has a name

4 Accept the emotion
This means not judging it . Good or bad
Accept the emotion in a spirit of gratitude and learning
This is necessary to do the next step properly

5 Feel the emotion
With no judging or resistance
Simply feel the emotion
Notice where in your body you experience the emotion
Raise your consciousness as you become a witness - observe your emotion

What you resist will persist
and allowing the emotion in this way is the very opposite of resistance

6 Ask for clarityIn a spirit of learning and willingness to grow
Ask for insight as for the reason to the emotion
Don't go back to the story - the cause of the emotion is you and nothing outside yourself
Ask, what do I need to learn from this emotion?
Also ask, what ineffective belief do I own that has created this emotion?

7 Identify the belief
Create a space for the answer to come (it will come)
At the root of nearly every painful emotion is an ineffective belief
You may believe that you must make everyone happy
You may believe that you cant be loved if you are not perfect
You may believe that you are simply not worth it

8 Replace the belief
Once you have identified the belief, choose to replace it with a more effective belief
Literally say to yourself:
I now choose to reject this (ineffective belief) and adopt this (empowering belief) in its place

The United States of Whatever

A song about a guy you maybe know????

I'm just a regular Joe with a regular job
I'm your average white suburbanite slob
I like football and porno and books about war
I've got an average house with a nic hardwood floor
My wife and my job, my kids and my car
My feet on my table, and a cuban cigar

But sometimes that just ain't enough to keep a man like me interested
(Oh no) No Way (Uh-uh)
No, I've gotta go out and have fun
At someone else's expense
(Oh yeah) Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

I drive really slow in the ultrafast lane
While people behind me are going insane

I use public toilets and piss on the seat
I walk around in the summertime saying, "How about this heat?"

Sometimes I park in handicapped spaces
While handicapped people make handicapped faces

Maybe I shouldn't be singing this song
Ranting and raving and carrying on
Maybe they're right when they tell me I'm wrong

Naaaah!

You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna get myself a 1967 Cadillac El Dorado convertible, hot pink with whaleskin hub caps and all leather cow interior and big brown baby seal eyes for headlights, yeah! And I'm gonna drive around in that baby at 115mph getting one mile per gallon, sucking down quarter pounder cheese burgers from McDonald's in the old-fashioned non-biodegradable styrofoam containers and when I'm done sucking down those grease ball burgers, I'm gonna wipe my mouth with the American flag and then I'm gonna toss the styrofoam container right out the side and there ain't a God damned thing anybody can do about it. YOU know why? Because we got the bombs, that's why.

Two words. Nuclear fucking weapons, okay?! Russia, Germany, Romania - they can have all the Democracy they want. They can have a big democracy cake-walk right through the middle of Tiananmen square and it won't make a lick of difference because we've got the bombs, okay?! John Wayne's not dead - he's frozen. And as soon as we find the cure for cancer we're gonna thaw out the duke and he's gonna be pretty pissed off. You know why? Have you ever taken a cold shower? Well multiple that by 15-million times, that's how pissed off the Duke's gonna be. I'm gonna get the Duke and John Cassavetes...
(Hey)
and Lee Marvin
(Hey)
and Sam Pekinpah
(Hey)
And a case of Whiskey and drive down to Texas...

Why don't you just shut-up and sing the song pal!

I'm an asshole and proud of it!

Detox

- A repost

So, I have started a process of detoxing my entire body. The aim is better general health and more energy. I have also noticed that my thoughts and feeling actually also turn clearer through this process, which has just been a surprising bonus for me. Also, I am enjoying a lot being creative with making these new types of recipes and dishes. If anybody request it, I might put out some here in my blog.
Here I will write some of the things I am doing, as a tip to others who might want to do the same, but don't have time to find all the information. Hope it will be helpful. And remember, you don't have to do this for the rest of your life.Try it out and see if it changes the way you feel in any way. It can also be good to just do it as a 3 month diet, to get some of the toxins of your body flushed out. Good luck ;-)!

First of all, exclude the most evident health dangers from your diet.
These are changes anyone can do that doesn't take much effort:
- White sugar. Switch to brown sugar (or even better, stevia if you can find it) and keep the intake low. Be aware of the continents of sugar in the things you eat/drink. Take a look at this website, it is a good indicator (and a bit shocking)
- Normal salt. Buy sea salt or herb salt. And naturally, keep the intake low
- Avoid butter or margarine. They are very high on saturated fats , and are highly acidic. Buy or make ghee, which is non-acidic and a monounsaturated fat

If you want to take further steps for your health, keep in mind:
- Get information on the acidic / alkaline level in your body. A very common factor of disease and premature aging in the western society is a high acidic diet. Look at the chart on this page and compare it with what you normally eat. Keep in mind that the most acidic foods are: Table salt, sugar, yeast, fruits and fruit juices, coffee, normal butter or margarine, beer, wine, dairy products and animal products as beef, pork, chicken etc...
- Drink water. (Not too much, not to little)
- If you can, switch to organic food or look for bio food. A high percentage of foods are genetically manipulated/modified, sprayed with toxins and treated in other ways that will harm your health.
- Keep the intake of alcohol to a healthy degree.
- Drink green teas/ herbs for cleansing and detoxing. (thnx for the tip Henry)
- Drink vegetable juices (for detox), or green smoothies(recipes) instead of fruit juices
- Other

Extra tips for more energy:
- Throw away body care product that contain many toxins. Try to find the simplest and more natural ones. Don`t over use these products. They should only be a supplement to aid your body, not the thing that makes it run.
- Cut gluten from your diet (or at least do a test to check if you react to gluten)
- Cut dairy products:(Coconut milk is a very fine substitute) Cutting milk may also be good for your skin. Read here why.

Veganism:
To exclude dairy products from your diet will increase energy and stamina. You can supplement milk with soy products or coconut milk (for cooking)
If this is too difficult for you, try out:

Vegetarianism:
Vegetarians live about seven years longer, and vegans (who eat no animal products) about 15 years longer than meat eaters, according to a study from Loma Linda University. These findings are backed up by the China Health Project (the largest population study on diet and health to date), which found that Chinese people who eat the least amount of fat and animal products have the lowest risks of cancer, heart attack and other chronic degenerative diseases.
Animal products are the major sources of dietary saturated fat. Vegetarianism is therefore also a very good way to keep a balanced weight and body fat, to stay fit, and clean from heavy digestive foods which strain your metabolism.
I have been a vegetarian for 17 year. As a vegetarian you avoid a high acid factor in the foods, which are very beneficial. But this is not a total requirement for a healthy life style, if you feel that you cannot go through with it. But, if you want to try out the vegetarian diet, be sure to:
Get enough proteins, B12, iron and omega 3 fats. B12 is normally found in animal food, so you should consider supplements


22 Reasons to Go Vegetarian Right Now
The Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diet
Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diets

I will extend this list through time
Any links or tips? Feel free to post them under comments
and I will include them in the article
Thanks
- Åsa