Awareness and Acceptance
Philosophicaly an actor commited to growth and learning, desires to expand self awareness. As we become more aware of ourselves and of the human experience we become more deeply equipped to convey and communicate story. Growth of self awareness is a natural process and can be consciously propelled as it can be consciously resisted. We recognise and respect both the desire for new awareness and the caution to new awareness, which can manifest as resistance in various forms and degrees of fear. This is life’s way of providing an accelerator and a brake to the car of learning. The drama of our daily lives plays out as we work to resolve polarities such as; desire and fear, yearning and trepidation, longing and caution; as we navigate our way through all these experiences we are presented with opportunites to learn. From a certain perspective we might even suggest that drama is learning.
When we exercise our will and express an eagerness to embrace change, the search for greater self awareness becomes an exciting and rewarding journey. In some ways actors can be pioneers for the human spirit as they make conscious forays into the human condition through their scripts and stories.
As we make a conscious commitment to grow our awareness we begin a strengthening process that equips us professionaly and personaly. The self awareness process is not only natural but also deeply satisfying. Sometimes things are discovered that challenge and confront, however as we practise acceptance our discoveries are made useful to us. A commitment to the self awareness process reflects the artist's passion to know more of life, to explore the macrocosm and the microcosm of self and universe and to find it infinitely fascinating.
To embrace each new awareness we need to practise acceptance.
When we practise acceptance we create possibility for growth. Acceptance implies receptivity. It requires kindness and understanding towards oneself and in turn, towards others. To practise acceptance is to embrace possibilty and to allow space for further growth and deeper understanding. Acceptance is fundamental to open mindedness.
Becoming aware and accepting aspects of ourselves that we do not enjoy, requires an act of courage and strength. When the aspects that we do not enjoy about ourselves are accepted they are able to be understood, used for our benefit and released.
Once released, the space created is replenished by elements of a more positive nature. For example; if we discover we are very intolerant of certain behaviours and through a process of self examination become aware that we ourself practise these behaviours, once accepted, this allows us to transcend and replace the unacceptable with the acceptable or the inhibitive with the productive.
If we resist new awareness we apply a hand brake to natural or organic evolution. How often do we say that we "know something is not good for us" but persist anyway? We feel the truth of these words intuitively but still carry on the same patterns of behaviour? Resistance of new awareness is an attempt to regain un-awareness, which is logically not possible. Judgement or self critisism stemming from new awareness is also counter productive to growth and neutralises possibility. To practise acceptance becomes a pre-requisite to the actor’s growth.
Sometimes we find ourselves in reaction, out of hurt we say words in anger which in turn hurt another and so on. Or we do something we regret and become hugely self critical. We come away from these events with self criticism and dis-ease over our behaviour. The more quickly we come to accept this behaviour the more quickly we can learn from it. Beginning a process of letting go and working on the possibilty of not reacting to similar situations in the future.
Practising acceptance is fundamental to the emerging philosphy. To practise acceptance is to create room for growth, is to embrace the possibilty of change, is to allow new knowledge to contribute to a strengthening process of self awareness and self identity. The more we strengthen our self identity the more we come to understand a universal identity. Practicing acceptance emerges an essential element in the learning process.
