Science or alchamy?
Our minds and our selves are very different things.
The mind is easy to understand. It is a compilation of experience, environment, and chemical reactions. It can be observed and manipulated. It can function as a tormentor or a tool.
There are layers of functioning within the mind. These layers have been ill defined, for the most part, because there is a significant area of overlap in the functions. For instance, the subconscious and the conscious are constantly interacting. Pure consciousness is nothing more than the immediate concentration of momentary attention. It is the minute fraction of awareness to which our will has given focus in the passing moment.
For the most part, we choose the focus of our awareness unconsciously.
Think about that. We choose the focus of our awareness. Unconsciously.
We have a light in our minds that we can turn in any direction that we choose, but we let the light shine randomly according to forces that we choose not to control. Admittedly, most of us dont realize that we can direct this light to our own intention. This is why I have suggested some simple exercises that show you how to direct your consciousness. You can direct your consciousness any way you choose.
Here is a simple fact: Your eyes, if normal, receive 100,000 bits of information pre second. Of that amount, maybe 1000 enter your subconscious awareness. Of that number, if you are really good, you may be able to recall 10. Those will be the 10 things that you chose to see. That is, if you were making a conscious choice.
Now, if you did the exercises that I suggested previously, you will realize that your awareness is a tool that you can use. You are not bound to random consciousness. Which of course is not consciousness at all But rather, you can choose those things that you are aware of.
EXERCISE: Go thru a day looking at anything red. Or blue if it makes you feel better. But choose to see one thing with your conscious intention. This will prove that you are not your consciousness and that your awareness is directable.
Now, what is doing the directing, if you are not your consciousness? This may seem like an argumentative question, or perhaps a Zen coen, but in reality, it is the second exercise. Think about it. If you are not your consciousness (which you can manipulate), what are you?
You are above, beyond, and have power over the things in your mind. It is a matter of choice. This is not New Age Positive Thinking or religious dogma.
Here is the hard part: Before you knew that you had a choice, you had no choice. Now, if you accept yourself as Master of your Soul, you must accept personal responsibility. And that is what most of us really dont want to do.
For all of the pain that we suffer, it is easier to suffer than to change.
Aden
The mind is easy to understand. It is a compilation of experience, environment, and chemical reactions. It can be observed and manipulated. It can function as a tormentor or a tool.
There are layers of functioning within the mind. These layers have been ill defined, for the most part, because there is a significant area of overlap in the functions. For instance, the subconscious and the conscious are constantly interacting. Pure consciousness is nothing more than the immediate concentration of momentary attention. It is the minute fraction of awareness to which our will has given focus in the passing moment.
For the most part, we choose the focus of our awareness unconsciously.
Think about that. We choose the focus of our awareness. Unconsciously.
We have a light in our minds that we can turn in any direction that we choose, but we let the light shine randomly according to forces that we choose not to control. Admittedly, most of us dont realize that we can direct this light to our own intention. This is why I have suggested some simple exercises that show you how to direct your consciousness. You can direct your consciousness any way you choose.
Here is a simple fact: Your eyes, if normal, receive 100,000 bits of information pre second. Of that amount, maybe 1000 enter your subconscious awareness. Of that number, if you are really good, you may be able to recall 10. Those will be the 10 things that you chose to see. That is, if you were making a conscious choice.
Now, if you did the exercises that I suggested previously, you will realize that your awareness is a tool that you can use. You are not bound to random consciousness. Which of course is not consciousness at all But rather, you can choose those things that you are aware of.
EXERCISE: Go thru a day looking at anything red. Or blue if it makes you feel better. But choose to see one thing with your conscious intention. This will prove that you are not your consciousness and that your awareness is directable.
Now, what is doing the directing, if you are not your consciousness? This may seem like an argumentative question, or perhaps a Zen coen, but in reality, it is the second exercise. Think about it. If you are not your consciousness (which you can manipulate), what are you?
You are above, beyond, and have power over the things in your mind. It is a matter of choice. This is not New Age Positive Thinking or religious dogma.
Here is the hard part: Before you knew that you had a choice, you had no choice. Now, if you accept yourself as Master of your Soul, you must accept personal responsibility. And that is what most of us really dont want to do.
For all of the pain that we suffer, it is easier to suffer than to change.
Aden