🌀🐇 #43 Blindspotting Your Brilliance

Stoic Praxis, Closing the gap  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts Gems of The Weird and Wonderful From Around The Web 🏛A Systematic Approach To Stoic Praxis: HighExistence Creative Director Jon Brooks delivered a talk at The Stoa answering the question "How do I apply Stoicism?" He explores the various Stoic training devices he uses and how he treats martial arts as a vehicle for practicing Stoic wisdom. [Watch here.](=)​ 🤯Sacred Psychonautics, the Space Beyond Healing, and Spiritual Business: A HighExistence Podcast episode claiming that “Psychedelics deserve a beautiful place in people’s lives, not shoved in a closet, hidden away somewhere." We explore the question "Is it possible to bring the level of reverence and integrity that we see in traditional plant medicine ceremonies into our own homes?" with the founders of Portier Supplies. [Listen here.](=)​ 🎨The Gap Between Your Creative Work and Your Artistic Taste: Ira Glass shares insight on how to close the gap between your current ability and the quality of work you know you're capable of. [Watch here.]()​ Did someone forward you this email? Get this newsletter every week when you [sign up here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ "A stunning example of cloud iridescence, caused by small ice crystals scattering the sun's rays, filmed in Narathiwat, Thailand." [See the video here.](​ ☀️Blindspotting Your Brilliance A tragic occurrence in the human experience is how people can be so oblivious to their gifts while hypersensitive to their faults. Our flaws are highlighted because we can often see the greatness in others but their struggles are less obvious to us than our own. That's because we get a front-row seat to our self-criticism and inner turmoil but these things in others can often be hidden behind closed doors creating the perception that we're the only one struggling. This causes us to become preoccupied with our challenges and think "If I could only fix my flaws I could become worthy." But we all have flaws and fixing them won't make us worthy. It's a dead-end strategy because although you might fix a flaw or two, you will not have resolved your tendency for flaw finding. There will always be more blemishes for our inner critic to wrestle with. That's why it's important to elevate our perception of the gifts we possess. These can be hard to see because they are often so close to us. They tend to be something that comes so naturally that we don't even recognize their value. Other times, our gifts become just another venue for further self-criticism. It's an area that we can see clearly so we know how much room for improvement there is. Rather than celebrating how far we've come in cultivating our skill, we judge ourselves for how far we can still travel. So this is my plea: pull your brilliance from your blindspot. Do not cast your gifts into the background. The world needs them. Rather than incessantly trying to eliminate flaws, focus instead on elevating your gifts. If you struggle knowing what they are, you can start discovering them by asking yourself... What activities cause you to lose track of time? What brings you immense joy? What comes easy to you that seems challenging for others? Our gifts bring value to the world because they help others in ways it's hard for them to help themselves. We're then helped in turn because this brings meaning to our lives. When we give our gifts, we get the gift of giving. This creates a virtuous cycle encouraging us to further express our gifts, honing our abilities, and adding depth to our experience. 😨 The Trance of Fear Consider these lucid articulations on shame, fear, and acceptance from Tara Brach: “Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real.” “Each time you meet an old emotional pattern with presence, your awakening to truth can deepen. There’s less identification with the self in the story and more ability to rest in the awareness that is witnessing what’s happening. You become more able to abide in compassion, to remember and trust your true home. Rather than cycling repetitively through old conditioning, you are actually spiraling toward freedom.” 🤓 Learn This Word Counterwill: Gabor Mate describes counterwill as "an automatic resistance put up by a human being with an incompletely developed sense of self, a reflexive and unthinking going against the will of the other. It is a natural but immature resistance arising from the fear of being controlled. Counterwill arises in anyone who has not yet developed a mature and conscious will of their own. Although it can remain active throughout life, normally it makes its most dramatic appearance during the toddler phase, and again in adolescence. In many people, and in the vast majority of children with ADD, it becomes entrenched as an ever-present force and may remain powerfully active well into adulthood. It immensely complicates personal relationships, school performance, and job or career success." ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[Go Do Some Shitty Art: How Unapologetic Creativity Facilitates Insight and Self-Acceptance](=)​ When I was in eighth grade I had a terrible art teacher. He would tell students they were doing art wrong. He would pick apart every aspect of your technique, and like a stale math teacher would reprimand you if you got good results using a method other than the one he taught you. He could only see the content of your art, and was totally blind to the process you were using. He was unable to appreciate the value of your individual touch, of your unique grappling and wrestling with the work. He was a shitty art teacher because he would not let us do shitty art. Art Helps Us Grow Maybe it was because of this poor experience that I avoided most forms of visual artistic expression until almost ten years later. Which is a damn shame, because doing shitty art is a great way to practice failing well, and it’s also a great way to practice self-acceptance in action. I’ve since come to appreciate the importance of art to personal growth. Art can be a superhighway to rare kinds of emotional maturity. It’s excellent for working through difficult emotions and challenging situations. And it’s damn fun when you do it without worrying about the results. ​[Continue Reading](=)​ 🎬 Endnote We hope you enjoyed this issue of Down The Rabbit Hole. Feel free to reply and tell us what you think. Want to help us spread the word? We love sharing these gems of wisdom and wonder with you each week. If you love receiving them and want to help us spread the word, here is one quick way you can do that: Forward this email to one friend. That's it. It will take 5 seconds and will help us spread the good vibes and reach more people. We appreciate you. With Wonder, Mike Slavin & The HighExistence Team P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? Read previous issues and sign-up to receive future issues here: [(​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​[Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 40 E. Main St. #1137, Newark, DE 19711 [Built with ConvertKit](