Vulnerability Project - Week 1 Instructions

In this week's video, I zeroed in on recognizing and releasing resistance as the key to self-realization and fulfillment. I shared the possibility of living less frequently in a contracted state and more frequently in an expanded one.

I described what I call "bird-dogging," which is the habit of deciding that things should be other than what they are. I asked you to pay special attention to your own most common versions of bird-dogging, whether toward others, the world, or yourself.

I also suggested that you consider your attitudes and behaviors that can serve as signals that resistance is present. Such signals could come from denial, avoidance, overwhelm, frustration, aggression, or withdrawal. They might especially include any type of compulsive activity, from benign to serious. Recognizing those signals in a neutral, curious way, rather than with judgment, is how the journey back to expansion begins.

In the video I mentioned how expansion is necessary for presence. It's also necessary for vulnerability. We can't be closed to ourselves and vulnerable at the same time. Please notice how I referred to our relationship with ourselves, rather than to others. In this program we're focusing most on self-vulnerability. It's my experience that when we grow in that capacity, all our relationships with others improve correspondingly as well, and without the previous amount of tension and strain.

On the other hand, as I say often, we're not meant to do it alone. So sharing in this small group is an essential part of the process. Following the Guidelines for Participation and Communication that you all received, and that I've included as a blog post below with that same title, will allow you to benefit from a shared intention to reflect one another in a way that encourages more and more self awareness and connection.

With that in mind, for your first suggested journal entry, I invite you to include:

1) Why you joined the Project and what you're most hoping to get out of it;2) What you focused on when doing the expansion exercise in the video;3) What you focused on when doing the contraction exercise in the video;4) What is your most common form of bird-dogging;5) What are you most common signals that resistance is afoot.

If your time is tight, don't worry about giving lengthy answers. Short can be sweet, as long as you do your best to get to the heart of the matter.