Healthy Self Examination

Healthy self-examination is an indispensable tool for creating the life of our dreams. I'm using the modifier "healthy" because the exercise shouldn't be about self-hate. What it should be about is a compassionate noticing of our human mistakes and flaws so that we can correct anything in us that is getting in the way of creating the life of our dreams. I'm not kidding around - this exercise is vital. I'm also not kidding around when I say that it's incredibly difficult and sometimes painful. It's a lot easier to do with practice but our egos never want us to see any of our mistakes and flaws, so getting acquainted with all the ego's ways of blinding us is part of the process.

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life that were unbelieveably painful to face. They were mostly in the area of relationships with people that I love. I can testify, however, that beating myself up with guilt didn't help at all. Facing the mistakes I had made and making whatever amends I could was the only way to let the past go so that I could move forward. Now my daily practice is to look at my mistakes, correct anything that I can, and notice any patterns of behavior that come up. For example, I tend to be judgmental of other people. And the more judgmental I am, the more likely I am to tell somebody that I shouldn't. So, minding my thoughts and my tongue really pays off. I've learned that those people I'm judging are usually doing their best just like I am. They fall short; so do I.