Reading the book, "Practicing Peace In Times of War" by Pema Chodron, prompted, what I call a quantum leap, in my mind… and in some very dynamic proportions. It brought me to the place in the human experience (of brainmind) that starts or conquers conflict. It is so simple it is sublime. I want to teach about shenpa.
Reviews
“A solid reinforcement on how to stop the reflexive and habitual emotional reaction to perceived hostility through patience, pausing, and breathing. It’s not easy, but it is simple.”—Publishers Weekly
“In her timely new book, Pema Chödrön offers her insights on the origins of world conflict. Anger originates in our own hearts, she asserts, not on the battlefield. Only by checking our aggression on a personal level can we hope to sow the seeds of peace.”—Body & Soul
I would like to define shenpa.
The word ‘shenpa’ is taken from a Buddhist teaching about an internal dialog/reaction/thought process. It describes a reaction we have to ‘the other’ in our lives. In fact, shenpa creates the sense of separateness that allows us to do, say or be to ‘the other’ in a fashion that is not affirming. It is a reaction that feels like the ‘wrongness’ of the other. It is similar to a defense mechanism that is no longer resourceful. It also makes me feel my separateness and it causes chemical releases in the brain that make me feel self-protective feelings. The self feels injured and wants to fight back. The wrongness of the other is the tantamount reaction/feeling. It is so strongly felt that by allowing for the other then there can be no “me”. It induces our fight or flight response.
Shenpa is a reaction in our thought/feeling processes to a person or circumstance so strong it feels like self-death. Unconscious shenpa is the cause of feeling separate and alone. It is a function of the brainmind and its own interpretation of its own survival. Shenpa is the ego reaction of… ‘I do/don’t deserve this.’ ‘I need you to be this way… I need this to be this way’… shenpa is the ego reaction of… I (this brainmind) am right and that other is wrong. Shenpa does not allow for ‘not knowing’ or ‘acceptance’ or ‘not having to have things be a certain way’… these are the opposite of shenpa. Shenpa is fear.
Not shenpa is a freeing of my energy from ‘self protection’ (or living in the past or present) to living in this moment.
Shenpa is judging the other or the threat of the other as an enemy. Shenpa draws lines.
When I am caught up in unconscious shenpa, I am unable to slow down my reactions.
Being conscious of my shenpa helps me slow down and be with what is… no matter that it is uncomfortable… without having outward reactions that can be harmful to myself or others or cause me to feel out of control.
Being conscious of my own shenpa is the surest way to ferret out my ego reactions and start seeing them for what they are… it is the way to self-control and sowing seeds of peace.
The realization and freedom of not having a ‘self’ (to protect, sustain, know or otherwise) can be got to by the conscious observance of shenpa.
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