CONFLICT
Week 8
printable view
Even though conflict can and will bring pain, it does not need to produce suffering.
-ORM
“Peace is not the absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means”
-Ronald Reagan
THE EFFORT Get to know your conflicted self better by exploring your personal perceptions. Figure out which types of conflicts present most in your life and take an objective look at how you handle them. Remind yourself often that conflict is a natural process and our roots become easily tangled - all the time! If we catch the tangles early, we can trace their roots to find out what they need and want, encouraging a successful journey into and through some tightly wound spaces. In these spaces is where our light
BREAK IT DOWN
Inner Conflict
(self v. self)
Conflict between You and Another
(person/small group) (self v. other/s)
Societal Conflict
(self v. ‘world’)
Identify an example of each type of conflict in your life. Think about how you approach/handle the (1) emotional, (2) spiritual, (3) mental, (4) physical aspects of each situation. Write/think through the best advice you can give to yourself as you recognize how each conflict follows a natural root system and its inevitable disorder.
ASK YOURSELF
1. How did/do your biggest mentors handle conflict?
2. Are your responses learned, reactionary or both?
3. How do you express anger in conflict?
4. Do you talk over others?
5. Do you plan what you’re going to say next instead of listening fully in the present moment?
6. Does your expression depend on your current mood?
7. Do you say hurtful things?
8. Do you avoid conflict altogether if you can help it?
9. Do you ever feel yourself itching for a fight?
10. Do your conditions change by type of conflict?
11. How does your physical body react during conflict?
12. Do you have the ability to objectively weigh all of the information at hand before reacting?
INVEST IN YOU Set an intention to mine the opportunities within each conflict for your own knowledge. Use this wisdom to strengthen and deepen your acknowledgement and acceptance of your wholeness as you navigate through the murky paths of conflict - in effect, getting down with your bad self! When you are grounded in your values and ideals, you have access to an open heart that is looking for a natural resolution from the soul, not to win an argument for the sake of our strong and fragile egos.