Introduction to Mindfulness - Dean Amory

(2) Your relationships with others?
At times I’m less reactive… I’m more inside of my own body, I’m
able to say: ‘there’s a situation, I have an opinion on it’, 9 times out of
10 it’s none of my business, it will be a situation I created.
Primarily, I’ve slowed down. My main difficulty was my relationship
with myself, the impact on my relationship with others was an added
benefit…
I’m at all times 100% aware that if I’m feeling intolerable or irritable
with someone it’s usually triggered by something within me.
Generally, I’m more chilled out with myself, on a good day. For me
it’d be the lifetime achievement award if I can improve my
relationship with myself.
(3) Your relationship with your family
My family and I don’t have a relationship… my family is a sick entity.
The notion of detaching with love, getting in to madness, being a
doormat for it or accelerating me… it’s down to my role (within the
family) and my relationship with myself. I can be rational with anyone
else but as soon as I walk in the door at home I’m the sister, the
daughter, I’m right back… I’ve detached… I need to be careful of
being around them as they are a trigger. I’m not avoiding them in a
diseased way, not running but avoiding them in a self-preservation
way – detaching versus avoiding – it’s solution based. It’s an
important distinction, a shift in perception. Avoidance is a
mechanism; the perception is I’m not avoiding them for it but
detaching for self-preservation. My head’s in the solution, not the
disease.
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