tba 5/27/11 version
Leaks of energy from each X (preoccupation, negative) and loss of attention (awareness and alertness) units that could be used to live a better life in the now.
WE ARE BLIND UNTIL WE DISTINGUISH AND ORGANIZE
A person blind for life suddenly, at 21, has his sight restored. His first glimpse of light and the room, when the bandages are first removed, is painful and uncomfortable. Though he knows it is "good" to see, he wants to escape into what he is familiar with, as there is clarity and certainty in that. As with a baby, all that can be seen is at first a big blur, and then over time the baby begins to note that there are differences in shapes and in colors. The formerly blind man, indeed, has troubles differentiating shape from color, often identifying, at first, a round orange object as a square, since the lesson about squares included an orange square. In fact, until he has learned, he will think orange is red, since he hasn't learned to differentiate.
Over time and with experience, the baby learns the distinctions (specifics of how to see something as compared or contrasted with something else) and then organizes all of this into a cohesive whole that is both clear and definite - and at that time he achieves both certainty and confidence.
The "babies" who grow up and become adults but who do not learn the distinctions and have the information organized into a cohesive, definite (tied down clearly) whole live life in lack of clarity and lack of definiteness, with too much swirling around, unfixed, untied down, constantly competing for attention (I am a problem, solve me!). The person lives a life of uncertainty and, of course, has nothing solid from which to form confidence.
SANITY, LIFE EFFECTIVENESS
Totally unorganized and delusional = Insanity
Less organized, believing in "made ups" in the mind = LowSanity
Clarity, definiteness, tying things into solid foundation to operate from = HighSanity
If a blubbering insane idiot is at 1 and the wisest one person in the world is at 99, how would you rate your sanity level? ____ Would you like to increase it?
___ Yes; ___ No; ___ Yes, but I won't, as it takes too much work which is not worth it.
The only way we can get to HighSanity is to do as Michelangelo said when asked how he created such a marvelous statue: "I simply chiseled away all that was not David." That is the equivalent of solving all misbeliefs and dysfunctions to get to the functional being you want, to get to the being who can live deep happiness. (Part of this is fully realizing Who I Really Am and that I Am Whole And Complete.) Of course, we need to do this as soon as possible, solving every thing as it comes up, or we'll never complete our statue. And, different from the statue in a sense, we must build something very solid around the central core of our great being, installing it completely and solidly in a clear philosophy of life, with all its underlying beliefs based on truth and workability. There's alot of work, but doing it diligently and rapidly will allow us to live a great life sooner and more completely.
SEE CLEARLY, NAVIGATE WELL
So, to see reality, and to be able to navigate the world, seeing clearly so that we can live life at a good pace, we need:
1. Distinctions, so that there is no longer a blurry mass but there is differentiated specifics
2. To handle all "preoccupations" due to unresolved thinking/problems, so that we can see clearly and operate based on what we see, to live a better life. (If my attention is diverted to preoccupations, then I have few attention units to live life with. If I have lots of freed up attention units, I notice what does and doesn't work and I quickly adapt well to the world - and life is good!!!! I even efficiently and effectively adapt in the moment and am able to relax in the moment, noticing frequently and clearly whet is going on with my body - and I stop the negative body reactions before they have time to do damage.)
3. Clear knowledge that is not only "know about" knowledge (like "theory") but "knowing what to do", in action, which is wisdom.
Basically, remove what is in the way and make the lens really, really clear - asap!
Note that in order to navigate well, we have to see what is on the windshield and not believe it is permanent or disabling or real - see it for the mud it is and clear it out of the way, though inevitably there will always be some dirt. Watch the movie A Beautiful Mind, in order not to be run by your mud. The context for seeing the movie is in the piece The Perspective On Beliefs And Thoughts - Being In Reality.
ATTENTION UNITS = ALERTNESS, AWARENESS
If I am paying attention to all of my pre-occupations (unsolved concerns, unfigured out "stuff"), I cannot also have all of my attention available for seeing life, for responding to all of the "out there's" and to my body/mind functions. I am accordingly partially or greatly blinded, and, therefore, I am not functioning near the level that I could.
When my attention units are freed up, I notice what is happening and I adjust in the moment with clarity, not letting myself let tension be unreleased for very long and catching myself before things go too far.
AGAIN: THE LENS OF SEEING
(Although you already "know about" this and are prone to dismiss it offhand, this lesson will be repeated until learned, where you're actually seeing that made ups and the like are not "the truth" and "not real" or existing "out there.") See Truth - Know The Difference.
See the "Lens" and "What I See" boxes above.
"I see "reality" [which is full of X's]. I know this is true because I see it, so it must be. If anyone suggests otherwise, I will argue and not be open to the other information from another viewpoint. (If I don't identify with my beliefs as being me, then I can just deal with facts and use my brain to figure out and create all I need to prosper. In this mode, I will "seek first to understand" and then I can see what I need to say to be understood that will contribute to progress (not to "being right".)
CLEANING THE LENS OF NEGATIVES
I repeat here again that learning to deal with all the symptoms does not solve the problems, which are the causes. See cause and symptoms discussion in Cause And Effect And Power. A friend of mine is always, it seems, seeking advice on how to solve symptoms, which many people cooperate with helping her in - but they do her only small favors and perhaps contribute to her not solving enough of the causes to live a great life. Though it can be quite confronting, one must "go through" the muck and solve each part in order to come out the other end, not simply cleaning off the mud but putting together a mud-proof vehicle.
OPTIONAL NOTES AND EXTRA COMMENTS:
The people you admired for being "cool"
Those people who are "cool" in high school or in regular life are simply people who have worked out great habits and who have lots of attention units available to sense and adapt to what the current situation, without those preoccupations that get in the way for most people. This is true whether it is about social situations or any situation in life.
The difference between knowing about and completing
It has been said that rats are more practical than people – at least they stop going down the tunnel when there is no cheese there anymore. Humans seem to often engage in the fantasy that somehow it will appear. Remember also the old saying: Insanity is hoping that one will get different results by doing the same thing enough times. From Key Thoughts And Behaviors To Choose To Attain Personal Happiness And Peace.
"Oh, but she was a "smart rat" (as they are called), who said of the latter "well, I know that, but it just keeps coming back onto me before I can think..." Basically, if a person is still suffering based on one's past, then one is still holding on to the story." From Psychological, Affirmations and Empowering Statements, Releasing Yourself From The Story.
"'WHY ARE RATS SMARTER THAN PEOPLE?'
One of the '70's training classes asked that and answered it: "Because rats stop going down the same tunnel when there is no cheese there anymore."
"And, of course, there’s the “rats are smarter than people” when it comes to the fact that rats stop going down the tunnel when there is no cheese there anymore, but humans keep hoping or are so “smart” that they can see that “x” means getting to “y”, which is where they want to go. But they have “x” incorrectly wired as causing “y”. Examples would be: seeking, over and over, unhealthy people for relationships; working too hard, seeking approval, etc." From Growing, Solving, Self Developing - What Works For What?
"You've got to recognize that none of the "reasoning" for getting a positive payoff overall are true. And since there is no cheese down that tunnel, it would pay to stop being dumber than a rat (see Addictions for the elucidation of what this means in life and note that holding onto the idea of being powerless is a form of addiction and just as stupid and possibly more harmful)." From I Am Powerless.
In a number of the life education workshops, they refer to "understanding as the booby prize". This, I think, implies that "knowing about" is insufficient and that it takes practicing and using something to get practical wisdom. Instead of passively educating, they ask people to employ concepts right away, make mistakes, use their brains to formulate by having participants verbalize for themselves.
