Difference between Contemplation and "armchair" philosophy

[John West]

I am not quite sure what the difference is. Because when I pull up an example and I look at it, I dont feel like I learn from that. Is there a step I'm missing? I dont know if I should try to derive patterns or rules out of it because I feel like this is just mental masturbation and in the end things are too complex to create patterns or rules. I wonder if this would be mere "armchair" philosophy & mental masturbation, or if it would be something which can have benefits.

[Shin]

Comtemplation is being genuinely interesting to truly understand something.

You do this by asking a question, and just wait for an insight.

You don't think about the answer, you wait for it to be uploaded to your mind so to speak.

That require great focus and true interest in the question asked.

 

Armcjair philosophy is thinking, letting yourself think your mind can come up with an answer, so you think think and think by making lots of mental connections about what could be the answer.

That can work sometimes, but not for metaphysical questions, or if the question is really really deep.

[Leo Gura]

@John West That is because you're lost in the realm of abstraction. Contemplation must be grounded in something: being / direct experience.

To understand how grounding works, see my video: What Is Actuality?

Here's how you understand contemplation: contemplate the question, What is fear?

To do this, you must actually pull up a direct experience of fear and observe it. Armchair philosophy would be theorizing about what fear is. Contemplation would be actually observing fear in your direct experience as it is happening, or perhaps a memory of it.

Contemplation is very similar to observation. It must be grounded in the present moment. You must "feel" into what is actually there. If you're still at the level of concepts, that's not good enough.

What is fear REALLY, ACTUALLY?! Not your ideas of fear, but actual fear! Take a good long look and see what pops up.

Once you get good at contemplating something tangible like fear or pain, then you can begin contemplating more abstract things like time or existence.

[John West]

On 27.1.2019 at 2:36 AM, Leo Gura said:

@John West That is because you're lost in the realm of abstraction. Contemplation must be grounded in something: being / direct experience.

To understand how grounding works, see my video: What Is Actuality?

Here's how you understand contemplation: contemplate the question, What is fear?

To do this, you must actually pull up a direct experience of fear and observe it. Armchair philosophy would be theorizing about what fear is. Contemplation would be actually observing fear in your direct experience as it is happening, or perhaps a memory of it.

Contemplation is very similar to observation. It must be grounded in the present moment. You must "feel" into what is actually there. If you're still at the level of concepts, that's not good enough.

What is fear REALLY, ACTUALLY?! Not your ideas of fear, but actual fear! Take a good long look and see what pops up.

Once you get good at contemplating something tangible like fear or pain, then you can begin contemplating more abstract things like time or existence.

If I for example observe fear (let's say for simplicity now that I actually feel fear in my body), do I just observe the "feel" sensation? Like in Mindfulness Meditation? I feel like that whenever I ask the question "What is fear", the first answer is "an emotion". And if I just go on observing, there a just coming different answers to the question, from different point of views etc.. When I just observe, I feel like there is nothing more to it than the sensation/perception of it. I dont really get the connection between mere observation (like mindfulness meditation) and posing that question. How can I observe a thing, and at the same time try to understand it? Because whatever pops up is just an answer for me. I dont know how to understand without thinking, and I dont know how to get into this mode of"understanding beyond thinking". It's probably due to a lack of practice, been doing contemplation 30 min a day for merely a month now, but is there any tip you could give me on what I am misunderstanding techniquewise? I feel like I still do it wrong.

I've watched the Actuality episode, but I struggled especially with the more deeper questions. 

[Leo Gura]

@John West You need more practice.

Observation leads to new insights. These insights can be both verbal and non-verbal. It's okay to start with verbal ones. That is valuable still.

As you deeply examine and question fear, new distinctions will form. For example, you could notice that fear has a significant mental/conceptual component, as all emotions do. Emotions are NOT just perceptions or sensations. Emotions are conceptual constructions. For example, fear is only possible when your mind is thinking of the future. No future, no fear. No mental imagery, no fear. If you observed fear closely, you'd notice that, and much more.

The mistake you're making is that you assume that you already know what fear is. You assume that what you see after 5 mins of observation is in fact what is there. That is NOT the case! Your mind is not allowing you to see what's really there because of all the conceptual filtering and cultural knowledge which is clouding your perceptions.

As a rule of thumb: nothing you see with your eyes or feel with your body is to be trusted as a raw given. It's all heavily interpreted and conceptually distorted.

For example, look at your hand. It is not a hand, as you assume.

When examining fear it is useful to ask additional questions like:

• What is the purpose of fear?
• What are the components of fear?
• What is mecessary for fear to exist?
• How and why do I create fear?

Be careful not to anticipate what the answers to these questions will be. You must actually do the observation and see what happens. The answers will often surprise you.

Maybe one day you'll discover that fear is an illusion

Notice that you are not even conscious most of the time that you are afraid. And you experience fear MANY times per day.

[Inliytened1]

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

-FDR

Its an illusion.  But then again everything is an illusion.  If that wasn't the case the materialist paradigm would ring true.

 

 

 

 

[John West]

Ok thanks.

In general: How long do you guys and girls keep questions? I have a contemplation habit (daily) and I wondered if you change the topic every single day, and if not, how you decide when to move on to the next question. Because getting to the rock bottom of something takes years and decades, and that would be too long I think.