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Being in the Moment: Colonoscopy Style
As I was soaking my weary bones in the hot bath I got to thinking about the Japanese traditional public bath house (sentÅ). There were two sections, male and female, but you could often see glimpse of each section at the entrance where you pay. The reason I bring this up is that a common preconception of the Japanese is that they are an inscrutable and private people. Yes, they abide pretty closely to a cultural etiquette, but underneath that I found them somewhat more open and accessible in personal ways than my fellow Americans, etc. They don’t seem to fit the Western preconception of what the Japanese are like. I met many foreigners while in Japan who, trapped in long held preconceptions, could not see the Japanese as they are. (This phenomenon, preconception versus reality, can be said about all ethnic groups of course.)
Then I got to thinking about how I view ‘mountain music’ as a form of ‘taoist music’. Although, one would hardly imagine a connection between those two, I suppose. Mountain music is a rural Western hillbilly-peasant tradition and Taoism is a rather esoteric Eastern mystical tradition. On the other hand, Shakuhachi (in the ‘blowing Zen’ tradition) probably comes across as very Taoist (i.e., Buddhism + Taoism = Zen). Actually having done (doing) both, I see them as essentially the same. They just emphasis different angles - team 'work' versus solo 'work'.
Whether we see sameness or difference often hinges on our preconceptions, which in turn arise from need and fear. Preconceptions imprison perception when they lead us to [chref=71]think that we know[/chref]. Which view, sameness or difference, is most connected with need and fear I wonder? For a Taoist point of view differences obviously. Consider these passages for example:
[chref=56]One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know.
Block the openings; Shut the doors. Blunt the sharpness; Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare; Let your wheels move only along old ruts.
This is known as mysterious sameness. [/chref]
[chref=10]When your discernment penetrates the four quarters
Are you capable of not knowing anything? [/chref]
[chref=20] Between yea and nay
How much difference is there?[/chref]
[chref=2]The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only
the ugly; the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad.[/chref]
Finally, to paraphrase chapter two, [chref=2]Thus sameness and difference produce each other[/chref]. That is the picture of [chref=16]impartiality[/chref], the holy grail of Taoist perception. Of the two, sameness and difference, I find we (and all other life forms) are difference biased. Nature uses fear, need and the perception of differences help living things survive. Life is not impartial. Living things discern what they like or love, and what they dislike or hate (need and fear) and go about their daily business accordingly.
Humanity's difficulty arises from how our thinking mind takes this natural bias and exaggerates it. This overloads us with the heavy baggage of preconception to drag around throughout life. I see Taoist thought as a way of [chref=40]turning back[/chref] to a more primal state of being where preconceptions cease to hold us captive.
Then I got to thinking about how I view ‘mountain music’ as a form of ‘taoist music’. Although, one would hardly imagine a connection between those two, I suppose. Mountain music is a rural Western hillbilly-peasant tradition and Taoism is a rather esoteric Eastern mystical tradition. On the other hand, Shakuhachi (in the ‘blowing Zen’ tradition) probably comes across as very Taoist (i.e., Buddhism + Taoism = Zen). Actually having done (doing) both, I see them as essentially the same. They just emphasis different angles - team 'work' versus solo 'work'.
Whether we see sameness or difference often hinges on our preconceptions, which in turn arise from need and fear. Preconceptions imprison perception when they lead us to [chref=71]think that we know[/chref]. Which view, sameness or difference, is most connected with need and fear I wonder? For a Taoist point of view differences obviously. Consider these passages for example:
[chref=56]One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know.
Block the openings; Shut the doors. Blunt the sharpness; Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare; Let your wheels move only along old ruts.
This is known as mysterious sameness. [/chref]
[chref=10]When your discernment penetrates the four quarters
Are you capable of not knowing anything? [/chref]
[chref=20] Between yea and nay
How much difference is there?[/chref]
[chref=2]The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only
the ugly; the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad.[/chref]
Finally, to paraphrase chapter two, [chref=2]Thus sameness and difference produce each other[/chref]. That is the picture of [chref=16]impartiality[/chref], the holy grail of Taoist perception. Of the two, sameness and difference, I find we (and all other life forms) are difference biased. Nature uses fear, need and the perception of differences help living things survive. Life is not impartial. Living things discern what they like or love, and what they dislike or hate (need and fear) and go about their daily business accordingly.
Humanity's difficulty arises from how our thinking mind takes this natural bias and exaggerates it. This overloads us with the heavy baggage of preconception to drag around throughout life. I see Taoist thought as a way of [chref=40]turning back[/chref] to a more primal state of being where preconceptions cease to hold us captive.
Comments
An aside: how would being in the moment then have been if you had no thoughts about it? If you weren't judging each moment? If you could have suspended conceptual thinking?
In my experience, being in the moment is helpful in getting through difficult emotional experiences but I've wondered how being in the moment would be if I were being tortured, and I think you've answered that question. Eventually, however, in that situation your mind/body would create some kind of uncontrollable coping mechanism to block the experience (like passing out).
I haven't had the dreaded colonoscopy yet and hope I do pass out.
for me, sometimes the moment is just within reach but never achievable. I don't worry about the moment becaue the next is just around the corner
So they put you under did they? They don't seem to do that here, though they do administer enough meds to make it smooth sailing. When I had my hernia operation a few years ago they asked if I wanted to be awake or out. I said awake and they gave me nitrous oxide. What a party that was!
Ah, I suspect that is why we find the moment "just within reach but". We [chref=71]think[/chref] another "is just around the corner". Knowing each moment that I will be dead in the next helps me touch this one here and now more keenly. It is like seeing a sign in the desert saying 'last drink of water for a thousand miles'. That makes the water of this moment all the more quenching.
What? :shock: . I'll be dead in the next moment? As I see it, yes. There is only this moment and later. Later is the next moment, whether that be a 'minute', 'hour', 'year', 'decade'... or a 'millennium'. In the stretch of eternity, [chref=56]sameness[/chref] abounds. Later is the next moment, if not in fact, this moment as well. The only hitch is remembering that picture. When I do, I stay here supping the water now.
'Being in the moment' is part of the culturally paradigm of Zen, Yoga, Buddhism, etc., and takes on an exaggerated status perhaps. All ideals are cultural exaggerations, i.e., 'focal points'. Being in the moment is one of ours ours.
It is not the “judging” that is problematic. It is the emotional drive behind any judgments made. The same goes for thinking in general. The mind is reflective and ‘thinks’. Thoughts are like mist, and go hand in hand with clarity; they [chref=2]harmonize with each other[/chref]. Only when they become certain of themselves do the thoughts become misleading, burdensome and dangerous.
Surrender is the only effective approach I’ve found, i.e., [chref=61]The female always gets the better of the male by stillness[/chref].
Actually it is no ordeal at all. I just prefer being more spontaneous. Thus, I have little interest in keeping appointments, doing the day before pre prep and such. If not for wife Leslie I’d do nothing, I expect. That goes to show how being in the moment ‘too much’ can be risky; can’t have our cake and eat it too.
OK, that's starting to sink in but it'll take a little longer.
Can you answer this question regarding emotions and thinking: Is it possible to experience the energy of pure emotion, without thought, perhaps even without labeling what the emotion is? If emotion is driving thoughts it seems like it is possible; emotions come first and then thought could be suspended. I think I have experienced pure emotion, but only intermittently, between thoughts.
Did I answer my own question?
Interesting: An acquaintance of mine said she can't differentiate between anxiety and excitement. I've noticed the two are very close (I call it nervousness and excitement), only one is labeled negatively, the other positively. (Except for me: I don't like either.)
I guess total surrender for the physical body is passing out.
Not being in the moment requires being in the moment; being in the moment requires not being in the moment.
I know what this is saying but I can't express it other than with this Albert Einstein quote: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
Here's the only clue I have to understanding. The only way you realize you are not in the moment is to be in the moment noticing. It's like: "Hey, look, I've wandered away." If you did not return to the present moment, you would never notice. (Imagine living your life this way.)
The other way around is not coming to me. Let's see. When I'm in the moment how to I get from there to not in the moment? Well, something in the moment reminds me of something else and then I'm off.
Is that it?
The opposite is our ideal of 'stillness and eternal peace'. Just as life holds the capacity for 'go go go', death holds the capacity for 'stillness and eternal peace'. Being alive, the former comes with the territory to one extent or another depending on the person. We have to await our death to reach the later. But, we can approach 'stillness and peace', depending on circumstances, mindset, desire (or the lack), what we truly want out of life, and so on.
Perhaps the lack of emotion is what you experience? What is the emotion of 'emptiness and stillness'? A sense of harmony, all is well, emotion can relax and consciousness can watch itself watching?
Yes, they correlate. Although, excitement promise more directly an object of desire. Anxiety is the result of conflict of desire (needs going in opposite directions pulling the emotion and mind apart.)
Wouldn't entropy apply to the mind and emotions just as it does to everything else in nature?
have you ever been to a barber that had the mirrors in front of you and behind you ? you see your reflection of your reflection or your reflection for many itterations. the one as far back as you can see is from the past not the present, albeit one millionth of a second.
babbling cuz I didn't get much sleep
That's a good question. The Moment is constant and fleeting at the same time. I see it as being awake, being aware. I've noticed that frequently for me, being in the moment stops the constant chattering of the mind. I think meditation is the practice of being in the moment. Over and over again.
It's the dots that compose the line.
I didn't get my normal 9 hours last night either.
Now I'm going to go watch the video of the Abbotts at the mall...
Not in my experience. Rage especially is crowded with thoughts....thoughts of vengeance, self-justification, all kinds of ego protective thoughts.
But it is possible to experience emotion without thought. Like when I get overwhelmingly sad for no reason, there is little or no thought until I start looking for a reason for being sad ("I am not perfect," "It's Christmas time," "I should love people more," "People should love me more"). The folly of it all. :roll:
You're just trying to freak me out.
Sounds right to me. And goes right along with Buddha saying to trust only your own experiencesdflkdlfkjdfdj f ldkfjdlkfjd dslkjlfjkldkf dklfd.d.......
I don't know how else to 'thing outside the box'.