Membership's Benefits ... and Drawbacks

     Sometimes we enthusiastically join, support and become strongly identified with certain groups. How completely we become identified with & transformed by the group depends on us, as well as the group. Our level of psychosociospiritual development determines the type of group(s) we wish to join. There's a very broad range of groups from which to choose: from sports teams, charities, political parties, professions, unions, the armed forces, religions, nations, ethnic groups, to outlaw gangs, etc.
     Not surprisingly, we're in a very different place in our life if we choose to join & identify with, say the Hell's Angels instead of Save the Whales. Besides different activities, one group may demand strict obedience ("dogmatic"), while another may be laid back & informal ("liberal"). Interestingly, many of us, at a certain point in our lives, are strongly drawn to dogmatic groups that completely take over our thinking, behavior - our whole lives. The very same person who's a peace-loving humanitarian in their 60s, could have, in their teens, enthusiastically enlisted for combat duty to fight "the enemy" of the day.
     When we feel lost, empty, like a nobody, marginalized, hopeless, angry, without any sense of belonging, as soon as we join a dogmatic group, we instantly feel proud, connected, accepted, have both an identity and a home. A dogmatic group has a strong distinctive brand, and we're thrilled to be branded, wear the uniform, fly the flag, repeat the slogans. For many, this means a radically-improved quality of life. There's no looking back at what we might have given up - our immediate assumption is nothing, since they had nothing. Group-think is demanded and easy to go along with - easier than thinking for oneself. One develops very strong, almost unbreakable emotional attachment to such groups. Many dogmatic groups explicitly teach that leaving the group has catastrophic consequences for the individual - shunning, court martial, eternal hell-fire. So reason is rarely successful against such powerful emotions to extricate oneself (or another) from dogmatic groups. Members tend to be paranoid, and may respond violently to any criticism - feeling as if their very life were being threatened.
     But human evolution of consciousness is an entirely natural process, whereas the core basis of dogmatic groups is a set of fixed ideas - dogmas. Most of us simply outgrow dogmas. 
     "Cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time; performs an action that is contradictory to their beliefs, ideas, or values; or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas or values. (But) humans strive for internal consistency. An individual who experiences inconsistency tends to become psychologically uncomfortable, and is motivated to try to reduce this dissonance, as well as actively avoid situations and information likely to increase it." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance 
     So as we mature psychosociospiritually, cognitive dissonance increases. The question then is how much authenticity can I tolerate suppressing while I'm with my dogmatic group? This is a wrenching, quasi-life-or-death decision - a form of ego death, since the group for many of us is/was our core identity. But living a lie - a "divided life", is for some of us, deadening, soul-destroying.
     When we quietly observe the mind during meditation, we notice a huge amount of self-talk - mostly transient, unnecessary ego noise. Our real identity is beyond all this noise: words, concepts, including all dogmas. When the noise from our own or our group's ego settles down, we touch authenticity, freedom.
     

Brant Hansen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rh8uywILZk

Our Capacity to Observe

     "If we look at or analyze the various components that comprise what we call our individual consciousness; we will discover thoughts, concepts, beliefs, story-making, preferences, tendencies, images, memories, imagination, sensations, self-images, sense of identity and various other psychological phenomena.
     All of these mental factors are individually dependent on multiple prior factors and conditions. And each one of those are themselves dependent on multiple prior factors and conditions. All of these conditioned mental factors are what make up our 'karmic' dream-like trance called samsara.
     However there is one exception in consciousness that is itself not dependent on any previous factors or conditions; and that is our capacity to 'observe'. Observation requires none of the above mentioned mental and psychological components.
     The capacity to observe is always pure, unconditioned, thought-free and pristine. All other aspects of mentation are dependent, conditioned and constructors of our delusions. 
     By differentiating this capacity to observe, from ALL the other mental and psychological phenomena, our true, permanent refuge is actualized in every observing moment.
     Being the 'observing' exclusively in experience, will cause it's intrinsic treasures of wisdom, bliss and unconditional love to naturally arise and manifest in ever wider arcs of compassionate resonance for the benefit of all."   Jackson Peterson

Salt Marsh by Susan Paterson www.fogforestgallery.ca

 

My Identity? Really?

"Melancholy is the happiness of being sad."         Victor Hugo

     What? How could sadness possibly bring about happiness? Why would an abused person remain with their abuser? Why do people continue self-destructive behaviours over long periods of time, or for life?
     Lack of imagination? Lack of initiative? Yes, probably both. But the key reason might be that they IDENTIFY with their role - "the sad one" or "the abused one" or "the self-destructive one"? They fear change, so they pretend that at least one thing in the world doesn't change - their "self"! So they cling to this pretense like a drowning person clings to a piece of flimsy driftwood.
     Yet, even here they appear to have missed the boat. Identity, from certainly a Buddhist, but also increasingly from Western secular perspectives, is ephemeral, shifting, constantly changing, like all phenomena. And clinging to any phenomena, particularly to "the self", is considered the chief cause of suffering. To the extent that our identity is fused with self-concept ie "I am my self-concept", we suffer.
       Leary MR, Guadagno J. "The role of hypo-egoic self-processes in optimal functioning and subjective well-being." (Chapter 9) in: Sheldon KM, Kashdan TB, Steger MF. eds. "Designing positive psychology: Taking stock and moving forward." Oxford University Press, NY, 2011.  

Sense-of-Self & Way of Being in the World

     "indigenous people ... 'may find [western psychiatry's & psychology's] relentless focus on self ... alien, disquieting, undesirable or unnecessary.** Rather, a general Aboriginal self is one of an “embedded, enfolded socio-centric self” … Native mind is therefore a mind-in-relational activity, a mind-in-community.’

     All things work together in an interdependent fashion, forming an interconnected web of wholeness. Though each part is a recognizable unit, it only has meaning when in relationship to the whole.”                     James Dumont & Carol Hopkins


       Rupert Ross. "Indigenous Healing. Exploring Traditional Paths." Penguin, Toronto, 2014. 

     ** see also: Laurence J. Kirmayer. "Psychotherapy and the Cultural Concept of the Person." Transcult Psychiatry 2007; 44: 232-57.      DOI: 10.1177/1363461506070794

 

Searching for Truffles at the Domain de Bramarel, France

Porousness, Fluency

     "The great Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki came to Columbia to teach [in 1951] and I went for two years to his classes. From Suzuki's teaching I began to understand that a sober and quiet mind is one in which the ego does not obstruct the fluency of things that come in through the senses and up through our dreams. Our business in living is to become fluent with the life we are living, and art can help this."                                                      John Cage

       Epstein M. "Psychotherapy without the Self. A Buddhist Perspective." Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 2007.

Painful Mistaken Identity

     As a result of emotional wounding, we contract around an identity that slowly becomes fixed and solid. We come to mistakenly assume that we are this painful, defective, solid thing.

     "It can take a sophisticated insight to understand the nature of our emotional wounding and the patterns and defenses that crystallize around it. ...

     When I experience something threatening or insulting me I experience a kind of contraction in myself that grasps at a sense of me. This is a tangible, almost physical contraction that causes a strong emotional tightening in my chest. From this place, before I have a chance to do anything about it, I can react defensively with anger or aggression to protect myself. Alternatively, I may feel hurt or insulted and withdraw into myself for comfort and safety. In all of these reactions I can feel a vivid expression of my grasping at a solid sense of me. At first, this sense of me and its defensive reactions feels as though they relate to something that is a definite central part of me, something solid that must be defended. Only by looking more deeply will I begin to recognize that these reactions hold on to something that is not actually substantial, and they paint a picture of the world that is not real. Even though I may have feelings that I am hurt, frightened, or rejected, if I look deeply at this reactive me, I can see that it is not fixed, permanent, or true. There is no solid base for its existence. It is not to be found in my body, feelings, mind, perceptions, and so on as something existent.
     The emotional process is real enough, but the 'I' that I am grasping at as a fixed sense of self doesn't exist. It is like an emotionally charged bubble that pops when looked at more closely. As this bubble pops, the sense of contracted surface tension that held it together begins to open. A quality of inner space begins to be restored that is not tight and contracted.
     The recognition of the lack of solid self and the subsequent release of the contraction around it don't mean we have no ego at all. It is important to distinguish between normal, functional ego that acts as a focus of our relationship to the world and this emotionally charged solid sense of ego.
     ... It is not the ego that needs to go but the ego-grasping that holds on to a self as solid and ultimately existent."

       Preece R. "The Wisdom of Imperfection. The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life." Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca NY, 2006.

Antonio Celso Lima Mollo, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

Waking Up

     "... more and more your life emanates from this place of clear awareness. When the seeing gets very clear and still, it is because 'you' disappear. The great Chinese poet Li Po expressed this beautifully:

          The birds have vanished down the sky
          Now the last cloud drains away.

          We sit together, the mountain and me,
          until only the mountain remains.

     Li Po did not rise up and leave the mountain scenery. His self-conscious mind has left him! He is describing a mind that has stopped churning out ideas, thoughts, feelings, and images. In his case, you might say that he no longer exclaims, 'Look at that gorgeous view. I'm so happy to be here. I can write a poem about this scene, and it will be remembered forever. Perhaps even anthologized.'
     None of that chronic mental activity remains. His poem implies that self-cherishing has fallen away, and what remains is simply clear seeing."

       Larry Rosenberg. Three Steps to Awakening. A Practice for Bringing Mindfulness to Life. Shambhala, Boston, 2013.

Nicolas Le Boulanger, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

and www.nikcorbleau.fr

Self, Ego and Selflessness

     "... the end of polarities is the completion of all skillful means, all practices, and all methods that were used to surmount ignorance. When ignorance is no longer pitted against wisdom, there is nonreferenced ease. ... We have to extract the 'me' from our salvation and prohibit identification with the self's return. Many people can understand selflessness; few can keep the self from meddling its way back in. This is not accomplished by forcing but through understanding. To understand exactly what the self is is to end the self. Once understood, it assumes its rightful place in our functional lives but never again assumes a place of power and authority. It takes just one polarizing moment that has gone undetected for self-centered living to resume."

       Rodney Smith. Awakening. A Paradigm Shift of the Heart. Shambhala, Boston, 2014.

"polarities" refers to opposites, the divided mind, boundaries etc
"nonreferenced" means unconditional - independent of causes and conditions
"functional" a healthy ego is described in Western psychology as like a verb (functional) rather than a noun (a solid object)
"polarizing moment" as soon as we identify with one (versus another) view, opinion, preference, the fictional "solid self" is re-created. This imaginary solid "identity" causes suffering.

 

October near Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

Creativity - from Where?

     "The dictionary defines creativity as 'the use of imagination or original ideas,' but that definition is what happens after the creative moment. It is impossible for the conditioned mind to think something original. It is discerning awareness that sees in a novel way, and when we look closely, we see that the actual act of creation is completely still, without thought. The absence of thought allows awareness to see, free from all constraints, but soon after, the mind possesses the creative moment and thinks about what just occurred. The person having the creative moment then claims ownership by believing he or she used his or her imagination to come to this insight, when the person was not even in the picture when creativity occurred."

       Rodney Smith. Awakening. A Paradigm Shift of the Heart. Shambhala, Boston, 2014.

Observer Self

     There are degrees of letting go of being self-centered, thus seeing what is happening within & around oneself from an objective, detached, "observer self" perspective. As we transcend the ego (frightened child), we start inhabiting, being stillness, silence, timelessness, vastness.

Eagle Lake morning, June 2014

BOTH - Hurt Child & Wise Grandparent - At The SAME TIME

     Open-hearted, alert, hypo-egoic engagement with "things as they is", no matter how they is, is doable, though of course it's a work-in-progress. A part of us can rest ("grounded"?) in this timeless, still, loving energy, with increasing stability, even while another part of us is rattled, in pain, etc.

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2014/04/526-monitoring-my-state-of-being-moment.html

Julie Fletcher, National Geographic   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

One Taste

     " ... once the idea of 'me' has withered, the single 'dragon's roar' of all existence may be heard."           Yakusan

       Douglas Penick "It's for you." Shambhala Sun, May 2014   www.shambhalasun.com


     See also: http://www.johnlovas.com/2012/04/perception-and-gaining-mind.html


 

Holmbo   www.dpreview.com

Hidden in Plain Sight

     "... something truly golden and marvelous, can be revealed only when thoughts of self have fallen away like the autumn leaves ..."

       Henry Shukman "Tree of Wisdom." Shambhala Sun, May 2014


      A fine Zen talk by Koun Franz of Halifax: "What Are We Mastering? – March 4, 2014": http://zennovascotia.com/dharma-talks/

Everything Changes - Have No Preferences - Nothing is Hidden

     "When we are training at the (Zen) monastery, we put on straw hats and go from house to house reciting prayers and collecting food, which is the only food we are permitted to eat. Some people are glad to see us, but some get very angry. When I was training, one of the places I had to beg from was a clothing shop that made kimonos. When I went there the proprietress threw water on me and became very angry. I had only begun my training a short time earlier, and I didn't understand the meaning of going to a place where I was not welcome. So I talked with a senior monk, and he agreed to go instead of me.
     I was watching from across the street to see what would happen. But he just did what he always did. This happened several times, and every time the woman would lose her temper and tell us to get lost. Finally my fellow monk said to her, 'Negative relationships, too, are relationships.' She became quiet, and then began to sob. After that she would send handsewn robes to this monk. I think that watching us come every day and go from house to house with our heads bowed had irritated her for some reason. But when the monk did not respond to her with hatred, something inside her changed suddenly so that she wanted to support us. I'm very interested in this possibility: that the things you have been suffering with up until a certain moment can change in an instant to a new way of thinking. In the course of my counseling, I see people become full of energy who just a few hours ago seemed on the verge of death. Seeing that, I feel that the process is very similar to the (Zen) training that I went through as a monk."          Ittetsu Nemoto

       Winifred Bird. "The Counselor. Japanese Priest Ittetsu Nemoto has made Suicide Prevention his Life's Work." Tricycle, Spring 2014.

Kah-Wai Lin   www.kahwailin.com

Self, Self-transcendence & Nonduality

     The image of each of us having two sides - front, being the way others & how we usually conceive of ourselves; and back, which is infinite, timeless, silent, beyond concepts - is surprisingly powerful & useful.

Nonduality: Hameed Ali Explores the Illusive Self
http://fora.tv/2012/10/25/Nonduality_Hameed_Ali_Explores_the_Illusive_Self

William McIntosh   http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsacprof/

Nonduality: Hameed Ali Explores the Illusive Self
Read more at http://fora.tv/2012/10/25/Nonduality_Hameed_Ali_Explores_the_Illusive_Self#z4hJvIgb2A2q0aJP.99

Ego Permeability, Openness, the Transpersonal

     "ego permeability is included as a mediator to address the manner in which ego boundaries (ie the psychological boundary demarcating one’s sense of self from those aspects of experience that are considered not-self) operate & influence how individuals experience themselves. While both conventional & transpersonal approaches to spiritual identity acknowledge the existence of ego boundaries, with the latter being a bit more explicit in addressing the nature of such boundaries in terms of their expandability, neither approach gives sufficient attention to the manner in which the boundaries themselves operate. 
     There are a variety of psychological constructs that have appeared in the literature that directly concern themselves with ego & psychological boundary properties & functions. Though most widely known as Openness due to its representation as a major trait of personality as per the Five Factor Model of personality, this trait, along with the notions of ego permissiveness, boundary thickness, & transliminality all relate to the extent to which the ego boundaries are able, on structural grounds, to permit information from different parts of the total psyche or personality to cross into conscious awareness. To further illustrate this point, specific to the idea of openness ... 'openness is seen in the breadth, depth, & permeability of consciousness, and in the recurrent need to enlarge and examine experience'. Research has shown that malleable/permeable ego boundaries are associated with a number of variables including higher levels of reported spiritual & non-ordinary states of consciousness as well as to both growth enhancing & pathological states."

       MacDonald DA. "Identity and Spirituality: Conventional and Transpersonal Perspectives." International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2009; 28(1): 86-106.

 

Tangled Garden   http://www.tangledgardenherbs.ca/

Identity, Sense of Self, Beyond Ego ...

     "In most conventional psychological theory ... identity is typically defined in egoic terms. That is, a person’s sense of self is generally seen as circumscribed (ie has defined boundaries), is highly individualized, & is, for the most part, subjective. ... Within such conceptualizations, spiritual identity most often is defined as how the individual ego relates to & incorporates spirituality into its personal sense of self. ... how one experiences & integrates their sense of relationship to the transcendent into their egoic self-sense.  ... 'a role-related aspect of an individual’s overall sense of ego identity' which manifests 'as a persistent sense of self that addresses ultimate questions about the nature, purpose, and meaning of life'. 

      In contrast, there is another view, best represented in the mystical, philosophical, & spiritual literature but now formalized most ostensibly in transpersonal theory, that argues identity may not be delimited to ego & egoic functions but rather is fundamentally spiritual in nature. From this perspective, the boundaries that demarcate the ego (ie self from not-self), are not absolute & immutable but rather are constructed, malleable, & even arbitrary, capable of being modified (eg expanded or contracted) or dissolved altogether."

       MacDonald DA. Identity and Spirituality: Conventional and Transpersonal Perspectives. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2009; 28(1): 86-106.

Tangled Garden   http://www.tangledgardenherbs.ca/

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?

     There's something in us that craves finally arriving at a destination and putting our feet up to rest. Even young kids incessantly ask "Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?" on road trips. We're that way with concepts as well. We love to try to squeeze even huge complex concepts into tight concise little definitions so we can rest - ie stop trying to understand them. Of course this is just laziness. While it's fine to review how much (little) we know about something, it's usually a mistake to assume that it's all there is to know about it. We keep changing, things keep changing, and how we know things keeps changing. No, we're not there yet! See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/06/intellectual-glass-ceiling-it-most.html
and: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2012/07/perpetually-chasing-or-running-away.html

     A religion prof, on hearing each student's answer to one of her many questions in her class on Buddhism, would invariably comment on their answer with "it's something like that." My former karate teacher, on seeing a student perform a sequence of karate moves (kata), would invariably - regardless of the quality of performance - comment "good." We're all students, all in the process of growing, and should not be mislead to believe that we've arrived. An open, curious, 'beginner's mind' really helps us to remain on the path.

            “I meet all sorts of people who’ve had all sorts of experiences (during meditation) and they’re still confused and not doing very well in their life. Experiences are not enough. My students learn that if they have so-called experiences, I really don’t care much about hearing about them. I just tell them, "Yeah, that’s O.K. Don’t hold onto it. And how are you getting along with your mother?” Otherwise, they get stuck there. It’s not the important thing in practice.” Asked what is the important thing in practice, (Charlotte Joko Beck) replied, “Learning how to deal with one’s personal, egotistic self. That’s the work. Very, very difficult.”

http://sweepingzen.com/2011/06/15/charlotte-joko-beck-dies-at-94-american-zen-pioneer/

"Love is in the Air" by Bansky

From Egocentric, to Hypo-egoic, to Anatta, to Freedom

     Imagine being on a journey where you must carry a delicate porcelain figurine. The journey is challenging with many falls, so that the figurine will, with absolute certainty, be chipped, and ultimately shattered by the end.

     Carrier, or figurine? Verb, or noun?

     WHO is suffering?

     Is suffering NECESSARY?

     See: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/search?q=hypo

Tatiana Plotnikova

http://pdn30.pdnevents.com/gallery/2013/index.php?contest=plotnikova

Transcending the Ego

     “In what is called ego death it should be remembered that the word ‘ego’ simply means ‘I am,’ and that it is the sense of ‘I’ that is transformed, not the ‘am-ness’ that is eternal being.”

       Levine S. “Turning toward the mystery. A seeker’s journey.” HarperSanFrancisco, 2002.

 

Pintos by Bev Doolittle   http://www.bevdoolittle.net