Just like we can choose to take the stairs, rather than the elevator, to strengthen our bodies, we can alter our thinking and create a happier reality. Today, on our Friday Word Fast, we look at JEALOUSY, and what it really is. Jack gives us a helpful acronym to reframe our thinking and a helpful practice to rid ourselves of jealousy…
My acronym today is: J.E.A.L.O.U.S. Judging Everyones Actions Luminates Our Unfulfilled Self
The feeling of being jealous has been a common occurance throughout my life so much so that I feared the feeling of it and would take actions to avoid it. However the more I resisted being jealous the more it appeared in my life.
The first and foremost place for jealousy was in my relationships. However, I would feel its presence also during conversations about physical appearance and monetary possessions, and while observing others in states of happiness I could never imagine obtaining.
I was surrounded by jealousy in every topic discussed in various social circles. I could feel it nibbling at me, taking bites out of my ego with every passing comparison, provoking the lack of fulfillment in my life. I had reached a point where I became a prisoner to it. I was consumed by neediness and desire. I ridiculed others for not having what I had. My jealousy created a false pride with no escape from the toxic conditions that it perpetuated in my relationships.
I would work long hours to possess the monetary stature of my competitive peers. Soon this became a spiral staircase of temporary satisfactions as if running an endless marathon with a few sips of water along the way.
The acronym JEALOUS became a powerful tool of reminding me to review my inventory of beliefs, starting with what is fulfillment?
Is fulfillment something I strive for in my external world or is it something I acknowledge to exist already in my inner world? In what do I believe that suggests fulfillment is external? Who told this to me? Is this true for me?
The acronym JEALOUS revealed to me a truth: It is by choice that I actively participate in judging my life and the lives of others. Such a choice will cause a feeling of separation from others and will limit my world and those in it with the use of arbitrary labels, like ‘greater than’, or ‘less than’).
I have developed a practice to which I return when I feel the onset of jealousy. I choose to stop its perpetuation and observe my thoughts as to why I feel this way, I write them down and create the space through which a greater understanding can emerge. In this way we can initiate the process of letting go what no longer serves.
With time, practice and the help of loving friends, jealousy will become a retired choice whose sole purpose was to simply create the contrast for me to discover the true meaning of fulfillment.
Next weeks acronym is P.O.W.E.R.
Listen to Jack’s soothing voice as he describes more powerful acronyms on his website www.sciencesofspirituality.org.
John Nickolas Barakitis is the founder of Sciences of Spirituality a project of the Congressional District Programs a 501(c)(3) non-profit company. As educators and practitioners in holistic massage therapy and Reiki, John and his wife Sona offer products and services to Inspire, Enhance and Heal through music and the spoken word. For more information visit www.sciencesofspirituality.org
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awesome. I know when i have jealous or judgemental thoughts towards someone or something, its just that…MY thoughts. In most cases, the person i’m obsessing about probably didnt even bother to spare a single thought in my direction!4
Amazing how often I would catch myself spending hours going over in my head on how others may be thinking about me or a situation. I realized that it was a choice as well. And when there were times I did ask, their thoughts were way off from what I perceived them to be.
Now I breathe in and choose to release that N.E.E.D. Ahhh!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Love, Laughter and Abundance
Jack