2014-10-21

HOW TO ...

The “HOW TO” is an ever present prefix
to supposed solutions to many of our problems.

Especially in areas such as “Personal Development”
or “How to be SUCCESSFUL” etc...

Most people who follow this “HOW TO” self-help scene
are looking for quick solutions to something
that cannot be “fixed” by the superficial
approaches usually proposed by self-help gurus.

In the past 100 years, we in North America in particular,
have fallen under the grip of the “throw away & instant
solution dementia.”

At one end of consumerism we are known as the “throw away”
society and at the other extreme “Give me more, better -
and me-me-me”.

To a large extent true reasoning capacity has “fled the coop”.

“HOW TO” is very useful in PRACTICAL applications.
- how to drive
- how to cook
- how to treat a wound
- how to write a sentence
- how to change the oil in your car
- how to build a house
- how to keep a clean house
- how to dress for cold weather
- how to survive in the wilderness

Any “HOW TO” that is useful in making our life experience more
efficient, less painful and provides more practical, manageable
methods for dealing with everyday existential challenges is
of benefit to us. That is why we have educational systems that
basically “train” people to relate to their environment and
other people in the most reasonable manner.

Now for that which falls short of making it
in the “HOW TO” area ...

Let's look at one example from which you may be able
to catch on to what this is all about.

“HOW TO control your anger” or to get rid of anger or
"HOW TO" not be angry, or any variation of such a
”HOW TO.”

In most cases the “HOW TO” in this area has been very
amateurish and in some cases proven to do more harm
than good.

It is rather simple to provide instructions on “HOW TO”
behave in certain ways to curb expressions of anger, but
that is only the beginning, the hoped-for outward result.

There is really no “HOW TO” about anger itself. Anger has various
and different reasons and stimuli by which it manifests in
an individual. There may be a long and complex history involved.

One must do some deep introspection, a self-enquiry,
that questions the very validity of how one thinks about
anger or why one is feeling angry.

What is anger? I do not mean what is the description of
some of the effects or manifestations of anger in a body
and through the mind. The question asks, “WHAT IS ANGER”
in essence, besides what you might think of it.
How does anger relate to who you are?
Do you see anger as something outside you
or is it an actual expression of YOU in a particular instant?
Is anger different than you? Who is it that separates anger from
yourself? Is separation in some sense related to my
misunderstanding of who or what I truly am? And so on ...

To be meaningful and useful for one’s own growth
and creative evolution, you can quickly see that there
is no quick “HOW TO” about it.

You may begin some “HOW TO” behaviour modifications
to help condition your “PERSON” or “PERSONALITY”
which is on display to the world, but without the crucial
“inner work” that questions the very logic of thought,
you cannot be free of anger or any similar deep-seated
energetic disruption to your life manifestation.

So take note: Approach all “HOW TO”s with extreme
caution. Only your innermost intelligence is capable
of effectively dealing with your inner growth or creative evolution.
:)

2014-10-11

STATE of MIND

What is state of Mind?

One could look at “state of Mind” as a kingdom, or
a place where certain rules and laws apply, and not
following the conditions stipulated by a particular
state will result in certain consequences.

It is like saying “I live in the state of Washington”, or
“I live in the state of Illinois”. To benefit from the
full value of citizenship in a particular state you have
to be careful not to contravene any of the rules or laws
that are specified by that state.

That is a physical analogy. Similarly, the mind is
in a particular state, depending on upbringing and
conditioning or recent impacting circumstances.

For most of us, thinking and reacting to other thoughts
is a daily experience. There is an identification with
what we think. We have an investment in the ideas that
that “create” our state of mind.

An attack on our ideas, our dearest beliefs, appears to us
as an attack against our person. But that “PERSON” is
part of the state of mind. You are something totally
different. You cannot be attacked, or injured, or erased
from the consciousness of the universe. Certainly the
physical manifestation is susceptible to injury, but it
will deconstruct and change to elemental parts of which it
is composed.

That physical is only a particular expression of your being.
It is not you in essence.

Can one experience a different state of mind?
Can there be a state of mind where one is not attached to its content?
That would be a state of total freedom.
Not freedom from anything, nor freedom to do something.
Both are illusions of sorts. Because of reactive behaviour due
to conditioning we cannot claim freedom from the effects of
conditioning, nor freedom to do (which will be biased to some extent by conditioning).

Is there a state of mind that is characterized by unattached freedom?
How are you going to find out without consulting the mind?