THE POWER OF OBSERVATION
In his book entitled "Working on Yourself Alone", Arnold Mindell identifies three basic personalities. The doer, the part of you that is engaged with the world; the reactor, the part of you that is having an emotional response to what you or someone else is doing; and the observer, the part of you that is watching the doer and the reactor. The observer is a concept familiar to many of us as a kind of higher consciousness that is in touch with spiritual perspectives and holds to a broad set of values. Activating the observer allows us to step aside from the narrow identity of our performer self and the obsessions of our emotional reactor self. A technique to help with this is to simply ask yourself, "Who is reading these words, or listening to this voice on the radio?" "Who is feeling joyful right now?" "Who is afraid?" "Who is driving this car, worrying about that upcoming meeting, eating this meal or laughing with this friend?" The question holds more value than the answer, simply because to ask it you must to some extent move into the observer position in your own consciousness. In answering, you may find that you are much more than the one person you have always thought yourself to be. Ask yourself "Who loves? Who is kind and gentle? Who is so thoughtful and caring of others' needs?" In asking and answering, you will ultimately come to a place of light and beauty deep within your soul. You are more than what you do and how you feel. Practice this waking, moving meditation as a way of remembering your own innate brilliance and beauty.
