Wed 6 Aug 2008
What vision? What dream? In my last blog I talked about having great vision and the benefits it will bring you. Dreams are in the ballpark also. But if you will develop great vision, you must also have clear intention. Otherwise you merely meander about like a small stream. But unlike that stream you are being carried along without focus because life does not stop moving. The stream is water seeking its own level, the next lowest level. Do you know what you are seeking? Intention gives you direction, desire gives you motivation. There are some who say that divine intervention or predestination is running things. But if that’s so, where is your free choice?
I believe we draw to us everyone we encounter and we cause every event that we experience, whether good or bad. We cause this by what we do or do not do. Consider this little idea; look around you and observe and categorize how seldom people seem to know what they are doing. Or, to put it another way, how little they consider the consequences of their actions. Make it something simple like driving or even executing a very simple technique like throwing a kick or maybe a punch. You will see some who know what they are doing. You will see some who think that they know what they’re doing; some who know that they don’t know. And way down at the bottom are those who don’t know that they don’t know. The path out of this conundrum is through the act of intention. You test it. Then you do it again, and if it doesn’t work you seek instruction. If instruction is not available then trial and error is the only way out. But at least you are seeking. Or you’re working the practice and development of great vision and insight. If its consciously achievable. Why do I say that?
Because the body already knows how to move efficiently, thinking is not really necessary. Thinking of a movement actually slows it down because conscious thinking does not happen fast enough. Even though thought can be pretty quick. Get your conscious mind out of the way and give your sub-conscious mind and body free rein. What may happen is something like that meandering stream I mentioned earlier. Now I know this sounds like I am going around in circles, but isn’t that how the planets and galaxies operate, going around in circles. My answer is “as above, so below.” This is a Hermetic principle which describes something not normally seen or understand. In other words, substitute a parable for the lack of understanding.
Life is a paradox.
August 11th, 2008 at 9:54 am
For a long time I’ve been interested in the holy grail of questions, “the meaning of life” and the further I delved into thought about it, the more I’ve come to the conclusion that it is in fact a paradox. I don’t believe a question such as that can be answered in a linear “question -> answer” form, but more, as you’ve described it, a circle format. I believe many questions that people have difficulty answering also have such a format to them. Ultimately, I believe the meaning of life differs for everyone, because I think it’s a man-made invention. Largely, so is intention. (Animals have intention, but it’s called instinct. not the same) I believe intention defines a person’s meaning of life, whether they know what it is or not. Knowing helps, but feeling accomplishes the same thing and more.
So, how do I tie this in with what you’re saying? To know what direction you’re heading, you must have great vision. Even greater vision is that which allows you to manipulate your course further in your favor. When the avenues are clear to see, it is easier to choose which is best.
I think you should add another category of people. People who know and don’t care. I see a lot of those. People who are smart and perfectly capable of being responsible, but choose not to be because they’re too scared of responsibility. The kind of people who know they do the wrong thing, and say “It’s not my problem” or “I just don’t care. That’s his problem”. I believe those people are truly at the bottom of the barrel. Ignorance I can pity, but to know, and know you know, and know what you’re doing, and still not care or foster your intelligence in a positive way is the bottom of the barrel.
I have thought about your question “Is it consciously achievable?” and the more I think about it, the more answers I get. At first, I thought that “It’s only consciously achievable if you consciously believe it is” then I thought “It may not be consciously achievable because feeling is subconscious and not something we can dictate, and it may be something you must feel from your soul, not calculate in your mind”. I believe both are correct, and that even if it were not attainable through pure conscious will, the practice will surely only increase the veracity of effort towards achieving it. This is to say, if you drive a car on a road from point A to point B, was it the car that got you there, or the road?
I don’t yet understand your last paragraph very well, so I’ll have to revisit it later. I find that most meanings change over time and make more sense once they are revisited later. I can, however, say that though I undoubtedly think too much during Aikido practice, most of the time I am actually doing that form of exercise “Visualize the ball going into the corner pocket” with my ki. I am practicing feeling the ki connecting to Uke, so that when I perform the technique, I am better able to channel it. Hard for me to explain, but I’m sure you know exactly what I mean.
Life is definitely a paradox. And I’ve come to love it. If things in life were any more orderly, things would get boring.