I teach writing and my students are learning that before they can get other people to pay attention to what they write, they need to have a self to pay attention to.
When they write something that is VALID to themselves, then they are focusing and even surprising themselves with the FACT that they HAVE a self TO focus on! I teach my students that In order to write virally, they need to write for and to themselves, they need to disregard being "politically correct".
One way I have found to do this is by getting my students to try to realize that all we really have in this world is our self, and now, the present.
We need to become aware that everything else is an illusion, a construct.
We need to focus on this VULNERABILITY to FEEL it and learn to LOVE it, instead of FEAR it! When we begin to grasp what this VULNERABILITY is, we will begin to see the POWER OF VULNERABILITY! When you have your VULNERABLE self, you begin to have YOU, instead of your various IDENTITIES having you! You begin to become free from being your "politically correct" roles.
You begin to emerge UNIQUELY from the previous ILLUSIONS that you were to yourself.
Whereas previously, you were your gender, race, religion, ethnicity, occupation, etc.
, you now are your own VALID self TO and FOR yourself.
Instead of being defensive about anything, the real you has found absolute confidence.
For instance, I was told by an administrator of the writing program where I teach, that I was brainwashed.
Instead of feeling the slightest bit defensive about what was said, I merely said: " Well, at least I HAVE a brain TO wash"! Instead of taking what anyone says personally, when you know and feel that you HAVE yourself, and when you know and feel that you have your UNIQUENESS VALIDITY, you can be free from any and all postures, you can be free from being a political correctness slave, you can be yourself.
It is true that there are risks that go along with such freedom from "political correctness", but the worst risk of all is to go through life being defensive, when you are, in fact, being your identities, instead of being yourself! Of course there will be times, and maybe plenty of them, when you WILL need to be defensive, like when you are in a LIFE or DEATH situation.
All other times, we are in QUALITY OF LIFE situations, and we can be our vulnerable selves, and we can bring that vulnerable self to our writing!
When they write something that is VALID to themselves, then they are focusing and even surprising themselves with the FACT that they HAVE a self TO focus on! I teach my students that In order to write virally, they need to write for and to themselves, they need to disregard being "politically correct".
One way I have found to do this is by getting my students to try to realize that all we really have in this world is our self, and now, the present.
We need to become aware that everything else is an illusion, a construct.
We need to focus on this VULNERABILITY to FEEL it and learn to LOVE it, instead of FEAR it! When we begin to grasp what this VULNERABILITY is, we will begin to see the POWER OF VULNERABILITY! When you have your VULNERABLE self, you begin to have YOU, instead of your various IDENTITIES having you! You begin to become free from being your "politically correct" roles.
You begin to emerge UNIQUELY from the previous ILLUSIONS that you were to yourself.
Whereas previously, you were your gender, race, religion, ethnicity, occupation, etc.
, you now are your own VALID self TO and FOR yourself.
Instead of being defensive about anything, the real you has found absolute confidence.
For instance, I was told by an administrator of the writing program where I teach, that I was brainwashed.
Instead of feeling the slightest bit defensive about what was said, I merely said: " Well, at least I HAVE a brain TO wash"! Instead of taking what anyone says personally, when you know and feel that you HAVE yourself, and when you know and feel that you have your UNIQUENESS VALIDITY, you can be free from any and all postures, you can be free from being a political correctness slave, you can be yourself.
It is true that there are risks that go along with such freedom from "political correctness", but the worst risk of all is to go through life being defensive, when you are, in fact, being your identities, instead of being yourself! Of course there will be times, and maybe plenty of them, when you WILL need to be defensive, like when you are in a LIFE or DEATH situation.
All other times, we are in QUALITY OF LIFE situations, and we can be our vulnerable selves, and we can bring that vulnerable self to our writing!
Source...