Quote:
Originally Posted by hcap
I agree. Attaching one's entire being and identity to one momentary flicker of asttention is the problem, and the opposite of the unity I was pointing to. The opportunity to reconcile opposing attitudes is a useful exercise. However one needs to separate from being pulled into and identifying and losing oneself among and with the lower selves.
Meditation is one way to quiet the incessant noise of the constant changing of the "guards".
We all have conflicting attitudes or "I's" that need bridging. But remaining "stuck" viewing the entire warehouse with a single feeble light is the antithesis of reconciling different parts within. And I think that the situation is even worse than lights at different locations in the building. It's almost like we wear miners helmets carrying an extremely narrowly focused beam as we look within.
I used to have a a wood etching drawing of a Buddhist monk sewing his robe. His gaze was transfixed INTENSELY on where the thread was under tension as it exited the material of the robe. Looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head in total concentration. Originally I thought it was a drawing on one pointed attention-which it was but soon I came to understand that his attention was on the "unifying" action of the thread joining and mending the material of his robe. The monk was not lost in the separate parts but rather the proper art of "sewing" gave him the opportunity to fix all the parts of the robe.
Interesting connection. The Sufis-the mystical school of Islam- paid special attention to mending their garments or the "Muraqqa" and had strong teachings on how to do it.....
He must know how to do the patch work rightly on his muraqqa.
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The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. F. Scott Fitzgerald
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It is actually easier than it seems. Consider--if another "focus" (for lack of terminology that might upset those with conceptually impoverished "understanding" of what they call "reality") has some special talent, how advantageous it would be to be able to tap in to that talent. Also consider--"you" may have some skill or talent that is "special" (as in useful, desirable, needed, necessary, essential) to another "focus," such that a symbiotic, synergistic exchange would be of mutual benefit.
How to bridge the gap? Find a common activity, and engage in that activity mindfully--inner stillness, yet focused awareness.
Holding opposing ideas in the mind at the same time is only difficult if one judges them. That is, engages in the mind-numbing practice of labeling, "identifying," "categorizing," and "selecting" one or the other as "better." The trick is to simply observe, avoiding the semi-automatic pigeonholing and labeling and categorizing that causes others to see patterns where there are none, and to make connections that exist only within their own minds.
