RE: Can I just say, and I'm just being honest...
October 1, 2016 at 1:46 am
(This post was last modified: October 1, 2016 at 1:46 am by Thumpalumpacus.)
(October 1, 2016 at 12:05 am)Emjay Wrote:(October 1, 2016 at 12:00 am)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: Emjay, there's a dangerously thin line separating introspection and rumination.
What do you mean?
(October 1, 2016 at 12:10 am)robvalue Wrote: There's a problem with his dictionary I think
Nah. The difference is, introspection is self-examination with an eye to learning something about oneself, for whatever reason -- self-improvement, belly-button-gazing, whatever. You learn something new about yourself and move forward with it. But rumination, from the standpoint of the mindful person, is the continued regurgitation of feelings for more chewing. And especially when those feelings are of regret, guilt, and so on, such a practice makes it much easier to feast on the past even as you try to escape it.
The reason why that line is thin is clear -- because in order to be honest with ourselves, we have to examine events where we've wronged others, or where we were ourselves wronged. The introspective person will do that, get to the lesson, absorb it and move forward. The ruminant, on the other hand, will re-experience those feelings, and then swallow them again, thinking that they're done with them ... until the next bout of rumination.