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This one is kind of complicated. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Draw a circle on a piece of paper (it doesn't have to be perfect). Divide it into six slices, like a pie.
Each slice represents one of six important areas of your life. Camerons's categories are Spirituality, Exercise, Romance/Adventure, Friends, Work, Play. Use your own labels to make the pie accurate to yourself.
For me, the biggest benefit of this task was in figuring out what to put in the slices and what to call them -- since I don't have a spiritual life, I made writing its own category; "exercise" doesn't loom large enough in my life to merit a whole slice, so I made one for “recreation” instead, and so on. I did several pies before I got one that seemed accurate. Don't feel like you have to put a lot of time into it, though, unless you want to. The pie doesn't have to be exclusive – use the categories that come to mind.
Now make a dot in each slice to show the degree to which you are currently "fulfilled" in that area, however you want to define that. If you don't like fulfilled you can think in terms of general satisfaction or living up to your potential -- whatever appeals to you and feels accurate. Place a dot on the outer rim for areas where you're doing great, further inside for less great, right in the middle where the segments meet for "totally lacking." Connect the dots to see where you're lopsided or shrunken.
If there are areas in your life that feel impoverished, pick one and resolve to give it a little extra attention in the next few hours and days. If you have a “spirituality” slice that looks bashed-in, Cameron suggests listening to drum music or visiting a greenhouse. If “reading” is a neglected slice, take ten minutes to read a couple short poems, an essay, or a short story.
List a few small things you could do for each sunken slice. Even a tiny amount of attention can help replenish the pie.
Did you do your morning pages today?
Draw a circle on a piece of paper (it doesn't have to be perfect). Divide it into six slices, like a pie.
Each slice represents one of six important areas of your life. Camerons's categories are Spirituality, Exercise, Romance/Adventure, Friends, Work, Play. Use your own labels to make the pie accurate to yourself.
For me, the biggest benefit of this task was in figuring out what to put in the slices and what to call them -- since I don't have a spiritual life, I made writing its own category; "exercise" doesn't loom large enough in my life to merit a whole slice, so I made one for “recreation” instead, and so on. I did several pies before I got one that seemed accurate. Don't feel like you have to put a lot of time into it, though, unless you want to. The pie doesn't have to be exclusive – use the categories that come to mind.
Now make a dot in each slice to show the degree to which you are currently "fulfilled" in that area, however you want to define that. If you don't like fulfilled you can think in terms of general satisfaction or living up to your potential -- whatever appeals to you and feels accurate. Place a dot on the outer rim for areas where you're doing great, further inside for less great, right in the middle where the segments meet for "totally lacking." Connect the dots to see where you're lopsided or shrunken.
If there are areas in your life that feel impoverished, pick one and resolve to give it a little extra attention in the next few hours and days. If you have a “spirituality” slice that looks bashed-in, Cameron suggests listening to drum music or visiting a greenhouse. If “reading” is a neglected slice, take ten minutes to read a couple short poems, an essay, or a short story.
List a few small things you could do for each sunken slice. Even a tiny amount of attention can help replenish the pie.
Did you do your morning pages today?
no subject
Date: 2014-06-07 04:13 pm (UTC)From:Spirituality and Relationships aren't bad; I feel a greater sense of connection and purpose than ever before, and my interpersonal relationships are good though there's always more I feel I can do. Health and Play aren't quite where I want them to be--I seldom find time to take care of myself, and "play" takes place in stolen bits of guilt-ridden procrastination. I've been stuck in work (which I define as academics and writing) for a while. I keep making effort and there's some movement, but neither effort nor production is quite where I want it.
As for adventure, I'm in a rut. It's not an unhappy rut, but I'm terrified to take a day off or try something new because I'm dangerously close to being overwhelmed. This may have something to do with my less-than-satisfactory productivity. Just brainstorming ways to bring some novelty and excitement into my life helps me relax, as though my body is going "ahhh, exactly what I needed." Weird how a problem like this was hiding in plain sight all this time, and I'm astonished at how long I was numbing myself to it.
In the mid-to-long-term I'm drawn to travel or at least a vacation. Maybe a small adventure such as a short biking expedition for one of my artist's dates. I had a narrow brush with death in a biking accident as a child and didn't ride again for two and a half decades before my husband re-taught me. The two of us have ridden for miles at a time, but I've never biked alone since my accident. The thought is a small terror even though I'll be careful and won't take the kind of risk I did when I was little and unsupervised.
In fact... wow. Wow, I just remembered the last thought I had before I took that ill-advised plunge downhill. I had wanted a thrill, and specifically took my bicycle uphill for that purpose. And it almost killed me. No wonder I was so scared of risk my entire life, and had such a hard time trusting my own judgment. One inch of a difference, and I would have been disabled or killed. How do I trust a universe that is so random and dangerous, and what faith can I put in a life that is so fragile? I don't think I forgot so much as I was looking away really hard, and I don't know why it's coming back now. I'm deeply shaken and am going to need to sleep on this.
Edit: I was a bit of a mess last night, as in crying-in-the-shower and dreaming-of-blood mess, but I'm feeling pretty normal now though things will be filtering through for some time. I'm guessing this is part of how the course is supposed to work for those who are hindered by buried trauma, so I'm leaving it up as an example/warning. Be open to what might come, but be aware you might be hit unexpectedly and seek help immediately if you're overwhelmed.