Zen Exercise of the Day (657 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 0.75 on 4 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Goose <goosehkr at hotmail dot com> (View user info) at 2005-06-09 09:03:20 EDT
For the rest of your conversations for the day (work situations permitting), try to avoid the use of personally referential pronouns. That means no I, me, mine, we, our, us, etc. So instead of "I think the television is too loud", your statement simply becomes "The television is too loud." There are plenty of pitfalls, and it can make telling stories a little difficult, but it's an interesting exercise in removing yourself from the situation.
It also means that all of your opinions ("I am cold") suddenly become truth statements ("It is cold").
Oh, and no speaking in the third person - that's both cheating and irritating.
And remember, as an example, the contraction "let's" is actually "let us", which doesn't count, so be careful.
Good luck!
User Reviews
Submitted by Bellebrown (user info) at 2005-06-09 09:25:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
*I* don't get it.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2005-06-09 09:15:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Except, it's not really a zen exercise is it? By saying, "the television is too loud", you've still made a judgment about the state of the televsion haven't you? That doesn't seem very zen...
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2005-06-09 09:10:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
This sucks.
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2005-06-09 09:06:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Your thinking is good. (SO nearly said I like your..)