login to bmindful Sign up for your FREE bmindful account!

To get the most out of the bmindful forum, please sign up or log in!

★Guy Finley discussion

Anyone else follow Guy Finley?

For those who DO find him thought provoking, what do you suppose he means when he says….

OK go down to the bottom of the thread to see what Guy Finley quote we’re ruminating on today.

(I deleted the quote that got this thread started. Didn’t want to fool a newcomer into thinking we were still actively on that one.)

In response to AccidentalNote’s post:
Regarding this quote….“No one can tell us the truth, for then it would not become a part of our own nature.” Does this link sum it up ?

Here is the (:winded response I had deleted (that Accidental Note originally responded to):
Finley’s stuff often hits me experientially, and often hard for me to express,but I enjoy trying(: I think the tweet is saying….no one can give truth to another. Individuals can be told things….but to “receive” “a truth” …one has to make sense & define ideas as a truth/ or their truth for themselves about themselves…to themselves in some way…

And if and when we receive information (another’s truth to our ears), we as the receiver…. now… become the author;the giver of our truth to ourselves.

Truth gets retold through our own essence…and another’s truth being spoken may become a trigger or a catalyst for “us”…discovering truths of our own./This is not to say what someone says to another cannot contain “truth”; it just doesn’t become truth for someone else, until it is absorbed/utilized as fully believable to the “receiver”.
————————————————————————————————————
The …not becoming part of our own nature part…says to me: once we accept it as our truth, we own it…it becomes ours, but not until we own it. And for something to become part of one’s nature, one must accept things on many levels as a truth, to make it one’s nature/one’s experience. There is so much to ‘a truth’…and there is so much that would make truth one’s own.
Now, I might be reading into good ol’ Guy…but I gotta tell you, the truth I got was my own and is part of my nature. lol.

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

I like your answer, Laurie. You confirmed what I was guessing.

But I’m going to have to think it over — Guy says you might not be giving me the truth! :)

In response to AccidentalNote’s post:

I believe he is saying that everyone has their own truth. When we take someone else’s experiences we are not following our own way, we are following their way. Some people may be helpful in showing you what they did to get what they wanted or change but it is not necessarily what will benefit us.

I truly believe that answers are within us. I know in the past I would not pay attention to messages that were given to me by my own sub-conscious mind or gut feelings. I ignored them and paid the price. However there are masters that are sent to us to show us the way but these people come very rarely in our world.

Peace,
Mary

In response to Godscreation’s post:
More and more, I couldn’t be in more agreement with your belief…the truth is within. There are some techniques we use to best hear what we know…Though the message…is still the same->we do know much…and very significant things too…and very often when we need it…Like powerful prayer, we often receive and understand when we need to(:
Much love, Selfcare

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

“Thinking can no more produce true peace of mind than throwing a stone into the center of a pond has the power to quiet its ripples.”

— Guy Finley

He tweeted that today. It puzzles me.

Me: I really like the idea of thinking good thoughts and I try to notice the reward of good thoughts, hopefully to encourage more of them.

Him: don’t expect too much from that.

Hello AccidentalNote! You got me thinking again(: I believe this 2nd quote you’ve shared Thinking can no more produce true peace of mind than throwing a stone into the center of a pond has the power to quiet its ripples reminds me of the video I had posted and liked so much by Guy Finley.
►•We can think about being…or we can …be.
►• ►•►• ►• This is the link that started more discussion-> The chessboard metaphor
I deleted the rest…since this thread became a thread for multiple discussions…all which were highly thought provoking. Thanks accidentalnote(:

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

I think Guy simply means that somebody else’s truth need not be Your Truth. “Your Truth” being “your Nature” or “Who you Really Are”. Or Soul by any other name. Something can only really become part of Your Nature if “Your Nature” or “Your Truth” reverberates with part of what the other person is trying to tell you is (his or her) truth.
Matt

I agree with everybody especially ScE,on this on this quote,from Guy. Truth is in the mind of the beholder,simalar to beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The capacity to understand or agree with,what someone else is trying to express as truth or reality,sometimes depends on if we can tune in to the same frequentcy.In any case your truth is just as valid as the other person,s…Now having said that I,m now gonna listen to the two videos,freedom and the chessboard metaphors.

Once you get to know Twain, you’ll never be the same.

In response to SelfcareEnthusiast’s post:
Chessboard metaphor continued…The quoted area below was taken from Dr Simon Moss;site called psch-it.com which I found the metaphor defined Practitioners encourage clients to refrain from defining or identifying themselves by their thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings are merely private, transient events, not permanent features ….and he goes on to say…. -> The chessboard metaphor is often used to demonstrate this proposition (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). Clients are asked to imagine a chessboard in which the black pieces represent the undesirable thoughts or feelings, whereas the white pieces represent the desirable thoughts or feelings. Clients would clearly prefer the white pieces to prevail. However, their efforts to energize the white pieces also invigorate the black pieces and, as a consequence, this goal is never realized. Finally,practitioners ask the client “If you are not the pieces, then who are you?” Hopefully, the clients will perceive themselves as the chessboard-an entity that persists even as the pieces annihilate one another. In other words, they endure regardless of their thoughts, feelings, and memories/ACT is suitable in a vast range of settings. The benefits, however, are especially pronounced in individuals who tend to avoid distressing or upsetting events, as shown by Zettle (2003) in a study that examined whether ACT can curb anxiety towards mathematics.
_______________

  • Accidentalnote ….all of this was a result from my thoughts… about thoughts… from that tweet… about thoughts(:

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

Sorry I was so slow with an answer. I know I owed you one but I was letting it age, like a good wine/cheese/bourbon/Meryl Streep hopefully. :)

“The more you come back, the more you will love the taste of your life, including everything in it that presently seems bitter.” No doubt.

I see his point, Laurie. Also I really appreciate your thoughtful :) contribution here. It does give me a deeper understanding of the tweet about expecting thoughts to make things better.

I don’t want you to spend more effort on this because I don’t want you to feel a need to convert me to a different way of feeling-not-thinking. My gap with what Guy says is because I still use my thoughts to see and accept the chessboard. I’m OK with that. I enjoy my thoughts, just like ripples on a pond. I like knowing where they come from and understanding them, even the dreams and imaginations. They often make me smile. I also like sometimes feeding the ripples. I don’t claim to control all my thoughts, but I feel a tiny bit of ability to encourage the ones that make me feel good and appreciate my existence.

Thanks for your answer and it did help me understand the tweet.

I got this one in an email from his webpage, which I had signed up for. Anyone want to give their thoughts on this one?

I think he’s saying that neither of these choices is a good one, and you have to walk away from making this choice. But I’m not sure, so let me know.

— Accidental Note

[quote]
KEY LESSON:

Walk Away From the World of Being a Broken Human Being

Disagree with the opinion of what others would have you believe is true, and they will secretly resent you; but quietly refuse to argue about anything with these same people, and they will openly cry out that you have abandoned them.
[/quote]

“The walking away from the world of being a broken human being”…to me..says we have a choice to be broken. And we have a choice to resent.
There will be exceptions…to those who can choose. There will be exceptions to perception. Though bottom line…we can walk away from being broken. That is off the top.(:

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

Here’s the way it looks in the email, just to be clear:

I think it goes back to that chessboard again, doesn’t it? If you’re “in the game” it feels like a painful choice. But if you let the same person off the board, instead of disagreeing with them or “abandoning” them, then you give them the same freedom too.

Got this from his twitter today:

“Knowledge without Spirit is like finding yourself on a cold night with all the wood in the world and having no flame with which to ignite it.”

—-

Which reminds me of one of my daily prayers “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

Thanks for bringing this thread back up, I enjoyed re-reading it.

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
— Gandalf, J.R.R. Tolkien
I’m Alright
Life Less Ordinary

Here’s a challenge from Guy’s twitter feed:

If we wish to have true harmonious relationships with others, then it is we who must change.

Guy tweeted on Wednesday:

You’re well along freedom’s path when you can listen to others without the need to tell them what you know.

mara you are never too old to learn ,I have heard of Guy Finley but didn’t know anything about him so I just googled him and have signed up for his free starter kit .

yours is an interesting question ,good luck with it,sorry I can’t be any help ,
love Flowergirl

Not to sound too enthusiastic,cause I,d probably have to change my name.It,s definately the choices we make,or the thoughts we think,that create our future,usually a combination of small, present moment thoughts and choices.I try and discern the possible advantages,and potential disadvantages to every decision,for example what are the advantages to thinking positive about life in general,and what are the advantages to thinking negative.And of course positive thinking is always the wise choice.Affirming positive thoughts like baseball, or bowling, or anything requires practice to get better.You,ve heard the expression “the jury is still out on that“the bigger decisions I try to give to some metaphysical jury,and wait for the answer…and remember that like louise says,self critisism is only a negative habit that I can change into positive self talk,with practice.

Once you get to know Twain, you’ll never be the same.

I have a Guy Finley quote story today.

Saturday I sent someone (not on bmindful — someone in my city I see weekly but am not real tight with) a nice note during a very difficult day for him.

I didn’t have to do it. I was being compassionate during a time when he may have felt abandoned. Monday he publicly ridiculed it. That’s what I get for being nice.

My first thought was “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”.

Then I saw a Guy Finley tweet the same day:

“Spiritually speaking, nothing can harm us without our consent.”

Yep. So true. Didn’t hurt me a bit. I’ll keep moving on, trying to be the light.

good for you,i try and think to myself (if someone offends me)there just following there script,or there level of unconsciousness.

Once you get to know Twain, you’ll never be the same.

In response to AccidentalNote’s post:
Hello Accidentalnote, thanks for sharing your experience & your lesson. A gift is love….if we are giving from a good place, and it isn’t what someone understood to be helpful, or they believe ‘who asked ya?-mentality … we can make new decisions about what we give and/or who is the recipient. Though Guy, had a point…“Spiritually speaking, nothing can harm us without our consent.”

Guy said it well…And I believe Mother Teresa said some good things too..
►• Mother Teresa’s Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

i like that poem,have utilized it in the past.My previous comment was just my hidden sense of humour,a more accurate statement would be god help me to understand rather then be understood

Once you get to know Twain, you’ll never be the same.

In response to ezdoesit’s post:
Yes, that is helpful too. it reminds me of accidentalsnote thread on patience (article link shared)

“Learn to see the complexity of a situation. This means understanding that human beings live complicated lives in a complex universe, all the variables of which we can’t possibly know or appreciate in the moment. Just remembering this fact may allow us to amplify our sense of empathy with others, and thus to soften a little”

and I’d conclude with:
“Spiritually speaking, nothing can harm us without our consent.” (:
Glad you were able to let it go so well, Accidentalnote(:

I AM
Peaceful:
Emotions, Sensations ,
& Feelings

In response to SelfcareEnthusiast’s post:

Glad you were able to let it go so well, Accidentalnote(:

Well, it took a few hours to cool off about it, before I saw Guy’s tweet. I seriously considered an Oreos binge too. Close call!

guy,interviewed by rita

Once you get to know Twain, you’ll never be the same.

Freedom and peace are as kite and wind; the former remains grounded without the latter. — Guy Finley

A talk with Guy
My perspective OF Guy Finley he says some thought provoking stuff
but like everything in life take what resonates with you and leave the
rest. Carl Jung
“The shoe that fits one person,pinches another,there is no recipe
for living that suits all”

“To boldly and or vulnerably go where no one has gone before”

some of this is sort of makes sense

“To boldly and or vulnerably go where no one has gone before”

Here’s a tweet from Guy. I imagine it has something to do with quieting yourself. Or it’s a joke :)

“Talking to yourself proves only one thing: you’re still unable to tell the difference between good and bad company.” ~ Guy Finley

1

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
— Gandalf, J.R.R. Tolkien
I’m Alright
Life Less Ordinary

Jump to Top ^^

To get the most out of the bmindful forum, please sign up or log in!

Related Content