Boredom is a flight from what is important. Like workaholism and perfectionism, it is a way of distracting yourself from inner experiences. Workaholsim and perfectionism divert awareness from emotions by focusing it outward on activities. Workaholics and perfectionists distract themselves from what they are feeling by absorbing themselves in their external circumstances. They are always thinking of repairs to the house, a project that is due, an exam coming up, and so on. By focusing on activity, their energy system goes unobserved.
Boredom is the failure to find activity or circumstances interesting enough to divert your awareness from what you are feeling. It occurs when you look outward and do not find anything to engage your attention. Instead of feeling your emotions - becoming aware of the functioning of your energy system - you become bored. The experience of boredom is resistance to become aware of what you are feeling. It is a fertile experience because it occurs only when your search for external ways to distract yourself has failed.
Boredom is a defense against emotional awareness for workaholics and perfectionists. Workaholics and perfectionists absorb themselves in external activites in order to avoid experiencing their emotions. Eventually, those activities become exhausting. More and more remains to be accomplished or put into perfect order, but they do not have the energy to continue. That is burnout. After a vacation they begin again, and then again, until they continue no longer. Their flight from emotions that are too painful to approach, or too shameful to acknowledge, eventually fails. Instead of turning inward to explore those emotions, they become bored.
Boredom is failure of the search for external fulfillment and refusal to look at what drove the search.
Boredom is deeprooted resistance to experiencing emotions after all efforts to distract attention from them have been inefective.
The root of boredom is resistance to painful emotions. This is the root of workaholism and perfectionism, also. In some cases the root produces boredom first, and then an escape into workaholism or perfectionism. Sometimes it is the other way round.
You were not born to lose yourself in activities. Your purpose on the earth is to give the gifts that your soul desires to give, those that create harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life, no matter what form they take. You may raise a family, create a business, become a plumber, or go to school. Your soul will always create ways to express itself when you locate and heal the parts of yourself that obstruct its intentions.
Boredom, like perfectionism and workaholism, is a flight from your higher potential. It is fear of the transformation that wants to occur, and will occur in you, when you explore your emotions. It is your resistance to spiritual growth.
"list your daily activities, for example-"
- EATING/SNACKING
-JUDGING
-EXERCISING
-WORRYING
-GARDENING
Look at each activity one by one. Ask yourself, "How can i use this activity to become emotionally aware?"
When you engage in one of these activites, remember to stop and do a quick scan of your energy system.
Boredom is your fuller life calling you and your fear of hearing that call.
A bored individual does not value his/her life. She feels lost because her attempt to identify with activities and circumstances is unsuccessful. Boredom is weariness following the failure to find meaning externally, and refusal to examine the meaning of that failure - that self worth cannot be found in external circumstances. It cannot be created by perfecting your golf swing or accomplishing goals. More imperfections and goals always appear.
SELF WORTH CANNOT BE FOUND IN ACTIVITIES OR EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES (SUCH AS)
* Accomplishing goals
* Rearranging (environments)
* Perfecting (skills, house,life)
The bored individual cannot look at her pain, either. Lethargy and dullness replace activity. He is controlled by his circumstances as a workaholic or perfectionist is.
Authentic power is alignment of your personalilty with your soul. It requires locating and changing the parts of your personality that are not aligned with your soul. Your soul longs for harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverance for Life. The parts of your personality that oppose these intentions are the parts that are frightened. They are parts that are angry, vengeful, jealous, depressed, compulsive, obsessed, and addicted.
LACK OF SELF-WORTH = POWERLESSNESS = PAIN
So i can either :-
EXPLORE THE PAIN
AVOID THE PAIN
The more powerful these parts are, the more an individual strives to create perfectionism, immerses herself in work, or is bored. Each strategy has the same goal, avoid painful emotions.
ARE YOU BORED?
Think of the last time you were talking to someone and wishes you were not talking to. What did you do?
- Make an excuse to leave
- Continue to pretend to listen.
- Use the situation as an opportunity to feel what you were feeling.
Think of a time when you went somewhere you did want to go. What did you do?
- Become impatient, judgmental, angry (at those that made you go)
- Leave as quickly as you could.
-Use the situation as an opportunity to feel what you were feeling.
Boredom invites you to wake to the power of your life, the complexitty of your experiences, and the beneficence of the Universe.
Quote from - The Heart of the Soul, Emotional Awareness by Gary Zukav and Linda Francis.
Click here for Gary's site ...