Martha Seagoe <[log in to unmask]>:
>BTW, what does sangha (spiritual community) mean?

Tom:
Sangha is the company of people of like minds, usually in a spiritual sense.
For the agnostic/atheist, it can be interpreted as the company of positive
people of like minds. For the spiritual, it usually refers to a church,
synagogue, temple, ashram, or other spiritual center.

Your comments on positive/negative being two sides of the same thing are
relevant - that is the duality of life. We should strive to focus on the
positive, rather than the negative.

Tom:
>>Awareness of a problem is the first step towards a solution. The
>>difficulty in the raw movement is that so many of us are attached to
>>dogma or ideology, and/or we are in denial about our problems.

Martha Seagoe <[log in to unmask]>:
>True, but if you are aware of the problem, what is the second step?

Tom:
The issue here is perfectionism and low self-esteem, what is the second step
after one realizes it is a problem. In the case of perfectionism, self-
analysis - watch the mind and see when it falls into the habit of perfect-
ionism. Stop then and remind yourself that perfectionism is really counter-
productive. Counselling/therapy might be helpful if self-analysis does not
improve things.

Low self-esteem is a real problem, as it often stems from lack of love to
the self. Low self-esteem is often associated with depression as well.
We are so hard on ourselves much of the time; it is difficult to learn to
love our imperfect selves. Some years ago things were not going well in my life.
I was severely depressed, and one day I made a *solemn* promise to myself that
if things did not improve in a certain time, I would make certain major changes
in my life. The gloom of depression lifted that instant, as I clearly saw
that I was voluntarily clinging to the depression, and simply let it go.

I would hope that a similar process might work for someone with low self-esteem.
Realize that you cling to perfectionism, that you can let it go and love
yourself. The day - and your life - can be brighter.

A closing thought: stress is not caused by the events of our lives, but by our
reactions to those events.

This discussion has strayed a bit from the raw topic, so I hope no one is upset
about this post.

Regards,
Tom Billings
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