Consciousness for Awareness

Individual Development:

                This is a little reminder that our consciousness and awareness can support our individuation, our individual development. Your consciousness and awareness affect the world, your world, but they affect you much more.

                Your language is a important part of your development. You do a lot of your thinking with your language. Your words may be the most important part of your language and thinking. The words you use probably have more meaning than you suppose.

                We are each a connected part of our universe a child of our culture, even when you are 85 years old. You are a part of it all. You may have begun to have some realization in your early home that you are part of our surroundings. You have become and are becoming more aware that you are effected by your surroundings and that you affect them. You probably have begun to understand that much depends on your developing interpretation of  your experience. You are likely to also be aware how you affect your environment and how it affects you.

    

                One can say that we are all in our surrounding environment and of it.

                In traveling abroad, I have occasionally lost my awareness that I am part of where I am. I did not want to accept the reality that I was part of it. It was alien to me. Not great feelings. When I calmed my rejection and opened my awareness I did not immediately feel better. I did find that it did give me a better chance to learn from my experience of my present environment and surroundings and  then to feel better.

 

Reality:

                The nature of reality is not always easy to get a hold of. However, when we refuse to accept reality we lose. We lose some power at that time. There is that which we can do about that. We can better observe happenings and doings. We can come to see the doings of life more completely and clearly. We can see that a great many of those doings are our doing. And, we probably see that important happenings around us are the result of our doings.

                I story comes to my mind that is said to have taken place in ancient India. It can bring to me some simple and powerful clarity. In the story there are a half dozen Indians, a helpful guide, and an elephant. The group of Indians are all blind. The modest helpful guide hopes to guide the group to a helpful learning experience. The elephant is wise and patient. The action begins when the guide leads the group up close to the elephant. They may be blind, they are also valiant. One came to an elephant leg and embraced it. Another began to embrace the elephant trunk and got embrace a bit himself. Still another and took a hold the tail and wondered that the elephant was much like a rope. This continued until all in the group had their experience. 

                They arrived home pleased after their interesting experience. They began to speak of that experience as the guide listened. The one who had embraced the leg was saying that to him an elephant was much like a tree. The one who had experienced the trunk was surprised that his friend had found the elephant to be much like a tree. He surprised everyone when he said that he had found the elephant much like a large and friendly snake. The one who had taken hold of the tail felt disappointed that he had experienced the elephant as a bit of rope. The Indians  argued a little and were amazed by their different experiences of the elephant. They may have been as wise as the elephant and decided that the had much to learn and would like to visit the elephant again,

                First impressions can be very strong, but can also be misleading. Strong does not mean realistic. If the indians had ridden the elephant together their impressions and conversation would, I suspect, have been very different. I believe that the Indians did come to ride the elephant anr to learn a great deal more.

                When I was very young I had an experience that continues to be helpful to me. For one thing it helped me to appreciate the value of considered awareness and that an experience that was not thought over may not be the most valuable experience. I was diverted by looking through a knothole in a wooden fence. I held one eye or the other very close to the not very large hole. I looked to see what I could spy. At first, that was not much. But I soon found that with movement of my eye and my head I could provide myself with a broad sweep of the world. I could see field, fence, tree, dog, sky, and a great deal more.I was intrigued. I moved my eyes and turned my head and watched great changes in view. A small move on my part greatly expanded my view. I had a distant view and a very wide changing one. Sometimes an object which I was viewing disappeared. My movement caused one object to move so as to cover the other. At times an object closer to me came to block one more distant. Or a similar movement present me with a view of a whole house I was unable to see before.

                By changing my angle of vision or point of view slowly or quickly could better picture reality or even a motion picture when bird, car, dog, or person was moving through my field of vision. So, by moving around my little universe, and getting a variety of perspectives, I could develop an increasingly full understanding of it. I could develop and increasingly realistic vision of how changing and changes worked  and how I might effectively work within the process. I was living, observing, and learning. I say in all humility.

                So, I can humbly brag, that by using my faculties of perception, synthesis, and interpretation, I could taste my environment and even develop a more refined taste for it. Giving an example may not be bragging.

                I would like to learn more about paying more attention to my feelings. That may mean observing better. I want to be more fully aware of how I am feeling and why I am feeling that way,

                Our understanding does not seem to be a place of arrival, but rather an ongoing process. Actively co-operating with rhart process is likely be beneficial.

                I feel sure that awareness of experience, interpretation, and point of view is an important aid to our development.

             Much of what I have written here may be reminders to myself as well as to you.

                May you enjoy pleasant and empowering development and thank you for reading.

                                                                                            RCS

                     

Personality

Inspired by Vitvan of the SNO

If the following seems esoteric it is due to my level of understanding:

                    Personality is our bent early learned, and learned throughout our days of little awareness. Dealing with one's own personality may come to seem a bit warlike. In that dealing with it helps one to know that there is a stronger more real you within. 

                    Even so we must develop ourselves within and through our personality of today.

                    In the beginning of our individuation process it is difficult to see our personality or even to look toward it. Some may never do so. Even the most aware of us may need more than a little help. Still the personality is a learned happening and is transitory. It is often a reflection of mostly unconscious experience. Our being is stronger; is stronger than personality  You may even come to see that which seemed to be strong is much like a bit froth.  Froth or no, some of it is likely to stay with you for life as a helpful old friend.

                    We say to be true to yourself by acting to fulfill that self. We learn more of the nature of actually doing. We learn that a doing is neither a happening nor an unconscious reaction. As you come to fulfill that state at which you are now conscious, you can expand your consciousness beyond that state. You can make your personality truer to the more real you.

                    None of the process is really easy. The process of individuation is natural but often takes some hard work. It is easy, however, to attend to the rather good in one's self while seeing nearly none of the somewhat bad. We can continue to embrace the false, wrong, and distorted in our lives without being aware of doing so. Nature seems to help one to preserve oneself and then helps one to be productive before it helps us to  develop consciousness of our being. This, in our growing awareness, can cause some grief and disappointment. We often seem to need others or a school to teach us that there is a purification process which helps us in our growing awareness and consciousness.

                    We have common urges to love, sex, and transitory connections. The urges are strong. They create desire and that desire leads us to thought. 

                    Not all bad. There are kinds of desire and qualities of desire. Desires of many kinds and qualities so color our vision that we lose sight of our developing consciousness of being. Do not be very concerned. Each experience is an opportunity for learning. In the state of awareness you have gained you will regain your vision of your developmental process. 

                    There is some sense to be found in this dreamlike contemplation. Congratulations for reading it.  

                                                                                        by Richard Sheehan

Esoteric to Exoteric: Thoughts 0n Meditation

Esoteric to Exoteric: Thoughts 0n Meditation: Esoteric to Exoteric: An Introduction to Meditation                     I am having some renewed thoughts on meditation. I practiced meditat...

                I have just added a short paragraph on some benefits of meditation to the popular little essay of 2021, "Thoughts on Meditation" which you can click on above and go directly to it. 

             So, you are not at Thoughts on Meditation, but a click on the blue above is designed to take you directly to there. While you are here you could consider exploring this blogsite. Or even exploring one of the associated sites listen in the left hand column of the first page. One of those associated sites could be: https://historyrcs.blogspot.com

                May you enjoy Thoughts on Meditation and the paragraph on benefits of meditations near its ending words.

                Thank you for the visit.

                                                                                                    Richard

                

Happy 4th

This is addressed to Americans of the U.S,A. All of us may benefit.

What is happening to us and around us?

What are we feeling?

What are seeing and hearing?

What are we pretty sure of?

After "what?" we can ask and begin to answer: How? Why? Who? When? Where? We do not have to it all today, but we can begin today and then persist.

We Can:

We can understand one another better by listening to each other quietly. 

We can share share real experiences and interpretations.

We can claim our freedom of assembly and speech to talk over our plans, concerns, and values. We have done so.

We can consider doings and happenings together.

We have done well and we can do well now.

We can talk honestly and that is a fine doing, especially when done in a friendly manner.

We can listen to each other and that is a great doing, especially when done with the purpose of understanding.

We can listen for meanings and understandings and that is a great doing.

We can share our real experiences and that can lead to better common understandings.

We have come to better understand in the past and we can come to better understand now.

We can share honest opinions and discover assumption. Not easy but well worth doing.

We can do a lot! We can do well. Our doings can great results.

We can see that some of the happenings around us are not great.

We can see that not all that is said and done in our name is not great.

We can most often say and do that which is necessary, especially when we say and do together.

We can know that most of  that which we feel about pride, humility, values, and honor is important 

We can unite to good effect many humans have done so, our forefathers have done so. 

We can practice enough co-operation.

We can be ready and willing to unite. We are already able to unite. We could begin some useful  useful uniting within a couple of months.

We can take a little step toward a better toward a better union one by one right now. We can begin to move toward a darn good union.

We know that united we can do well.

We can practice taking better care of ourselves.

We can practice governing ourselves together.

We can find greater joy in our independence together.

We know that practicing co-operation can empower us.

We know that practicing organization can be a powerful action for good. 

We can show up.

We can practice participating together.

We can practice better ways of listening to each other and talking to one another one at a time.

We can. Let's do.

Let's do that which we can.

We can.

Let's do.

Happy 4th.

                                                                                      RCS

Developmental Activity

   Group and Self

                There are those of us who know more about group than we know about ourselves. There are those who realize that knowledge of self and group are best developed in tandem. Or, perhaps better said, that it is best to realize that our understanding of one can be so far ahead of the other that our development in both is limited. Also that when our development in in one falls  enough behind that of the other, the  development in both slows; the quality of  both is diminished.

                It seems that most of us benefit by the ongoing development of our understanding of both self and that of group when we do not let our understanding in one get too far ahead of the other.

                Read the two paragraphs above again later.

                A prime injunction of wisdom teachings has been "know thyself." That injunction has been up there near the great teaching of Jesus about the nature of love. Wisdom teachings suggest that learning may be the prime purpose of being and also that our most important learning is of self.

                Learning seems to come before knowing and understanding. It seem to me that we have a lot to learn, to know, and to understand. It seems too that learning, knowing, and understanding often happen naturally, but with which we do well  to co-operate. We can learn to co-operate with the process of learning.

            Surely an important part of being is learning. Learning about the world around us can move us to learning about ourselves, much as learning about ourselves can be important to our understanding of our world. I believe that learning about groups is important to learning about self, our world, and our governance.

 

                My experience tells me that there are qualities of learning. Before going on you may what to consider the quality of your recent learning. There is no law against contemplating your experience or your learning. I hope you can pardon me. I have been a teacher, and sometimes a teacher can seem like a preacher or a know-it-all. Still it is no secret that governance is important to me. My personal governance, the individual governance of each of us, and out mutual governance continues to be important to me.

 

            Please feel free to ask for explanations  and to make comments in the "comments" section at the end of this post.

 

Participation in a group:

                Participation in a group is a learning experience; it is an opportunity, development and growth. That learning and experience can be of varying quality. Much of that experience can lead to valuable advance of self and of the world. Awareness of that possibility can aid the quality of your understanding and of your life.

 

                There are many groups of many kinds available to us. One kind of group has been a self aid group, these are vastly varied. These days I have become interested in groups interested in understanding doings and happenings related to governance, examples could deal with the government of utilities or schools. My particular interests in such groups is wide, but tend to be about understanding the democratic governance of groups, civic governance, active democracy, active citizenship and such. I am probably biting off more than I can chew. Not long ago I took a look at the democratic intent of the Constitutions of the United States and hope I am not among the last to do so. You may be interested in groups dealing with new ways of corporate management, fly fishing, music appreciation, finding a date fit for a mate, and things pleasant to imagine. There is no law in participating in more than one group. Each group can be a double experience of development and growth of self and understanding of the group and its interests, and more too.

 

                Of course, one group can be more interesting or useful to you than are others. Some will be much better suited to your personality or to your deeper self than are others. 

                Many groups are much more transitory than others. Many have proven lasting enough to prove useful and satisfying for many years or nearly a lifetime. A significant number of them may last long enough to become a sort of school well adapted to its members. Some may be an economic or political tool. Others may a kind of dance club. There are many more to choose from than I can write about in this life time. And you can form a couple of more should you care to.

 

 

Good groups have some things on common: 

 

                 A high level of participation by members has seemed important to a groups effectiveness and longevity and also be indicative of then satisfaction and pleasure it offers. A group of a democratic nature can be more effective and enjoyable in the long run.

                An organization is a more formal group and is often larger than many group. A set of several groups may be an organization. In groups and organizations it can be very important to the longevity of memberships and to the life of the organization, that each member know that he or she has an important place or job it. Being a practicing participatory democracy tends to increase the level of group participation. Seems natural that democracy has its benefits.

                You can have a group. You can join one and you can form one or more. You might find a reading group at the library. I find that local face to face groups are best. I have not yet found one online. One of the things I find important in  group is recognizing each member first by face than by their way of being. I have not found that to be readily available online. I like a group in which there is talk and like talk time to fairly and and equally shared. Its also very attentive listeners. Not all easy to find offline and I have not yet found it online.

 

                You can enjoy the power of the group and your development in it.  Remember it is fair to make/start/develop a group when you become so inclined.

 

 

Got a group?:

                 Try this: Analyze your group to better know and understand it and perhaps yourself. You could do it with a friend. Doing so can help you to participate in it more effectively and it can be fun just doing it.

 

                To start, you or you and a friend, can begin to carry out some of the activates I suggest here:  

~ Find out who in the group has the authority to implement group plans.

Doing so will lead you to many questions which may have illuminating answers. 

~ Know the action plan for the long range funding of your organization or group. This leads to interesting new questions.

~ Find out who is involved in developing your strategic plan. You may now be learning some diplomacy and developing new questions, like What plan?  What strategy?  What involvement? What's going on?

~ Know your membership trends. Is membership increasing or decreasing? Why?

~ Consider the nature of the the grouop's benefits for you and for others.

~ Know who is doing the bulk of the work to accomplish the group goals.

What goals? What work?

~ Know what people do the work. There are always jobs to do. Who makes the meeting place available and ready to use? Where are these job doers Identify them.

~ Make sure you know the engine of your group. How are members motivated? What keeps them coming back?  

 

                A group is a kind of organization; both or either one can keep you busy. Your group ought to feel congenial an be able to keep you as busy as you want to be.

 

You can set out to find the answers to the following questions as aids to your growth, pleasure, and power and that of other members of your group:  

~ What questions do you have about your organization and your membership in it?

~ How will you get answers to those questions?

~ What will you do about your questions and answers? What can you do? What would you rather do with the help of other members?

~ What makes your group operate? What makes you operate? What makes you and other members co-operate?

~ What motivates you and other members?

                Keep in mind that in a group it is not mandatory that you answer all of your questions by yourself.

                Enjoy your growing ability and that of other members to do for one another.

                Lean more about you!

                Thank you for reading.

 

                                                                           Richard Sheehan

 

      

                 

                

The Practice of Meditation

 You and Meditation

                    I am publishing essays on Meditation here on Esoteric to Exoteric because it seems better than doing so on Dialogue With RCS. Also I publish them here because some of you feel meditation is a bit mysterious and I would like meditation to be less esoteric and more exoteric. I also believe that it is up to you as to what is esoteric and what exoteric.

                    Meditation is much about you paying attention to you on a higher level than is usual to many of us. Meditation is a big subject with a lot of content. In it there are practices for nearly everyone. It seems a good idea to keep your practice simple. Simple is not always easy. For example meditation can be sitting comfortably and attempting, in a relaxed way, to observe your thoughts.

Meditation?

                    What meditation is and what its purpose is can be, and probably is, different for each of us. It can sitting quietly and being comfortably alert. The lertness can be generalize to the happenings and doings in us and around us or a more directed alertness as that of a hunter waiting for a deer to come ito site. It can be lying down and quietly attending to your breathing; perhaps counting your breaths. I can be working out with weights and observing your body or perhaps just the muscle group you are working on. I can be much else. It is often done within one's self by one's self. However there are also there are also useful meditation groups and guided meditations. For me and others it is often a matter of focused observation or attention. An important aim can be keeping one's mind on a chosen, object, subject, doing, happening, feeling, word, thought, activity and like that. Perfect may never happen, but your practice often makes you more able.

My personal practice has often been trying to keep my mind on a word and on that which is directly related to it. This is done in a relaxed, but alert way for a specified period of time. That's it for now. Meditation can be a bit less and a lot more, but you may now have a better feeling for what it is than do many of us.

                    Some say that the reason for the practice is the practice. That's probably right. That which you practice you have a better chance of maintaining or improving. Improving your focus or quality of observation can be one"s purpose. A benefit I have observed is giving my mind an opportunity to sort its content and organize itself. Such sorting and organizing has resulted in a more relaxed me. I could use some of that result right now. And, I confess, I am uncertain which variation of my practice best provides this result. I think that all of it has some of that effect. I have neglect my practice recently; I had best get back to it.

You Can Learn About Meditation

                    You can learn more about meditation online, from reading, from those who meditate, and  on this site. There are meditation groups which may help. However, your experience can be a very good teacher. You can better learn about meditation while you are a meditator; at which time you can also learn to meditate. There is much to learn about meditation and contemplation, but in practice you learn to meditate.

Learn More and Benefit More From Your Practice

                    You learn better when you are a practicant. As a practican there is no need to rush. It is usually best to attend to the quality of your practice. In attending, be kind to yourself. You may feel a need to progress, but days, weeks, and more may go by while you feel no progress. Continuing your practice is said t be progress in itself. During the time you feel little or no progress, your mind may be doing some very useful sorting, organizing, and even prioritizing. Your practice can be, and most often is, valuable whether their seems to be progress and learning or not. Like the physical practice of a body-builder. the practice of a meditator maintains the condition and quality of his or her state and ability as it betters their chances for improvement. The practice of a ballet dancer or surgeon has similar values and benefits.   

                    Some Buddhists have been good examples for practicants in recent centuries as have the some Catholic contemplatives. Your practice could be much like theirs. It could be much like that of a dancer. A dancer may dance for pleasurer and also to continue to dance well.So, it may be a  like going to the gym to keep in shape. It may even be a bit like eating for your health! Your practice works to keep you well, able, and ready; relaxed too. A time could come when you feel a great gratitude for the good your practice has brought into your life.

How You Meditate:

                    You may meditate as you will and change your practice as you will.

                    I have meditated by holding a word in mind. You can too. Another has meditates by by watching the flame of a candle. You can too. I usually meditate with my eyes closed. so can you. More detailed examples are possible. I can say that my choice of word is important to me. Your choices in meditation are important. It can be important that you stick with your choices for practice long enough. I may choose a word which seems to point directly to that which seems clearly real. Another may be pleased that her meditation takes her to places beyond language and word.

                    Your choice of focus or concentration is important, but it is your choice. Your attention creates much of your life. So, the nature of your attention effects the nature an quality of your life. In meditation we may be much like the expectant hunter waiting for a deer. If he dreams of a love or watches the movement of a bealtal at his feet, his family may go hungry. For me in my meditation it is good to stay alert, awake, and aware of my chosen focus. A focus can be motherhood, a spark plug, Jesus, the sea or a pebble. It can be capitalism or one's hand, or a mathematic equation. You could choose love or an kind of love. Your choice is yours. It may be that the more real the choice the more health the choice.

Getting Ready to Actually Practice.

                    Getting ready may include: selecting a focus, subject, or object; deciding on a time, place and mode of your intended practice. Ah, "mode," may include walking, sitting, lying down, eyes opened or closed and much else of the sort. For now let's chose seated with eyes closed. Let's set an alarm-clock to sound in half an hour. We sit and arrange our posture. A straight back seems important.

It may also be good to have at the edge of consciousness the idea that "how you do it is often more important than what you do."

                    This getting ready can be thought of as part of the practice. Let's say that we are now sitting in chairs, backs straight, but comfortable. We can our bring our breathing to mind and settle into some more rhythmic and smooth breathing. We can then bring our "object"of focus to mind with the objective of  keeping it there. This is a sketch of a beginning. We can add detail and explanation as you continue to practice.We are doing pretty well to be seated and aware of our breath, posture and "subject" of focus. 

                    Let's continue a little further. My eyes are closed and I am keeping and am keeping my intended focus of this meditation in mind. How about you? 

We may be meditating! Now I may find that my mind has strayed to thoughts of the person I was sitting next to yesterday. Thoughts of tomorrow's work may come into your mind. As you are becoming a meditator you take note of your present thoughts and ask yourself what they have to do with your present point of focus. You may find that they do seem to relate. You consider how they relate and then gently return to your intended focus. You are beginning to practice very well!

                    You are meditating! One who meditates is a meditator. There is more to learn and more to practice. There are some surprises to come, most will be pleasant.

It's fair to find aids to your practice:

                    Perhaps all of your learning and practice can be done without a coach, guru, or teacher. However, a good coach can be valuable, especially in the beginning. A good coach needs to come to know you and the present state of your practice. When you have developed a realistic trust in that coach his, or her, coaching can be a treasure. 

                    I am not your teacher, guru, or coach, but if you ask a question in "comments" below, I intent to answer. I may be slow to do so. Also there are more posts, essays, and a couple of videos on this site right now that you may not have looked over yet. Also I intend to publish more here. I might even essay to to reply to a question from you in a new post on this site.

                    Ah, yes, group. It is possible to find a suitable practice groups. Some may have a religious purpose, but still may help. You could even start a group of your own. A group of fellow meditators can be a useful support. I have sat with a Buddhist meditation group and found it to be pleasant and beneficial. They called their practice sitting. Sitting with others can be good for our practice. It can provide company, inspiration, support, motivation, and sometimes useful feedback. Then again you may find that it is not for you.

                    May these thoughts on meditation and its practice prove of value to you. As you have probably read this piece this far, it is likely that you have them to be of some interest. I will end this piece with a few reminders: Keep wide a wake and alert. Meditation is not a time for sleep. Even so, there those who find their practice is a time to relieve their tensions and a needed time of restfulness. Relief and rest are very important, but I believe that they should be in addition to meditation and not to be ones practice. Even so, one's practice time is one's own.

                    More reminders. Remembering one's self seems difficult, but remembering your posture and your breath may be a start. Keeping your thoughts and practice honest and positive seems worth some effort. A practice which in which one is relaxed, comfortable, and alert seems good. It may be worth remembering that none of us is perfect, but we can often be a bit better. Your well being during your practice is important and deserved.

                    Thank you for reading!!

                                                                                                        rcs