This chapter is based more in experimenting “What is”. Susan talked about this as feeling something and then trying to avoid that feeling. That is something that we have to take care about because if not with the time that pain would be a great depression.
Experiencing what is consists of two important components:


The “experiencing part” and the “What is “part.
Experiencing what is also helps you make the distinction between what is, that is what you actually experience (see, hear, sense, feel, notice, and remember). And what you imagine (thinks, interpret, value and believe.)



Susan Campbell describes something very important in this chapter in the part of experiencing what is in your relationship that talked about what is in a relationship. This quote for me is the one that exemplifies it:



“You don’t experience an interpretation. You imagine an interpretation. And your interpretations are often a lot more painful that your actual experience”


I quote this because is completely true and I give my word in it because I have already live this situation for many times. Many times I imagine things and interpret negative things and instead of live the actual experience or ask the others if what I’m interpreting is ok I prefer to doesn’t say anything and day s after I’m very angry about something that I interpret in a bad way and then I looked that I’m completely wrong. But for all that I lose much of my time having negative ideas that affect my development during my day.



“When you take responsibility for your mind’s machinations by making the distinction between what you notice and what you imagine, you help both yourself and the other person to take your interpretations more lightly."



This other quote is an example of what I tried to do know that I have learned that by imagine and interpret things that are not true doesn’t gives me anything and it only end affecting my way of living day a day.



Seeing is not believing​
Noticing what is happening

“Once you have begun to detach from your identification with your beliefs and judgments, you will be in better shape to notice what you are actually experiencing in the present moment. “



In my life I have to cut this type of belief and judgments that I have created by different bad experience. I notice that when I left being like that and I open my mind to new things I start to live my life as if it was my last day of living. Enjoying every moment that I have with my family and friends. I left looking only in the negative things and I focus more on the good things that I can do.

 

“The mind likes to compare our present state with some wished for and often unattainable state. It likes to aspire to being “better” (which is often a control pattern to avoid experiencing how you really are).



I think that this is a good habit of our mind only if we now how to control it because to aspire to being better make us do anything we have to do to get our goals and in this way is our choice if we enjoy doing that. But the problem is when we didn’t use this type of aspirations to grow more the problem is when we get all the time frustrated because we can’t catch all the goals we have in mind.

 

At the end of this chapter Susan Campbell describe us a summary of what is in the chapter, I copy in here the ones that I consider can help anyone in their life:



• Experiencing what is means allowing yourself to feel what you feel without inhibiting yourself shutting down.
• Learn to have a distinction between what you notice or experience and what you interpret or believe.
• By experiencing you have to be able to confront your energy blocks and your false beliefs.