11-04-2010, 12:00 AM
Wei Shan Yang wrote:
"Is feeling coming via bodily sensations and our mind turns them either positive or negative via emotions?"
Definitely feeling comes via the body, the 5 senses. Most commonly it seems is sight and this can even be mental sight alone, but usually physical sight. The body stores everything.
Our mind, intent, beckons our memories. We operate mostly from past experience, are always building on the past. But we also beckon the future (changing past) by our desire for unity. One author I read likened the experience of emotions as the sum total of pleasure or gradients along the way depending on its concentration. That is, a totally concentrated experience of emotion (uninhibited by thoughts) would be bliss, and any dilution (inhibiting thoughts) gradually lessening to the extreme of being almost entirely void of pleasure (hell in the metaphorical sense). But never is this sum potential broken or separated, just thoughts can lessen or dilute pleasure, causing it to fragment. So emotion is basically pure bliss, pure pleasure in its natural state. Thoughts discriminate and this causes the dilution process. The fable of adam and eve is an appropriate analogy here. Before tasting of the tree of knowledge, there was only pure bliss. The tree of knowledge is discriminating thought (dual understanding), thus began the move away from bliss. Not bad just representative of the journey outward and back.
What are your views on this SHM?Well....Let's see.
As to feelings or emotions or bliss or whatever, I'll just state this, as mentioned in another thread:
"How will this help me in my practice to know feelings, emotions and bliss?" My practice is to be completely present in this moment and to experience whatever arises fully. And that's it.
Please keep in mind that the key word above is the word 'practice.' Very important. Why? Because I said practice and not 'residing.' I'm not 'residing in this moment and experiencing whatever arises fully 100% of the time.'
If that were the case I'd be visiting here from over there, from the other side of the fence, so to speak. Or, perhaps I am visiting here from over there, but have yet to achieve a functioning Totality of Self, thus pure understanding. I label that Enlightenment. A complete Totality of the Self, (solving the riddle of I-Am,) solved the riddle of Truth, Non-Dual Awareness, etc., etc. It's why I mentioned above, "100% of the time." Residing in abiding non-dual awareness. Not as a Mystic who can catch glimpses, but Abiding. Yet, I digress...
What to do in practice?
One method that works great for me is the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How method.
Who spurred this emotion in me? Or, Who, (as in 'me' or my personal history) is taking issue with this emotion as opposed to just allowing it to arise fully?
What is this emotion? What caused it?
When did this emotion first arise? Is this a current emotion or a re-action from a previous event that has not be recapped fully?
Where is this emotion stemming from? Where is the source? In me? In my mind?
Why is there an emotion at all? Why am I responding to it?
How did this emotion arise? How did I re-act to it? How am I going to just allow it to arise fully?
This self-stalking give me plenty to work on to get to that ultimate practice mentioned above. Keep in mind that this is personal to my 'self.' I don't shuck the responsibility off to someone or something else. Sure, I'll look at the big picture and look at the external factors that may have caused said emotion. But it's really about me. As an example, and I'll use Gonzo as an example as I know him, what if we get into a heated debate over this or that? I get emotional. Ok, so I pug in to the system above. What am in denial of? What am I clinging to? Who/What/When/Where/Why and How is blocking the practice of being completely present in this moment and just experiencing what is arising fully in an unconcerned manner?
Speaking of self-stalking, and as this is the stalking folder, I'll share what occured to me about an hour ago.
What occured? I finally asked the right question. That's it.
I asked the right question in regards to I-Am and my current situation. Ah, the door unlocked and my life unfolded before my eyes. A mini-Satori if you will. There was a picture of this current project I am working on, then my entire life flashed before my eyes in regards to everything I'd ever done to be in this exact position I-Am in now. Keep in mind that this is all business, baby. I'm a businessman. I'm a Stalker and I love business. I love interacting with people. I love working on myself and looking straight into others I work with and just keep on keeping on. Every situation in which I've dealt with people put me right here, right now, in this exact spot of this project. There was no judgement. There was no good or bad. There was no manipulating of others, or myself being manipulated. There was just LIFE. All the pieces of the puzzle came together at once.
The interesting part was not so much the flashes of prior events, although they were cool and assisted me, the really mind-blowing part was in the realization, or acceptance of, "This is the way it is." Or, "This is why you are here, now." Pretty amazing. My mind just kind of melted into....I don't know, Life?
I'll end with a bit from brother Jed:
First, the question itself is the obstacle to progress, not lack of an answer.
The question is the key. Once we truly understand the question, we'll have the desired answer.
The desired answer is always the removal of the obstruction a correct question represents.
The question, understood correctly, is the obstruction. If it's not, see the second point.
Second, come up with the right question. There's always only one. Wherever you are right now is where you're stuck, and the only question that ever matters is the one that gets you unstuck, that takes you one step further.
All other questions are fear-based ego-sparing time-killers. Forget concepts and ideas, forget past and future, forget mankind and society, forget God and love, forget truth and spirituality.
Find that one question; the exact question that ego doesn't want you to ask. Put your full attention on it. That's how progress is made. Everything else is a stall tactic.
To move forward, you must figure out exactly what is obstructing you. Whatever it is, it isn't really there; it has no reality, no substance. It's your own creation, a phantom lurking in the shadows of your mind, a shadow demon.
Your obstructions are your demons, and your demons are shadow dwellers. They live and thrive in the half-light of ignorance, so the way to slay a demon is by illuminating it with the full force and power of your focused attention; by looking at it, hard. Banish shadow with light and see for yourself that no obstruction exists, nor ever did.
We create our demons and we feed them. To awaken we must slay them. That's really the whole process: Slay one demon, take one step.
Repeat.
Jed McKenna
Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment
"Is feeling coming via bodily sensations and our mind turns them either positive or negative via emotions?"
Definitely feeling comes via the body, the 5 senses. Most commonly it seems is sight and this can even be mental sight alone, but usually physical sight. The body stores everything.
Our mind, intent, beckons our memories. We operate mostly from past experience, are always building on the past. But we also beckon the future (changing past) by our desire for unity. One author I read likened the experience of emotions as the sum total of pleasure or gradients along the way depending on its concentration. That is, a totally concentrated experience of emotion (uninhibited by thoughts) would be bliss, and any dilution (inhibiting thoughts) gradually lessening to the extreme of being almost entirely void of pleasure (hell in the metaphorical sense). But never is this sum potential broken or separated, just thoughts can lessen or dilute pleasure, causing it to fragment. So emotion is basically pure bliss, pure pleasure in its natural state. Thoughts discriminate and this causes the dilution process. The fable of adam and eve is an appropriate analogy here. Before tasting of the tree of knowledge, there was only pure bliss. The tree of knowledge is discriminating thought (dual understanding), thus began the move away from bliss. Not bad just representative of the journey outward and back.
What are your views on this SHM?Well....Let's see.
As to feelings or emotions or bliss or whatever, I'll just state this, as mentioned in another thread:
"How will this help me in my practice to know feelings, emotions and bliss?" My practice is to be completely present in this moment and to experience whatever arises fully. And that's it.
Please keep in mind that the key word above is the word 'practice.' Very important. Why? Because I said practice and not 'residing.' I'm not 'residing in this moment and experiencing whatever arises fully 100% of the time.'
If that were the case I'd be visiting here from over there, from the other side of the fence, so to speak. Or, perhaps I am visiting here from over there, but have yet to achieve a functioning Totality of Self, thus pure understanding. I label that Enlightenment. A complete Totality of the Self, (solving the riddle of I-Am,) solved the riddle of Truth, Non-Dual Awareness, etc., etc. It's why I mentioned above, "100% of the time." Residing in abiding non-dual awareness. Not as a Mystic who can catch glimpses, but Abiding. Yet, I digress...
What to do in practice?
One method that works great for me is the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How method.
Who spurred this emotion in me? Or, Who, (as in 'me' or my personal history) is taking issue with this emotion as opposed to just allowing it to arise fully?
What is this emotion? What caused it?
When did this emotion first arise? Is this a current emotion or a re-action from a previous event that has not be recapped fully?
Where is this emotion stemming from? Where is the source? In me? In my mind?
Why is there an emotion at all? Why am I responding to it?
How did this emotion arise? How did I re-act to it? How am I going to just allow it to arise fully?
This self-stalking give me plenty to work on to get to that ultimate practice mentioned above. Keep in mind that this is personal to my 'self.' I don't shuck the responsibility off to someone or something else. Sure, I'll look at the big picture and look at the external factors that may have caused said emotion. But it's really about me. As an example, and I'll use Gonzo as an example as I know him, what if we get into a heated debate over this or that? I get emotional. Ok, so I pug in to the system above. What am in denial of? What am I clinging to? Who/What/When/Where/Why and How is blocking the practice of being completely present in this moment and just experiencing what is arising fully in an unconcerned manner?
Speaking of self-stalking, and as this is the stalking folder, I'll share what occured to me about an hour ago.
What occured? I finally asked the right question. That's it.
I asked the right question in regards to I-Am and my current situation. Ah, the door unlocked and my life unfolded before my eyes. A mini-Satori if you will. There was a picture of this current project I am working on, then my entire life flashed before my eyes in regards to everything I'd ever done to be in this exact position I-Am in now. Keep in mind that this is all business, baby. I'm a businessman. I'm a Stalker and I love business. I love interacting with people. I love working on myself and looking straight into others I work with and just keep on keeping on. Every situation in which I've dealt with people put me right here, right now, in this exact spot of this project. There was no judgement. There was no good or bad. There was no manipulating of others, or myself being manipulated. There was just LIFE. All the pieces of the puzzle came together at once.
The interesting part was not so much the flashes of prior events, although they were cool and assisted me, the really mind-blowing part was in the realization, or acceptance of, "This is the way it is." Or, "This is why you are here, now." Pretty amazing. My mind just kind of melted into....I don't know, Life?
I'll end with a bit from brother Jed:
First, the question itself is the obstacle to progress, not lack of an answer.
The question is the key. Once we truly understand the question, we'll have the desired answer.
The desired answer is always the removal of the obstruction a correct question represents.
The question, understood correctly, is the obstruction. If it's not, see the second point.
Second, come up with the right question. There's always only one. Wherever you are right now is where you're stuck, and the only question that ever matters is the one that gets you unstuck, that takes you one step further.
All other questions are fear-based ego-sparing time-killers. Forget concepts and ideas, forget past and future, forget mankind and society, forget God and love, forget truth and spirituality.
Find that one question; the exact question that ego doesn't want you to ask. Put your full attention on it. That's how progress is made. Everything else is a stall tactic.
To move forward, you must figure out exactly what is obstructing you. Whatever it is, it isn't really there; it has no reality, no substance. It's your own creation, a phantom lurking in the shadows of your mind, a shadow demon.
Your obstructions are your demons, and your demons are shadow dwellers. They live and thrive in the half-light of ignorance, so the way to slay a demon is by illuminating it with the full force and power of your focused attention; by looking at it, hard. Banish shadow with light and see for yourself that no obstruction exists, nor ever did.
We create our demons and we feed them. To awaken we must slay them. That's really the whole process: Slay one demon, take one step.
Repeat.
Jed McKenna
Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment