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

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