Learn to Unlearn

The more I learn and study, the more I unlearn falsehood and assumptions, incorrect judgments and prejudice. The massive, incorrect model I have had of the world comes crashing down.

All I am left with is a truth that is small, unobtrusive, flexible. Although my model of the world is smaller, it is more inclusive, healthy and loving, and enduring. I am unlearning limits and bounds to uncover something unlimited and beyond language.

Mindfulness is Not From Mars

When I bring up mindfulness, many of my friends look at me like I just disclosed being from Mars. The fact is, however, we are reminded to be present and pay attention (the essence of mindfulness) throughout our lives:

Pay attention in class… Look at me when I’m talking to you… Don’t be texting while driving or talking to someone… Stop and smell the roses…

Mindfulness is not new. Calling it mindfulness, and acknowledging its importance, is the only thing new about it.

Thinking Me

I learned something very important this last year:

The thinker and the thought are one. I am not a person in the world having a thought- I am a thought being expressed in the world by way of a person.

When my thoughts are on loving another, and are given expression in the things I do, then I am not merely a person DOING love- I AM love.

Life’s Greatest Riches

Life’s greatest riches are not found, and are not stored up, at the end of my life. The are found here, in the middle of my journey- at every point along the way that I practice mindfulness.

The Free Mind

I think that a mind that has achieved emptiness and stillness, an entirely feminine state, must be completely free. There are no passions, needs, obsessions, preoccupations…- nothing tying it down, BINDING it, to any moment, any place, or any thing.

Such a mind is free to rise above the moment, the day, month, or one’s lifespan, and perceive forward and backward in time. It is free to assume the perspective of an object, another person, another group, all of mankind, or the entire world. Such a mind is free to accept anything, be anything, do anything, without worry of Self or self-interest.

Thinking on this, I believe a Free Mind such as this, at least to SOME extent, might be a prerequisite of true, utterly selfless, love.

Complete Reality

The more senses I employ in being present with the object of my attention, the more dimensions there are to my concept and memory of it. It becomes more and more ‘real’, and present in my own world, the more I practice this mindfulness.

It seems, sometimes, like my senses aren’t just relaying information about a thing- they are connecting me to it. It’s like communing with something/someone through mindfulness.

Perhaps this is why being ‘present’, eliminating distractions, is so important in communication. Having distractions present when talking to you means some of the connections aren’t there. I’m not as able to be ‘one’ with you, and with all the levels and dimensions of what you are sharing.

All Is One Movement

I used to believe that everything was ultimately motivated by one of two things- the pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain. I thought that on some level, whenever I made any choice, I had decided I was going to achieve one of these two goals through the decision that I’d made.

Me and My Dragon

I’ve learned a lot about the dual nature of the human mind in the last five years. In learning about the nature of addiction, and in learning about critical thinking, I have been introduced to the ‘lizard’ brain- that guy that sits alongside my rational Self at the steering wheel of this person.  

Prevent Great Deeds

I’ve been thinking about a Taoist principle lately…

Conflict is costly and destructive… Which is better- a man who gains victory in conflict, or the peacemaker who calms a conflict before it becomes heated? … Which is better – such a peacemaker, or the man who abandons a selfish want or ambition so that contention is never given spark?

A great tree can grow from a seed… Which is better – the man who cuts down a great tree that stands in the way, or the one who transplants the tree to a more suitable location? … Which is better – the man who transplants the great tree, or the man who ensures the seed is planted in the right place to begin with?

Addiction will ruin a person’s life and bring them to their knees… Which is better – the therapist who cures a person of addiction, or the police officer who imprisons the drug dealer who sells the drugs? … Which is better – the police officer who stops the flow of drugs, or one who listens and cares for a troubled youth, preventing them from seeking drugs or crime as a solution?

I see that when there are great deeds, it is because there is a dysfunction somewhere. If there are no great deeds, everything has returned to the Way.

Belief and Blame

“I will take responsibility for what I’ve done, but not for who I am.”

(From the song Don’t Call Me White, by NoFX)

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Is belief a choice?

Before I tackle this question, I need to draw a distinction, between belief and faith, that many people are unaware of. This misconception about the two has caused many disagreements and much confusion, in my experience.