Admin Note: The following threads were moved over to its own topic on July 5, 2025.
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I've been toying with the use of some personal interpretations of the Johari Window taught to me by one of my Goddess-like Beings... err I mean, Spiritual-Needs Meeting Friend
to speak frankly about simple lessons on the nature of mind and things like "enlightenment" in a non-spooky or mystical way; before explaining why Epicurean methods of reasoning are so unique, useful and important. I have deployed the lesson on my two grade school kids and my wife so far and will try it out with some other adults tomorrow to get their input.
We begin by drawing a classic four quadrant grid:
Things You Know About Yourself | ||
What They Know | What They Don't Know | |
What You Know | Negotiable | Secrets |
What You Don't Know | Teaching Opportunities or Possibility for Manipulation | Mystery |
I explain that Just and Pleasant relationships try to bring both "You" and "They" (the other person) in to the "Negotiable" quadrant, where both people are relatively aware of a situation and can speak honestly and openly about it, while the "Mystery" quadrant is often where a lot of people find themselves in and sometimes the most awful, because they neither know much about what they feel about themselves (or a situation); nor do they interact with caring and knowledgable, or wise enough people to hopefully, teach or assist them.
Coming out of the "Mystery" quadrant honestly and with truly "Knowing Thyself" is best practiced through the Epicurean Canon of be present and attuned to the 3 parts of the Canon - Sensations, Emotions, and Prolepsis - to move from what is a Mystery to what is known about yourself and therefore Negotiable in an inter-personal sense. Here I bring in Epicurean notions of Justice based on promises, contract and so forth as a way of how we interact with one another in the most Pleasant, Prudent, Honorable and Just way possible.
I usually spend a bit of time explaining my experiences within each quadrant and the often emotional distresses of being in the other 3 quadrants besides the "Negotiable" Quadrant; especially to my kids to deliver lessons about secrets, teachers, the treacherous as well as the more dastardly bottom-right of being relatively "asleep" to one's self. To adults, I usually give a little insight into competing philosophical or religious epistemologies and, invite them to tell a story about where they might end up by following these epistemologies.
Anyway, that's just a little tool I am exploring. Let me know if any of you have any thoughts with regards to this.