From Existing To Living; A Story Of Acceptance

Summary

The article discusses the journey of self-acceptance and discovery through mindfulness, highlighting how personal challenges and mistakes can lead to profound self-awareness and growth.

Abstract

In "From Existing To Living; A Story Of Acceptance," the author, Michael Patanella, delves into the transformative power of confronting one's own subconscious thoughts and emotions. The narrative emphasizes the importance of mindfulness as a tool for self-awareness, acknowledging that even those well-versed in mindfulness can encounter unexpected revelations about their inner workings. Patanella reflects on his past, recognizing periods of merely existing without true self-understanding. He credits his biggest mistakes with catalyzing his journey towards self-acceptance and a more fulfilling life. The article suggests that through the practice of constant mindfulness, one can navigate through life's confusion and make peace with past actions, leading to a more authentic existence.

Opinions

The author believes that self-awareness is not as straightforward as people assume and that subconscious thoughts can significantly influence one's behavior without explicit recognition.
Patanella considers mindfulness an essential practice for uncovering and understanding deep-seated thoughts and emotions.
He admits that despite being an expert on mindfulness, he still experiences moments of newfound awareness about his thoughts and feelings.
The author suggests that acceptance of one's past mistakes is crucial for personal growth and self-discovery.
Patanella implies that without the negative experiences and actions he regrets, he would not have achieved his current state of contentment and self-understanding.
He reflects on periods of his life where he was not truly living or learning about himself, operating under false assumptions about his life's direction.
The article conveys that introspection can reveal times when one was lost or blind to their true self, leading to poor decisions with friends, relationships, and personal health.
Patanella expresses a commitment to further explore the topic of self-acceptance and the intricate relationship individuals have with themselves in future writings.

From Existing To Living; A Story Of Acceptance

This article, represents an idea that I’ve had for quite some time. An idea about the invaluable education, one can get from being in a position, to have to face oneself, like you’re being introduced to you. Of course, we all know about ourselves, and we believe that we know everything about us. However I just don’t believe it’s so cut and dry like that.

Have you ever heard of subconscious thinking? Well, that type of thinking can run so deep, and be so solid, that we really don’t stop to think about the thoughts that are happening at all. It may be a matter of being so very subconscious, repressed or blocked, that it takes a certain kind of event or scenario, to pull it out of us, and into our realizations.

Now of course, there is a special technique which many of my readers may already know as my favorite practice for this type of topic. Self awareness through mindfulness. Mindfulness, once foreign to me, now I’m blessed to know it.

I do consider myself an expert on mindfulness. However even for the best of us mindful people, we can still find ourselves having those moments in time where all of sudden we stop and realize there is something about our thoughts or emotions that all of a sudden are noticeable. At first, we may think it’s something new. Even though they have actually been happening for a while.

Things like final acceptance can seem a lifetime away, a number of miles away that equals infinity. When I look back at the countless life experiences I have had, I sometimes question whether I really knew who I was. Everything I said I would never do, I somehow ended up doing. I would live a life of intense confusion, when I look at everything I’ve done, it’s all shit, I never thought I’d dare do it.

In a twisted sort of way, some of my biggest mistakes have most certainly been the best outlet to a journey of self acceptance and self discovery. If it wasn’t for all the bad things I have done like lie, cheat, and hurt, I don’t think I would be nearly close to the steady living that I am enjoying now.

I practice mindfulness everyday, every hour, and sometimes every minute. I look back at various times in my past, and I can see now that there were large blocks of time, from months to years, where I was literally doing nothing more, but barely existing. And it was those same times, where I found myself barely learning about me, nor was I even in places where I knew who I was. I went throughout life under a somewhat subconscious assumption that I knew exactly where I was in life, and where I was going. Like a robot turned on, but going the wrong way.

It’s amazing to look back now, and realize how many times in life there were, where I was moving through life lost, or blind. The type of things that shows themselves, and reflect off things in certain ways. For instance, it often lead me to falling for stuff and being the number one fool. For example, like doing favors for fake friends, unhealthy relationships with mates where there was never any real love, and of course trying things like hard drugs, when deep inside our brains, we really do know better.

This mission is a work in progress. I plan to cover this topic more in future pieces. But until then, I will remain very fascinated, about the relationships and understanding that we really do have, with ourselves.

By MICHAEL PATANELLA