The Rogerian Attitude of Genuineness

I am on pretty good terms with one of my neighbours here in residence. He's an exchange student from Israel who has a very workable knowledge of the English language, which obviously makes communication that much better!

I usually pass by him when he's sitting in his room. We chat about any number of things. The topics usually broach upon the concerns that are most exigent in our lives. It's a nice thing just to be able to either "shoot the shit" when the feeling arises, or talk about those things that are more serious.

There have been times when he's had some pretty serious stuff to talk to me about, and times when I've had things that I wanted to share with him. Pretty open friendship I'd say.

Just tonight he conveyed to me that when he talks with people he can see an aura of many colours emanating from their bodies. I don't believe this is something that I can, with light heart and conscience, refute or be condescending about. I don't think that I understand everything that goes on in the existence, and that everything physical is the only reality. Why should I, someone who attends synagogue every Friday and Saturday, prays to a ubiquitous Entity, put someone down for a spiritual belief? It's something that I hope I always keep in mind when talking to people who have non-mainstream beliefs.

With that in mind I continued to talk to him about auras and colours and the like, to try and get a picture of a realm of perspective that I know not of. As the conversation progressed, I found myself getting uncomfortable with the prospect that someone is seeing some .... for lack of a better word .... autonomic expression of my body. The physical outside of the body is the boundary between what you are comfortable with the world seeing, and that which you would like to stay inside. When someone, in my experience, claims to know what is going on inside of me without asking I find it rather disconcerting. I think I was not able to stay as comfortable as I would have liked while talking to him due to a sort of defensiveness.

How can I convey a sense of genuineness when I feel like closing up that which seems to be emanating from me. It's a rather weird level to be on in a friendship.

Curious. Maybe I have to work on being more open and responsible when I feel things like that.

Reflectively,

- Inkhorn