Naikon: Humility Through Self Examinaton of Your Past
Just read a fascinating interview with a man named Gregg Krech, a Western therapist who specialized in a form of Japanese psychology called Naikan - a method of self reflection/examination on your life which requires you exhaustively scrutinize your past and recount in the greatest of detail all the things people have done for YOU, in light and contrast to what you have done for others. The purpose, I've gathered from reading the interview is to realize how much even people are may not like or are angry with have done for you - indeed, even the people you like and love. How often do we find, when we examine our problems, that much of our difficulties in life stem from however of an unconscious belief or notion that the world is against us, that we are unduly suffering more than our 'share,' that somehow us, of all people have been singled out by the fates for more punishment and suffering than we 'deserve'?
Some of this stuff might sound a little wacky: in one Japanese Naikan center had their patients recount how many diapers their parents had changed for them. Perhaps silly on the surface of things, but it is an amazing thought to realize how many times your own parents, however much you may have been angry at them when you grew up, changed your little butt, fed you and clothed you, made sure you got to school, bought you clothes, gave you a roof over your head, and so on.
At this given moment perhaps it's not easy to remember everything, but with Naikan, you sit and stare at a blank wall for a few hours and basically reconstruct and remember your entire life. The first segment is from birth to when you were nine, focusing on your mother. Then, after sitting and remembering, you tell what you remember to another person who says nothing but listens to you. Apparently, this Krech gentleman says you are surprised at how much you remember and really are able to reconstruct a great picture of your life. And the goal is that eventually you come to realize that you have receive MUCH much more than you have given, and when your life is looked at honestly with an acceptance of the truth of it all, you may achieve a great sense of humility and appreciation for all you have and have received - and move beyond the small pettiness small minded resentments that often engulf our interactions with others, causing conflict and grief.
Just read a fascinating interview with a man named Gregg Krech, a Western therapist who specialized in a form of Japanese psychology called Naikan - a method of self reflection/examination on your life which requires you exhaustively scrutinize your past and recount in the greatest of detail all the things people have done for YOU, in light and contrast to what you have done for others. The purpose, I've gathered from reading the interview is to realize how much even people are may not like or are angry with have done for you - indeed, even the people you like and love. How often do we find, when we examine our problems, that much of our difficulties in life stem from however of an unconscious belief or notion that the world is against us, that we are unduly suffering more than our 'share,' that somehow us, of all people have been singled out by the fates for more punishment and suffering than we 'deserve'?
Some of this stuff might sound a little wacky: in one Japanese Naikan center had their patients recount how many diapers their parents had changed for them. Perhaps silly on the surface of things, but it is an amazing thought to realize how many times your own parents, however much you may have been angry at them when you grew up, changed your little butt, fed you and clothed you, made sure you got to school, bought you clothes, gave you a roof over your head, and so on.
At this given moment perhaps it's not easy to remember everything, but with Naikan, you sit and stare at a blank wall for a few hours and basically reconstruct and remember your entire life. The first segment is from birth to when you were nine, focusing on your mother. Then, after sitting and remembering, you tell what you remember to another person who says nothing but listens to you. Apparently, this Krech gentleman says you are surprised at how much you remember and really are able to reconstruct a great picture of your life. And the goal is that eventually you come to realize that you have receive MUCH much more than you have given, and when your life is looked at honestly with an acceptance of the truth of it all, you may achieve a great sense of humility and appreciation for all you have and have received - and move beyond the small pettiness small minded resentments that often engulf our interactions with others, causing conflict and grief.
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