Self-improvement is an interesting thing.
Does this word point towards a never-ending quest for perfection of that which is in the physical form – OR – does it mean getting closer to who we REALLY are as a being?

Of course there are all sorts of things ‘wrong’ with us as humans – if we insist on using the idea of things being wrong and right – and trying to ‘fix’ them seems to be part of the ‘path of awakening’ we are destined to go.

If self-improvement means waking up to who we really are – in our essence – then we will gradually come to see there’s nothing wrong with us at all.

In which case the term ‘awakening’ – as explained by Eckhart Tolle in his book ‘A New World’ and by many others before him) seems more precise then ’self-improvement’.

In my understanding, if I don’t like the weather I have to accept it, because to be angry because of that is a waste of my energy – for I _can’t_ change the weather.

But it doesn’t mean that I have to be getting wet – I can try and shelter myself from the rain/wind etc. – that’s something I _can_ change

That’s how I use the word “improvement”…

I have actually found four personality types that respond to different forms of encouragement and teaching. So, definately, what works for one does not necessarily work for the next! We are all on our own Journey and the magical elusive “Key” must be found within.

In Rhonda’s comment I hear a focus on the Self – specifically the core, or what is sometimes called “True Self” in clarification from the “ego” or ‘false self’ which developed from our young conditioning. In my experience and training, the True Self is not up for improvement, but rather revelation, unfoldment, expression….

Heather’s focus, is on the word improvement, which she applies in an entirely different context, as in perfomance improvement (golf swing) or quality improvement (leaking roof) of tangible resources.

Heather’s uses point to a guantitative or value based measurement whether by me or agreed upon by the community involved. This kind of improvement is measured or evaluated as “I feel happier”, ” She improved her score”. A comparison is being made with a former state or condition.

The qualities of the True Self are. There is no qualitative or quantitative measurement possible from a dualistic perspective.

What “self-improvement” can refer to, however, is a qualitative experience of ease or freedom – “free to BE and express my Self from my True Nature’ – through a process of learning to release attachment to the fase ‘ego’ self.

This ’self-improvement’ can be qualitatively measured by my inner assessment of being able to make free choices that serve my Truth rather than conditioned choices that serve my perceived expectations of others.

Rather than referring to an improvement of the Self, it can refer to the improved felt freedom to express the Self.

Thank You for the opportunity to explore these concepts.

Namaste,
Aila, ‘The De-Stress Maven’
ailaspeaks.com

“Improvement” simply means you want to make something better, in your own eyes. Look it up in the dictionary for added proof… or take a look at this definition from dictionary.com:

im·prove·ment –noun
1. an act of improving or the state of being improved.
2. a change or addition by which a thing is improved.
3. a person or thing that represents an advance on another in excellence or achievement: The new landlord is a great improvement over his greedy predecessor.
4. a bringing into a more valuable or desirable condition, as of land or real property; betterment.
5. something done or added to real property that increases its value.
6. profitable use, as of a period of time.

If I talk about “home improvement”, nobody’s going to jump at me and say, “Oh, no! Don’t say improvement! There’s nothing WRONG with your home, it doesn’t need IMPROVEMENT!”

If they do, I’ll tell them, first of all… stop “shoulding on” me and telling me what I can or can’t say or do.

Then I’ll say, “Sure, there’s nothing WRONG with my house… the roof might leak when it rains, and there’s mold along the foundation, and the curtains are too dark to let in the sunshine, and the back yard is a pile of ugly dirt, but there’s nothing WRONG with it, it’s still a house that I can live in…”

But I want a roof that keeps me dry, I want a clean and mold-free, healthy environment, I want sunshine in my living room, and I want a beautifully landscaped back yard. That INSPIRES me, and makes me happy.

Improving it makes me happy.

Then when I’ve done all that, I might decide I want a different color couch to better match the decor, or a more energy-efficient stove, or a fridge that keeps the frozen stuff frozen and the produce frost-free. Or maybe I want to add a sun room, build a closet, or knock down a wall to make a bigger space.

Yes, more improvement… back to the home improvement store to do things that make the great house even better.

When Tiger Woods works on improving his swing, do you think he’s thinking, “Damn, I’ve got a terrible swing… I need to improve it”? Or do you think he’s saying, “How can I improve my great swing to make it even BETTER… so that I can go further than I am now”?

I’d say the latter… yet both scenarios use the word “improvement”.

Hmmm… perhaps if we all stopped looking at “improvement” as a bad thing, then we could feel GOOD about it (which is really the whole reason for improvement) rather than bad or guilty… which is only going to attract more to feel bad or guilty about.

cheers
Heather

This is why I have always loved one of Budda’s sayings….do not get stuck on the finger pointing to the moon….for it is the moon we want you to see….

And much of self improvement has been the finger (and there are many fingers) and so many still not seeing the moon……

What would happen if to think about it, we where not taught from the very beginning there was nothing wrong with us there was nothing to find or acheive…..

What do you think we would bring forth……… for much of what we are thinking with has been already a bottom line way of thinking…… so in a sense we are searching for the answer in the same box……

Even if I ask right now …take off everythng you know about yourself, life, things, concepts …… what is left……

YOU

and if you leave it off for a minute how does it feel ……

I also ways find just, here I am, nothing missing nothing to find as we only go to find when we believe we need to seek for something…………. what is there was nothing to find what is the energy or feeling that is really within us……

I found for me is was to explore,discover enjoy, live love and joy….. such a different thing to I must find something…… in exploring we find much and it is most definitely then the experience , which leads us to exploring from a whole new premise…..

Children already live all that we have been seeking…

Maybe they are the constant reminder of a very simple truth… happy exploring in its natural presence..

Sherrie Hatfield

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.” T. S. Eliot

“People say that what we’re all seeking is the
meaning of life…I think that what we’re
really seeking is the experience of being alive.”
Joseph Campbell

Working with clients and in my own exploration I find it to be a lot like a mapquest, many starting points, routes, views, rest stops, total miles …. to a destination for which we do not happen to know the address.
Enjoying our meeting on the road.

Namaste,
) Aila
‘The De-Stress Maven’
ailaspeaks.com