Book: The dialogue between therapist and patients in humanistic therapy. Page 5

Donald Florenc is married and has two children. He works as a receptionist at a large firm. Every day is like the previous one. He gets up at 6.40 in the morning, has Breakfast, gets on the bus, goes to work, spends the day in routine activities, back on the bus home to 5.37, eats dinner, watches TV and then goes to bed at 11.15 - just after the first part of the newscast. To what extent is he really alive? Must be his ability to listen to his inner experience is minimal.

Too often I can not decide to tune into their inner awareness, because you have a feeling that it may not coincide with what I expect from the social environment. So I wistfully sit in a meeting, suppressing internal impatient desire to get away - don't want others to think I was worried or distracted. In fact, however, I am not able to focus your thoughts on what is happening. Sometimes repressing my inner feeling makes me fear to meet with some Central truth. If I try to occupy myself with work, social events and constant activity to avoid ripening in me the understanding that I am mortal, that I'm getting older, it is inevitable no job, no friends, no social life or anything else will not bring me true satisfaction.

The strong latent impact of making us less sensitive to our inner life, that old love affair of Western society with objectivity. We used to think that subjective synonym too sentimental, unreliable and reckless. As a result, we are trying to get rid of the obsession to be themselves - internally experiencing being - and begin to see themselves as products of some of the Detroit pipeline, largely interchangeable and not appreciating the uniqueness of those remnants that escaped the watchful eye of the factory inspector.

Too often we choose one thing, spiritual or sensual experience, intellect or emotion, calculation or spontaneity - rather than to strive for integrity, a component of the potential.

Once inner awareness is such a direct expression of our true nature, why don't we use his inner sense, continually, throughout our lives? As I have already suggested, most of our early training taught us to ignore - partially or fully signals our inner feelings. Parents and teachers with the best intentions strive to "socialize" the child to his own desires, feelings and inclinations had not led to conflict with the surrounding world.

I do not see reason and feeling as enemies, fighting for dominance over my life, look, popular today in some circles. I share the ideal of integrity, which, in my opinion, involves the pursuit of, not the goal. My inner feeling - if to understand it more fully is one of the aspects of a potential wholeness, which is my true nature.

If I want to experience my life fully, I need to experience it at its center - I need to feel his "I". That's what inner awareness. This experience of his Ya I'm reliving when I know that you want something and want it because I want to, not because someone or something tells me I should want, or what most people want, or that four out of five reputable physicians recommended it. My mind what I want directly, and certainly uncalled for. (Of course, I can look back and find reasons or ask questions and so forth, but that's not what just want.)