Tagged: rationality
Harmony is out of the mind
Have you heard the singing of a yellow warbler or a robin bird?
Be aware of how you feel. You may enjoy it.
Those sounds have a pleasing effect on us. There is coordination, balance, symmetry, agreement, peace in that. It happens without rehearsal, naturally.
That sensation we label as “harmony.” There is agreement with the environment.
I could take someone right out of that sensation if I ask:
“Why do you like that singing? Please elaborate.”
Even worse, I could ask: “Why do birds sing?” Then meaningless answers may arrive: That is the way they attract potential mates. They are protecting their territory. Truly, a bird does not DO things out of a plan, an objective. That is rational, not harmonious.
The mind keeps questioning. It keeps coming up with plans of action. Ideas, ideals and fantasies filling up our time.
Inner nourishment and delight is in the experience of listening to the bird’s song, not in knowing intellectual answers.
We only have preconceptions based on our human expectations and understanding of the world. Can’t ask the bird for “answers;” instead, ask your neighbor: “Why do you breathe?” Then, we could realize the value of our questioning and spare the bird from a meaningless question. Intellectual questions/answers are without fulfillment.
The intellect, reason, logic have a place in Life. That is the “office world.” We can hardly survive in that world without it. But to know harmony, we may need to open a different door.
Enjoyment of Life means to enter into that door of harmony.
Our “black or white” mentalities are not “trained” for harmony. We want to live Life in the “right” way, which is to follow a set of rules, commandments, expectations that we believe to be the representation of “righteousness.” We will apply those rules every time, the goal is to be consistent with our ideas. To be “right” we must get rid of “wrong.” “Wrong” is our definition of unacceptable…. Living in that intellectual, conceptual manner we lack fulfillment, harmony.
Harmony is not an idea, a concept. There is nothing to get rid of to make things “right” but rather to integrate. Can we integrate “right” with “wrong”? Not in our minds. Our strict “concepts” and ideals do not allow for that.
A song does not have a preconceived structure. It does not follow a particular pattern. A bird does not have limits of what is “right” or “wrong” to sing. Those are only expectations of the human mind, which are obstacles to discover joy.
“Mind” the environment. The inner and outer world. Be aware of the discordance of our own voice. Have we heard how unpleasant the sound of it may be? What we ARE manifests in so many ways.
Harmonious living cannot be put into a recipe. There is no method to study, concept to DO or commandments to follow.
Harmony changes continuously. Every song Life plays even though different, is in accord with the time, setting and environment. That is why, no one could teach another to be harmonious. Moving with it, is not following it. That is beyond the limits of any sort of “spirituality” or moral standards. Without harmony; enjoyment of Life is reduced to another method to “practice” and achieve by our monkey mind.
An enticing “objective” only to dream about. 🙂
The emotionality of rationality
Because our society is living in the mind, we tend to hide our emotions as dust is hidden under a carpet.
To promote that humans are “rational” beings may be a lie. In the “office” world we may act rational but not in “real Life.”
For instance, we may know that death will arrive sooner or later. If a son dies before the father, we may label that as “untimely” or “premature.” Our minds have an expected pattern. If the father dies before the son, even though the pattern has been respected, even though the son knows the father will die first; when the day comes for the father to depart, the son may break down emotionally.
Where is the “rationality” then? Isn’t death natural? The solution may be in taking refuge in the “future.”
A religion may talk about the “future.” “Now” does not matter. The “future” is important. Many things could happen to a person “now” but forget about it. This behavior closes the capacity to feel. It is the perfect scenario to put up the “tough” face despite living with a melting heart.
In the opposite side, a “self-help book” may acknowledge our emotional side. “It is OK to express how you feel,” nevertheless; the trauma created is unexplored.
If a child is aware that his father has passed away, we could tell him: “God has called your daddy.” Frustration and anger may develop in that child for that idea of God, but our belief may be that we are helping him to deal with his pain.
We are incapable of explaining that death is as natural as living and death can arrive to anyone at any time. Because “you” are here now, “you” will not be. Simple, rational.
Give him a hug with empathy, allowing him to feel support. That is compassion when it is no rehearsed.
As everything in Life, every experience will go away, and we will move on, we will evolve… unless we decide to keep that experience as a trauma.
That is my recent discovery about Life: Be there emotionally, allow the inner child to express, but at the same time, be there rationally, allowing the inner parent to hold the child. Both archetypes are inside us.
One more thing: The only time that matters is the “now.”
The past or the future are for the mind. To be in the “now” means to be “out of the mind.” For that, we may embrace “what is” without looking for explanations or pretty beliefs to cover things up…. We may express our feelings and compassion “now,” in that way; rationality embraces emotionality and both together may heal and integrate into the Totality. As individuals we can only see biased fragments of the Totality, that distortion creates the trauma of the “I.”
Thus, integration into the Totality is how the “I” is healed, for it means to see the Ocean rather than segmenting it and focusing only on a drop of it.
The sinner mentality
Life is One. There are no divisions in it. No parts. No stages.
All of those concepts/ideals are added by human beings in their quest to dominate, control, possess something, which is perceived as different from “them.”
“Morality” is a human invention, which has been consistently used to “teach” others.
For example, if Mike decides to walk completely naked on a congested street; more likely, Mike will be arrested. Why?
He is acting against the law. Some may label him as being “immoral.” Some others as being “offensive, “ etc.
The interesting thing to observe is how such a belief arises. This is not meant to go against the rules of society, but just to observe the “moral” invention behind it.
A “Life walker” will merely observe and perceive if there is any contempt or rejection arising inside. If there is, that becomes “food” for further discoveries about the self and its beliefs.
The sinner mentality is part of that “morality.”
Every action that we perform toward “others,” we do it to ourselves.
Why?
Because there is Oneness. There is no separation.
Some may call that “karma” and create a fictitious web of separations between the “doer” and the “receiver” of an action.
When we are lost in “actions” we oversee the intention.
What was Mike’s intention while walking naked on the street?
That is his “doing” to others and thus, to “himself.”
Because a society cannot control an individual by intentions, then “actions” became the most important item.
A religion is based on the premise of actions. Good actions. Bad actions= Karma = Heaven or Hell.
That is not Life.
That is just a religious belief.
A God watching everyone to punish some or to reward others is not Life.
It is a belief.
That is the starting point of the sinner mentality.
In Oneness there is no such a thing as a “sin.” There are consequences.
Human consciousness changes through the experience of those consequences and not through the adoption of a belief system.
If we are One with Life, Life will teach us when we are ready to assimilate… In the meantime, the experience of suffering will prepare the “student.”
Suffering is not “bad” at all… Neither good nor bad. It just “is.”
A belief system is a human invention. It is a limited perception, an attempt to explain something that cannot be explained without a human point of reference (previous beliefs, traditions, moral values, etc.)
Here is another paradoxical realization: Every belief there is, it is not “bad.” However, it has its timing.
That timing is observed when consciousness changes.
The belief in Santa Claus is not bad at all. But it has timing. If we persist in believing in something well beyond the lapse of that particular consciousness, then inner conflict will arise and inner dishonesty will be felt. Dissonance.
The belief of being a “sinner” has elapsed for many. However, many others are still living in that “reality.” It is a matter of consciousness.
I could write many convincing rational arguments to demonstrate that the sinner mentality is an illusion; however, intellectual arguments or logical premises cannot erase what we feel. To believe that rationality can overcome feelings and emotions means not to understand human nature.
Here another paradoxical realization:
Rationality is great for making a living in our society but… It is deficient for the experience of living Life in joy. Rationally, most will look for the accumulation of wealth to feel happy but… 🙂 there will be disappointment (suffering) when the result is not as expected.
Rationality kills our feelings and without feelings there is no experience of fullness.
Is rationality “bad”?
NO.
It is neither “good” nor “bad” like everything else in Life. It “is,” thus observe it and enjoy it.
Beyond our limits
Let us say that the world is a “shoe box.” There is “John” all by himself in it.
What would be “moral or immoral” for John? What would be “right or wrong” for John?
Answer: What he believes to be.
Let us say that there is another person who joins John later on.
What would be “moral or immoral” to do? What would be “right or wrong” to do?
Answer: it depends on their belief.
Besides beliefs, there are matter of fact consequences. John may enjoy the company of that other being for he was alone before, but at the same time, John likes to have his own space all for himself.
If john was a “black or white” type of individual; he will either choose to be alone or to have company. There is no awareness of integrating both experiences without choosing.
The paradoxical and beautiful thing about the world is that every moral value, every belief system that someone may cherish as “truth” is contradicted by another living species in Nature.
Do you think that a caste system, a hierarchy based on being born in certain social class is “bad”?
Take a look at bees and ants.
Do you think that family life is a thing of the past?
Take a look at how wolves live.
Do you think that to be a loner and to mingle with the opposite gender just to procreate is to take advantage of someone?
Take a look at the life of tigers.
If we observe life as it is in Nature and not the artificially created “world at the office,” we will discover those beautiful contradictions, which make this world what is.
What could be God’s law then, in the observation that every species of “his” creation acts contradicting any written law that could ever be?
Perhaps there is a law for every species?
Perhaps.
I have not seen any written codes of conduct for Tigers yet. But because there is that diversity around, could I make myself such a narrow minded, judgmental person who takes sides to label something as “good or bad”?
If there was a law of “good and bad” coming from God himself wouldn’t that be a contradiction of what already exists?
That is why many individuals have decided to create their “own world” in their own “shoe box” to fit their beliefs as “righteous” in their world.
As John’s “shoe box” becomes populated, there is obviously a problem of “logistics” in the human world that animals are unaware of.
Thinking, logic, analysis creates that contradiction which a human being will pretend to resolve through moral standards.
An animal adapts and harmoniously is able to live in balance with its surroundings.
A thinking, “rational” human being is unable to adapt like that.
The question is not “why is that?” because that will take our logic and rationality into greater contradictions.
The point is to observe, feel and act.
Nature has a completely different way of manifesting beyond logic, rationality and belief systems… well beyond our “office world” morality.
The “world of the office,” John’s “shoe box” has rationality, analysis, judgment, comparisons, separation, and, ifs, or, not … computer operations, that we have learned to troubleshoot by breaking the problems in “halfs” until we discover the “culprit.”
Nature does not work like that.
Which world do we choose?
Wrong question if we could see beyond duality, but a rational “good” question for those who cannot.
Integrate everything. Welcome the “office world” and Nature. Experience both.
At that point, we could understand practically that “God” could never have given us any laws to be followed, but to allow us to make sense of things for ourselves…Not intellectually, but by using our “instincts.”
That is insight, intuition, love for the Totality, appreciation of what is, gratefulness and a sense of balance.
When we discover in ourselves what is beautiful, then we have discovered what we have in common with “his” creation.
Mental Addictions
When a recurrent compulsory thought appears in our life which has the force to determine a behavior which is believed to cause pleasure, relief, a soothing effect or a reward, then we could be dealing with a mental addiction.
In an addiction a “rational person” turns irrational. A life which is managed by the belief of an existing self, becomes out of balance, out of control in order to fixate its efforts to acquire that which is believed to bring relief, pleasure, reward, peace of mind, soothing effect, etc.
The way our society deals with mental addictions is by denying the triggers, which are believed to be the cause of the addiction.
For example, let us take a look at sex addiction.
A sex addict will be told not to watch TV or to have a computer so “temptations” do not occur.
If that addiction is dealt in a religious setting, then the idea that the “body is ugly, full of disgusting fluids” will be told as to create distaste in the addict.
The promise that there is something “better” than the pleasure from the body will be expressed as well.
A person who practices celibacy as denial of sex, could believe that “he needs to protect himself from the impure environment by avoiding triggers and situations which could become a temptation.”
Praying could help in this case, … “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
A mental addiction appears when there is a great mental identification with a “self.”
The solution of that mind problem has been to use the mind to deny itself.
Irrational.
What are the typical cliches used in that “solution”?
Use your will power to “fight against it.” Believe that a higher power will help you. Cover your senses. Think about something else. Surround yourself with like-minded people for support.
Those “solutions” are only a band-aide waiting to fall off the wound.
The problem, the addiction hasn’t been cured.
A mental addiction appears when we are incapable of living in the “now” due to a life, which is lived mostly in the head.
Let me illustrate.
Charlie “Mind” meets a girl. Charlie does not notice the first instants. He does not become aware of the “thinking.”
If the mind takes over as it is the case with most, labeling will happen: “ My gosh, She is beautiful/ugly” from that point the thought has been started into duality.
Something pleasurable will need to be repeated. That means, the movie in the mind will repeat and many plots will be added to that movie to make it exciting, “new.” That repetition will make sure that the thought will linger even without our conscious will.
From this point on, we could discover many things about our own minds. That is our own inner work.
The “experts” whether religious or scientific, are about denial of the triggers, “Don’t do this, don’t think that, Do this, do that, etc.” It is the “black or white” mentality, which will lead someone into the experience of duality: Success or failure. Success through repression, failure through feeling guilt. Either way, the “problem” still remains.
Let us take a look at another Charlie…. Charlie “feelings.”
Charlie Feelings meets a girl. Charlie appreciates her through his feelings. A feeling invades his heart and a smile comes out. That feeling will be completely felt without thoughts or beliefs coming to his mind. Without judgment. Charlie Feeling will move into something else in the day as he lives the “now” but he chooses to maintain the feeling while meeting other people throughout the day.
Feeling is what gives fulfillment. The mind is trying to obtain that fulfillment by mentally repeating the experience or acting that out compulsively.
Going further into feelings we may find out that if the feeling that we develop before meeting anyone is strong and we feel fulfilled, all we need to do is to maintain that throughout the day. Strong awareness is needed for that. That is the reward of our own internal work. Life will be impregnated with our feelings.
With feelings we can appreciate life and the different scenes, the uniqueness of those.
With thoughts we do not “feel anything.” We separate through the mind and we look to experience only one aspect of duality. We choose what we believe to be pleasurable and reject pain. Pleasurable/rewarding/a relief is that which needs to be repeated continuously in the mind, that is an addiction.
Nevertheless, pain cannot be avoided as an experience once the “self” has chosen pleasure. Duality 101. 🙂
The belief in Science
In the mental world, life could be perceived as something to fear, for nothing is completely reliable. There is uncertainty and there is a mystery to it, which bothers our minds but we rely on our minds to figure the mystery out.
Father: “ I am sending you to religious classes. You have to believe in something.”
Son: “ Why? I don’t need that. I believe in Science.”
In one extreme we have the mysterious beliefs. That is, “magical” stories and experiences out of the grasp of the thinking mind. We could find this in many Eastern beliefs. It is so magical to be true, but yet when there is a strong belief there is a reality.
When someone experiencing that side of the coin of the mental world is no longer satisfied, then inevitably that person will change to a “rational” belief. That is Science, that is the Western world in general.
Interestingly a person is still in the realm of beliefs. What changes is the use of rationality to make sense of life and the world.
Science is continually evolving so there is nothing to call “true,” for it could change the next day.
The mystery of life is non-rational. It is non-logical. Until we see this point, we could be still immersed in scientific beliefs.
Science is not “bad” nor “good.” It has its place in society. The inventions that are made to improve the quality of human lives could be seen as questionable, for Science has a tendency to separate humanity from Nature. That is the consequence of using thought.
An invention most of the time is “massified.” When that happens, then that invention could prove to be detrimental for the overall health of society in time.
A light bulb means electricity. To make that power available means to find ways to create that electrical power. As more people depend on it, then the 80-20 rule (80 % of the wealth is owned by 20 % of the people) comes into effect. That creates “inequality,” the “haves” vs. the “have not” which means further division.
In our society nowadays, the pursue of every “educated” individual is to become a “salesman.” You have to be a “salesman” to “succeed.”
You want a job? Sell yourself.
You want a date? Sell yourself.
You want more money? Sell widgets to everyone by creating a need.
Inventing something new is great, but in our society is of no utility unless that could be “mass-ified,” that is sold to a greater amount of individuals, that is to create a “need” for it.
For that, we need lots of people to sell things to. That is what keeps the “economy growing…” or that is what our mental made up world will tell us.
Nevertheless, the greatest problem in this mental world, is paradoxically our increased population. In the wild, every species will have predators to balance things out.
A human being has no predators other than himself.
Please see how our mental understanding furthers segmentation and separation, creating isolation but at the same time, creating needs and competition to fulfill those “created” needs. That is how our minds could not be healthy if we are assimilated into that game.
The above does not mean that we need to reject the “status quo” of things, but just to be aware of what is going on, so we could liberate our own minds from this chain of human conditioning.
Things evolve, as they need to. Everything is as it should be, however, the quality of being awake in life is not found in a thinking mind.
No wonder mental diseases are not uncommon these days. Our reality conflicts with someone else’s reality. Our beliefs will be in opposition to someone else’s etc.
That is why to be “educated,” to be “religious” to be fit to enjoy life should start by taking a look at our own minds, by taking the time to see its operation, the way depression and anxiety appears, to observe the quality of our thoughts, to observe the quantity of aimless thoughts and to experience how those thoughts influence our own bodies.
That is to be a scientist of the self, just to become healthy again.
Could you “believe” in that? 🙂
Until March 15th or so… 🙂
As always, my deepest feelings of appreciation to all of you…
Exploring the Depth of Living 