Determining the Truth for Oneself - The Core Perception

[ardacigin]

It is a fearful thing to set out to discern the truth for oneself. If we step away from our consesus, even for a moment, to reflect on the possiblity of the impossible,  to consider viewing certain cosmic interactions from a different angle, to dare to questions some underlying principle, what dreadful rearrangements would take place in one's consciousness.

If there is a strange and different way of knowing, then it might lead us to know ourselves in a strange and different way as well. In such a case, would it not feel as if we are losing control?

We may think that our establishment of a world view and a consensus reality is an purely theoretical enterprise, dispassionately performed and endorsed by our responses to conscious experiences.

But the primitive form of experience is emotional. For the highest stages of consciousness those emotions are compassion, empathy and sympathy - 'feeling in other and conformally with another'.

That is why it is so hard even for those consciously trying to think new thoughts, and ways of perceiving, to break away from their ingrained habits. There is heavy emotional attachment to our constructs - The way we perceive the world and the attitudes by which we respond to experiences on a gut level.

This investigation certainly requires a strong personality - a high level of tenaciousness and an ability to work through strong feelings of initial boredom fear depression and anxiety - where your attachments will be in question and you'll have to let go of those attachments to gain traction.

See, you'll always have what is called 'blind spots'. Your job is to maintain greater awareness of the process and dont lose the forest from the trees. 

Everything that you do and think and feel actively generates and informs the next moment of consciousness. Your life is a holistic and continual process of occurrence precipitated by the intentions hold and let go of. Your mind's resources of attention and awareness are scarce and gather their source from a limited pool of 'conscious power' 

In general, what you 'focus on', your mind is in a tendency to become 'more attached' to it. This is true for all experiences of all forms. Even the memory of a legit insight is a construct for your mind to crave and create and attach itself to. That is also the danger of what is referred to as 'concentration on an activity as a flow state'.

See, if you want your life to be in a state of 'flow', you need to awaken and attain insight. Without attaining permanent insight, you'll always backslide into your ways of unconsciousness. The same unconscious behaviours and addictions will rear their heads and you'll wonder why very little change has occurred both on the big picture and the small picture after years of practice.

To not experience such plateau, understand how your mind works so intimately with duality, illusions and attachments to said illusions. To have a satisfying life, I recommend samatha vipassana, then jhana practices (or positive feel as Shinzen calls it)  and finally insight practice starting with self enquiry (Who am I) as a foundation. 

After you break through into awakening permanently, the 'stream' will help you along. Until then, you need to know the traps and always hold the intention of progressing on this path on some level on a daily basis. Otherwise, progress will be almost impossible.

Keep these in mind in your spiritual practice.

Much love,

Arda

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by ardacigin