Constructive Living
Constructive Living (CL) is an educational method of personal development created by the American Anthropologist David K. Reynolds, Ph.D. It is an adaptation of the work of Japanese psychiatrist Shoma Morita, M.D. (Morita Therapy) and, to a lesser extent, Yoshimoto Ishin (Naikan) - both based on the careful study of human behavior from a Buddhist psychological perspective.Some of the basic principles of Constructive Living:
Feelings are uncontrollable directly by the will.
You can't simply make yourself feel what you want to feel. You can't make yourself fall in love with someone or feel grateful to someone who has just hurt you. You can't willfully and reliably change your feelings when you're feeling depressed or lonely. While western methods of therapy are intent on changing such feeling states, Constructive Living suggests that it was not possible, nor even desirable.
Feelings must be recognized and accepted as they are.
Rather than try to fix, transform, ignore or "work through" unpleasant feelings, CL simply advises people to accept their moment to moment feeling states, shifting attention to what can be done to change the situation constructively.
Every feeling, however unpleasant, has its uses.
Fear tells us we may need to protect ourselves. Anxiety helps us prepare more thoroughly. Physical pain tells us we may need medical care. Rather than see feelings as "bad" and "good", Constructive Living suggests that while a feeling might be experienced as unpleasant, it still serves some useful purpose.