Tagged: intentions
The pursue of inner-change
“Change yourself” for you can be “better”…A saint, an angel… 🙂
In religious “spirituality” we learned that there are “good” actions and “bad” actions.
A “black or white” vision of the world appeared. There is a clear “line” separating “good from bad.” A person needs only to do “good actions” to be “good.” Change your “bad actions into good.”
In the discovery that actions by itself cannot be conveniently categorized in “good or bad” without looking at the intention behind them, some guru discovered that a thought is the driven factor of that intention. “New age” Spirituality came up with the mantra: “ Change your thoughts to change your Life.”
A change of thought is a change of “reality” as long as you “believe it.”
“I am bad…” excuse that thought… “I am good.”
“I cannot do it..” What??? “You can!”
“What an ugly day!” I mean… “What a beautiful day!”
That inner lying kept its momentum until the realization that changing thoughts is not “good” unless our feelings are also changed.
If I feel worthless, the thought will be “I am worthless” then, to think: “I am worthy” is a straight lie.
Do we see the pattern of pretending to change ourselves?
We went from “help thy neighbor” (“good” action)
Even though we may despise our neighbor (“bad” intention) therefore, change your thought.
Think: “I love my neighbor” many times and believe it.
However, we cannot pretend to change what we feel.
The new bestseller guru said:
Change your feelings, then!!!
At that point “Spirituality” transformed into a way to sell methods to change our feelings, to be “in tune with reality.”
Raymond was calmly observing Nature. A bee appeared. A thought came: “Get out, don’t sting me.” The feeling was fear.
Why did fear appear in Raymond?
Because there is an “I” to protect.
The key of understanding feelings is to understand the “I.”
As the “I” is understood experientially, change will happen. To understand it, observe it. Don’t read about it. Observe it.
Life is change and we are Life. If we flow in Life, change is guaranteed, for that is Life.
The “I” cannot change itself, for all it has is a preconceived notion (taught by moral standards set by societies) of what to “become.” It is an ideal, a thought.
The “I” cannot change itself for it is already separated from Life, from “what is.”
The “I” cannot change itself because it has beliefs which are delineating and supporting its very existence.
Observation of our feelings without any particular aim or objective, will allow us to be aware of how any external changes brought about by our environment and circumstances will influence the way we feel.
It is in that awareness of “what is” without a rejection or an intention to “change it” to make it “better,” to “fix it,” how our acknowledgement will present the position for consciousness to change.
It is not by “doing” something how “self transformation” or “change“ happens, but by letting it happen.
The world of intentions
“I had the intention to do good…”
-Talk is truly enticing.
“My intentions were good, I don’t know why she reacted that way.”
-Because…your intentions were good, obviously. 🙂
“I can do what I want as long as my intentions are good.”
-Self-deception.
Misrepresentation of teachings about living life with fullness, are abundant, deep and “reasonable.”
Intentions are not “good” because we think that they are “good.”
Intentions are before thought. Intentions are the prelude of an action.
Our intentions are as we are. Not as what we think they are, but as we are.
We cannot hide them. We cannot add make up on them.
Action on the other hand, could have plenty of “make up” on them.
I could act in one way to make someone believe something. I could act to hide the “light of my procedure.”
Lost in judging “good and bad” actions, lost in the surface of appearances, we are unable to recognize the driven force behind.
As “I am” so my intentions. Nobody could truly know about my intentions except “I” and that “I” deceives itself.
It is not about convincing myself, rationalizing my actions and activities.
That game leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
Honesty is such as well-worn word….Lost in words and definitions, we are unable to find the meaning in ourselves…then our actions are meaningless and that becomes life for many, when in “reality” it is about joy. 🙂
Truth and moral standards
When I read that quote, a sense of elation invaded me.
Great insight!
That quote is not coming from thinking, that is by conditioning.
For mainstream, there is “good and bad.” For mainstream, morality is about choosing “good” over “bad.”
Let me pretty up that word “morality,” so it has a “good” reception in our mind: To be “ethical.” 🙂
I don’t know who the author of that quote is or what he does. It doesn’t matter.
Nevertheless, let me add another spin on that “insight.”
There cannot be “the only truth” as we are dealing with perceptions. That is why, there is no “good or evil.” That is known as duality. Duality is another perception.
However, there is cause and effect. Every action will bring its own effect which will be experienced by the originator of that action.
Isn’t “cause and effect” another perception? 🙂
Yes and No. 🙂
Test it for yourself. Anything we “do” has a consequence. Anything “we” think may not…( A thought came to me, rather than “I” thought a thought… “I thought I saw a pussy cat”… 🙂 )
That is “karma 101” explained by religious groups and philosophies.
That is how for some religions there are “good actions” and “bad actions.”
Nevertheless, actions are neutral without intentions.
The consequences will happen based on our intention.
If my intention has an ulterior motive, if my intention is to separate, to segregate, to bring antagonism, to “rob” from the Totality, the consequences will be suffering for the “doer.”
Some individuals do not realize that their intention behind the action drives the consequence. That is why, we need to check our feelings. If I feel angry, my intentions will come out with that anger which means separation.
In “Religion 101” we were stuck with actions only as “good or bad.”
“Sex is bad.” “Marriage is good.” “Divorce is bad.”
The above is very easy to label and to promote for followers to follow.
It is very difficult to check the intentions, for the only person that could know is the one acting.
“But, I gave her a box with chocolates… I wanted to be “good” with her… and she turned them down.”
The perception of the intention could be heard by some accurately and misunderstood by others.
That is how it is easier to stick with actions as “good and bad.” It is safe, simple but not complete.
When the great Tao is forgotten,
Kindness and morality arise.
When wisdom and intelligence are born,
The great pretense begins.” ( Tao te Ching – Ch 18)
Another good insight! If we think about it, if we try to rationalize it, we will not understand.
Insight comes from knowing, from being able to recognize something without thought. It is intuitive.
It comes down to your intentions
In a world made up by our thinking minds, rules exist in a society, when that ability to flow with the totality of life is lost.
Commandments are made, beliefs, taboos and dogmas established which will create an opinionated mind which is not free to experience life without labeling, but is always looking for a “reason” for an explanation to fit his own pre-established limits… that type of mind cannot experience the fullness of life because that mind needs to be convinced with “thoughtful” explanations to fit his own “picture” of life.
Yeah… I believe as long as it fits me right… 🙂 that is as long as it fits what “I” believe to be right.
The thinking mind thinks: “Killing is bad.” Therefore, here is the law: “You shall not kill.”
That is “good”! 🙂
Obviously the exceptions are: … Go ahead and name those… war, self-defense, hunger, etc. Every rule has an exception and if it doesn’t at this time, it will appear at some point in time. In the meantime, a thinking mind thrives in absolutes, that is: It is either black or it is white. Certainly it cannot be both, neither something in between. Although life repeatedly will show us that there is no such a thing as “black or white,” we still rather lie to ourselves just to comply with a belief.
Things get complicated when there is another belief mentioning that “we are eternal,” then you wonder if there could be “killing” for an eternal being? But let us not complicate things with deep stuff… 🙂
The issue is that our minds catalog an action as “good or bad” without looking at the finer side of it: Our intentions.
If your loved one is in the hospital dying and is hooked up to different machines to give her an artificial life, then should you pull the plug or not? Would you be following your commandment or not?
Tough decision. huh? 🙂
The problem is when it comes to a thinking decision. If we were to connect with our feelings with that person experiencing her last moments in life, we will know and we will feel at ease; but because we cannot do that because we have lost that ability thanks to “too much thinking;” then we need to carefully consider the “side effects” of our activities. 🙂
It is a matter of weighing the “pros” against the “cons.” Thus, many times we forget about the dying person just to look “honorable” in other “living” people’s views. That is the thinking mind.
Behind every action there is an intention, a feeling (These are not just words to express intentions, because that is thinking) and that is what the totality of life, the “Drama” of life will shape itself accordingly.
It does not matter how witty you are to rationalize the “goodness” of your own activities. It does not matter how many lawyers someone has to “protect him.”
Everything comes down to your intention, a feeling while performing the action; however, we tend to cover them up through a rationalization.
No one can lie to himself about his own intentions. For sure the totality of life, the Drama of life “knows.” That is what some may call “God knows.”
As long as our intentions do not benefit the totality, then our activities will be selfish. All we care about is our individuality. Of course, the mind has been trained to do a great job to promote that individuality. That is what it has learned through so much “education” in our long history.
Monkey sees, monkey does….
But, we forget about the intentions of that monkey; however the totality of life does not.
Exploring the Depth of Living 