Latest Blog
It is said that to live wisely one has to be moderate in habits. This will be found arduous, because of our already ingrained habits of mind, body and behavior. Moderation takes "will" and intention, and ultimately some form of training or practice. Otherwise, one has to rely on age, for when we are beginning to hit sixty and seventy, our bodies and minds begin to counteract our childhood and adolescent impulses. However, can we learn to be moderate much earlier, without waiting so?
...read more
The body is understood to bring energy to the system. We eat a certain way, exercise and attempt to get enough sleep. Howsever, we do not fully realize how much energy is dissipated through the type of thinking and emotional reactions that normally consume us.
The more we observe our own minds, we
realize not only how mechanical
our thinking is, but
also how much energy it takes to maintain our usual
pre-occupations. It is
functional to use our
thinking constructively;
however,
when unconscious
reflection and cogitation
expands from early childhood
issues, the nervous system is affected by draining much needed psychological energy.
...read more
We look for meaning in external things: a career, a relationship, money, possessions and other cultural markers. They do heighten one's sense of pleasure and self. They also can carry certain values, but what do these successes mean? As Socrates said, the true meaning comes from self-examination. Why is this so?
...read more
Although we may not find a "quiet" area in the brain, there are certain neural circuits that when activated, can result in what is experienced as meditative. These have a lot to do with unused areas of the frontal lobes that have not been generated. As a species, we have only gone so far in our evolution, and we need to generate other efforts to find those areas of the brain that can lead to further intelligence in living. These are found in the advanced frontal lobes, which is the crown of our understanding.
...read more
Deeper states of mind occur when the inner workings of the mind, consisting of thoughts and feelings, are transcended and let go of. These consist of self images that connect the individual to various social processes.
...read more
Articles
When we think of the word, personality, we often think of someone who is extraverted and a "character". Someone who has personality has their own individual style of relating that is socially fluid and attractive.
There is a deeper understanding of the word, that goes beyond the ordinary usage. Of course, we understand that all people have a Personality. This is the accumulation of their traits.
What is a trait? It is the extension of character. In the general way, it refers to the way the individual encounters or navigates social process. Since we are always contacting some social process at all waking hours, we are therefore, always generating some trait.
When we consider that our overall personality is the accumulation of all traits, it is easy to see how important our personality becomes. It is not just a practical tool to get what we want and need: it is our tool for living. We live through our traits.
Even if we are neutral, quiet and non-responsive, these are still traits. We cannot escape a trait, for they can always be measured and they are always there, even if we do not notice them. Another person has a more objective perception of our traits, because they can observe them, through direct contact.
When we have problems, our friends, lovers and family can often see where we make a mistake because they have a more clear perception of our traits and how they cause certain problems in our life. In fact, all dilemmas can be traced back to our personality and our expressed traits.
What are these traits and how can they be transformed? There have been many styles and types of breakdowns of personality traits; some very simple and others, very sophisticated. The two forms of Introversion and Extraversion, identified by Carl Jung are very famous. Still others run into the hundreds, and there is even a branch of psychology, called personality psychology, where they discuss many great psychologists and their creative breakdown of personality into their own unique categories.
The Psychic Art of Astrology is a mythical system that outlines all personality traits as originating from universal sectors of the cosmos, thus rendering all personality formations as extensions of mythic archetypes. Although we do not have scientific proof of these linkages, it points to the sense that our personality has the effect on our "destiny".
We understand this concept without any allegiances to Astrology, for we can link our behavior, fueled by our personality, to the various outcomes and circumstances to our life. We understand that a quick temper can get us in trouble and that an extroverted personality is functional with sales and courtship. Furthermore, we can often associate discipline, stoicism, patience and caution are sometimes associated with certain types of success and even, wisdom.
The key to transforming our personality involves the manner in which we use our basic structures of living. What are these? They are our sense of Identity, our motivation, our speech, our action or volition, our attention, instinct, attention and others, depending upon how we organize them.
We recognize that when we are not observant of our speech, for example, then this manifests as a trait, and this could cause some repercussions to our life. Therefore, if we amend our speech, this will affect our trait. When we change the trait, we change our "life". From structure to trait to life; that is the overall process.
When we do a particular type of inner work, mentioned above as transforming our basic structures of living, we will see that everything is about the personality; what traits are manifesting from inner Qualities. There are many of these Qualities: Joy, Patience, Generosity, Confidence, Clarity, Compassion, Order and Serenity are to name a few. When we learn how to contact these innate Patterns, we learn how to really live. We will discover that life is about the qualities, and thus the traits, not the particular outcomes.
The Good Life is all about Personality. Not the persona mask, that is cultivated through getting what we want or need, but the deeper traits that are manifested through the inner pressure of a training that transforms the normal, ordinary structures of our living.
In the beginning, it will be difficult to look at our self, because we have conditioned so many unwanted patterns and habits. We will perceive our selves and "not good" or a "worth-less" and so on. This is part of the process. When these Qualities are not realized, and extended as traits, they will manifest as "excesses and deficiencies".
It is actually good that one sees these excesses and deficiencies, because this is how you grow. You have to go through the negative, as it were. When one can concurrently put the functional and the dysfunctional together, or look at both, then this is the start of something great. When one can only see the negative, then the patterns will continue. That is why one needs to experiment with various trainings, in order to see the outcome of experience as potentially meaningful.
Personality is the collection of traits that extend through deeper Qualities expanding from a conscious inner work. This will provide a meaningful life in a chaotice, secular, postmodern world and society.
William Edwards
Author, Trainer
The Skill of Wisdom
wisdomskill@gmail.com
www.wisdomskill.com ...read more
We normally think of Meditation as a physical and technical exercise. In other words, we go to a corner of the room and sit and engage in some kind of mental exercise. This is only a part of the actual process of Meditation.
The real aspect of Meditation is the quieting of the mind. The actual sitting still part actually primes the mind into this condition, is dependent upon it, but there are other processes that are involved.
The art of Meditation mainly involves the art of observing the mind. It is not sitting a certain amount of time in a sitting position and then letting the ego run away all over the place for the rest of the day. It is better to sit very little and to watch the mind a lot, than to feel that one can sit still in a lotus position for a long period and not look at the mind at all during the day.
However, we can start with the sitting position. It is better to make one's self comfortable by sitting in a chair, with the back as erect as possible and then time your self for a very short period, but more than once a day. Start out with fifteen mintutes twice a day.
What do you do during this period? You start to watch your mind. Do not worry about techniques; they focus on having experiences and condition the mind to look for pleasure. Be Aware and wait and see what the mind brings up. You can keep your eyes closed or lids half closed; experiment in what is best for you.
Secondly, attempt to keep the body still as best as you can. Play it like a game; for the fifteen minutes, see if you can not move at all during the entire time. You will find that you are very alert and mentally strong. These are the two most important aspects of "meditation": sitting very still and being very mentally alert. Of course, consistency and devotion are also important. It will do not good to do this a few days and then go on vacation. One of the great benefits of sitting still is that is the most powerful means to observe the mind.
Since you are sitting still and doing nothing, you have to choice but to watch what is going on. Besides sitting still, the only things that you can "see" are what is going on in your mind, at the time. That is who you are, at the moment. Therefore, it is a powerful aide to self-observation. And when self-observation is continued, it will lead to Meditation, because the more you watch, the more you find "spaces" between the thoughts. These Spaces are the quiet Awareness, which is meditation.
Now, here is the test and true skill. When one has gone for a couple of months, sitting twice a day with the body very still, begin to use this mental alertness at certain times of the day. This will usually be employed at times when one is not engaging in complex activities. So, instead of brushing your teeth and letting the mind wander, be present and very alert to the process. Watch how the wants to reflect on things, that really do not matter at all. They are often repetitive and narcissistic.
The sitting process and the mental alertness which accompanies this act always integrates with how one thinks throughout the day. The ability to watch the mind during sitting practice always integrates with the manner in which one watchs in daily life. Notice that the same issues will emerge in both areas.
The more that one's Awareness or Pure Consciousness "strengthens" or is persistent, then the more it is likely that mental and emotional material will deconstruct. This is because this Awareness is inherently intelligent and wise, and brings to you the necessary objectivity to notice how long trains of thought and feeling are ego-producing and a waste of time.
It is not that mental and emotional material will forever leave; this will never happen, because the mind needs to process experience. Secondly, there will always be some kind of emotional material that will be a part of one's individual repertoire, from childhood conditioning.
However, when Awareness is strengthened, through continued watching, during waking and sitting periods, these ego-driven processes will slow down. This will prompt one's inherent Wisdom to emerge and therefore, will generate the needed Qualities which will apply in daily life.
We will discover that Meditation is the accessing of this deeper area of the mind that is quiet and aware. It will also be discovered that this is an essential part of who we really are. This is the real instruction of Meditation. It isn't just a way of being peaceful or helping us will stress, but the discovery of who we really are.
There will still be the emergence of conventional identities; we need these in order to navigate social experience. Even though Meditation reveals to us that there is something that is beyond ego, this does not mean that we can literally walk around all day without a functional ego. We would not be able to live in the world if this was the case.
Therefore, can use Meditation to "switch off" between a functional identity, which does not inherently apply self-worth into functioning, and the transcendent identity, which is the quiet Awareness which is beyond the ego. We need both: we are both. We are the transcendant, meditative nature and we are a functional being in the world (with a social identity).
Watching our minds throughout the day, as best as we can, and the act of sitting still (which enables us to watch very closely, because we are sitting so still and doing nothing) are the twin tools which enable us to begin the lifelong process of Meditation.
William Edwards
Author, Trainer
The Skill of Wisdom
www.wisdomskill.com
wisdomskill@gmail.com ...read more
One hears nowadays the phrase, "to be in the present". It is now in the popular vernacular and that is a good thing and a bad thing. It is good, because it is a great teaching. It is bad (or unfortunate) because it trivializes a very deep teaching.
In order to really be in the present, you really have to know what you are doing. It takes tremendous discipline and passion. It is not just a pop growth tool that can be used alongside a narcissistic orientation or an excuse to act with immaturity.
What does "to be in the present" really mean? It refers to the fact that the mind is highly conditioned and often acts mechanically. Secondly, it implies what life is really about. One enjoys life and finds life much more meaningful when one is very present and focused.
We tend to set up a hierarchy based upon what actions are perceived as valuable and then to go asleep to activities which are percieved as either unimportant or mundane. However, the mundane actions are just as valuable as the so-called important ones. Why is this?
This is what is enquired into when one learns to be in the present. In order to do this, one has to get to know one's self more deeply, because the self is what is in the way to being in the present. We have to look at our self, honestly and squarely in order to understand why our mind moves around so much. Why are we obsessed with this experience or that person?
When these things can be let go of, we can begin to look closely at all our activities and realize that all have the potential to bring some satisfaction and meaning. Every aspect of our lives can be meaningful because all actions in a day outline some important social component. There is no such thing as a literal "meaningless" activity, for every action implies some kind of social utility.
We can do something that is inappropriate and that is part of the learning experience. However, when one is really present, it is impossible for it to be meaninless. The more present you are, the more meaning you find. In the ancient art of Astrology, all social contexts are inundated or "ruled by" cosmic forces (astrological signs). One finds the same thing without resorting to ancient cosmological forces or interpretations. The more you get into something, the more you discover meaning or some kind of satisfaction.
However, to do this requires various trainings. To be in the present is only a work of the Attention, a very important structure of experience. However, we use other structures or centers of experience. So, if we only train Attention, it will often disengage if the others are not trained also.
For example, we not only are attentive to the present, but we "act" in the present, also. If we cannot decide upon appropriate actions, or if we do not know what to do, or cannot complete important actions, then our life will feel the effect. We cannot literally just flow around in the present. We have to act. We are always in some "action" at all times. And Attention cannot automatically help us do that.
We need the "wisdom" of the other centers or structures ("faculties") to steer us in the path of wisdom, which being in the present definitely implies. We have to understand how to act, how to feel, how to be and how to use our instincts appropriately. Then, when these are in place, to a sufficient degree, we can learn to be in the present more efficiently and with joy.
As a start, we can talk briefly about the technical aspects of being in the present, as Attention (without the other structures). In order to be present, we learn how to engage the four major sensory zones of Sight, Sound, Touch and Balance. We can exclude the senses of taste and smell, because we do not use them often (only in certain situations). However, we always use those four zones. They can be applied moment to moment.
Look at an object and then listen at the same time. When that is accomplished, then one can then "feel" one's body against the chair or moving along the street if one is walking. Then one can put these three together.
Finally, learn to gauge the balance of the body in space. Realize your own dependence upon your posture. When this can be put together along with the other three, one is really in the present at least from the angle of Attention. Again, one has to learn to use the other centers, because these will have to engaged in our social experience at some point. We feel, we act and we use our instincts (among others).
But we can begin with Attention, and this will lead to the work on the other centers. The most important of the four is really, "touch". The more we sense our surroundings with our skin, the closer or connected we are to experience, and this is vital if we want to be in the "now".
We actually "touch" the now. We become intimate, as it were, to the present moment, and that often involves our ability to sense our experience. This begins with our mindful sense of using our skin to engage experience; to feel where we are. When this zone is engaged, the other sensory zones follow, instinctively.
Transformed Attention will naturally lead us to seek out to transform our other centers of experience, such as emotion, thought, identity, volition and instinct. We will naturally begin to eat better foods, watch or check or engagemnent of negavite emotions and think clearly and appropriately.
Attention is the easiest and most natural of the trainings, because it is so easy to be in our senses. We did it when we were children. The trick is to learn to do it more consciously, and find ways to eliminate the distraction of the ego, negative emotions and mechanical thinking.
William Edwards
Author, Trainer
The Skill of Wisdom
www.wisdomskill.com
wisdomskill@gmail.com ...read more
We often hear the saying that we have to get "beyond the ego". Even in our popular expressions, regardless if someone is not doing any specific self-exploration, the phrase implies some deficiency of character (that we are naturally egotistical).
Actually, there is a functional meaning of the ego that is not bombastic, nor any intrinsic impediment towards deeper understanding. This is the ordinary sense of the self-image that orients itself positively or negatively towards some area of living.
This area refers to one of the many social components of our life. There are many of these: home, career, relationship, art, laws, recreation and so forth. We often have to think about our relationship to these social processes, and to do this appropriately, we have to set up, internally, a self-image of ourself. This enables us to "operate" upon this process from our own minds.
We need to operate upon the many areas of our life, using our self-image as a fulcrum, in our own psyche. This is the functional ego. It has two main aspects or is in two major modes: superior and inferior.
The words superior and inferior does not imply that our self worth is high or low; only that our position in relationship to any area of life is working or not. This is not intrinsically good or bad, only functional.
For example: if I have the skills necessary to fix cars, then this is a superior identity. This does not mean that I believe that I am a superior human being, only that the skills that are learned are working. I know that I can do this skill, so when it is asked of me, I can know that I can do this skill and can communicate it to the person who has just asked me.
Now, let's say I do not have the skills necessary to fix cars. If a person asks me to do this for him, I need to know that I cannot do this, otherwise, I will disappoint him when I attempt it, and I fail. I need to know that there are certain skills that I do not have: whether technical, emotional or intellectual, and this requires an inferior identity. This is not intrinsically bad, just as the superior identity is not intrinsically, good. It just implies that I am able to orient myself to some social area.
It is just as "good" to not know something as it is to know something. One cannot be skillful in everything; other people can handle that skill for you. Having said all this: what is the problem with the ego?
The problem of the ego is not just the simplistic notion of arrogance or always needing the attention in a certain manner. It is the global sense of assigning personal self-worth with either of these two modes mentioned above.
In other words, the superior identity becomes problematic, when one actually believes one is a better person, or who has done something great as a result of functional skillfulness. The worth of the self has been attached to the superior identity, and here is where all the behavioral (and living) problems occur. Similarly, the worth of the person can also be attached to the inferior identity, as if one perceives one's self as "not good" or flawed in some way; when all that has happened is a lapse of functioning
Many of the problems of ego occur from our childhood development that continue or "transfer" into daily living. It is not just about arrogance or showing off. That is just one-sixth of the problem, actually. They also involve five other major issues. And these issues are not intrinsically bad, they become problematic when the self-worth is tied in to their functioning.
The six major "ego issues" are pleasure, attention (specialness), trust, closeness, power and trait assessment. These are actually functional skills, when used in practical settings. However, since the child's nervous system has not developed and secondly from the inappropriate skills of the parents (bad modeling), the child will automatically assign emotional signs of self worth to these essentially functional skills.
To illustrate: If I am sitting in the bus with a stranger and all he talks about is himself, I can interrupt to mention something about my own life (especially if it poses as an example to his story line). This is not "ego" but shows appropriate social skills. A conversation should not be just about one person, unless the person is going through something very difficult (and let's say that this is not the case here).
The "ego" in this example, would involve my psychological and emotional reaction to the fact that he is not trying to "see me" at all. Noticing attention is functional; we are predisposed to notice whether we are expressing our self or listening to another person express her self. However, to react and feel that he is getting all the attention is what can be referred to as "ego" in the pejorative sense.
The same when the other five are in operation. All six core issues are encased in a duality, and therefore, can move over to the other side, as the inverse "ego" issue. For instance, in the same (prominent) issue of Attention, we can fear attention just as much as we hunger after it. Both are "ego" issues, for the self-image is intertwined with the thought, feeling, memory, motivation complex.
Using the same example above, if after the bus patron decides to stop talking about himself for awhile and use appropriate social skills and say: "but enough about me; tell me a little bit about yourself. I have been quiet the whole conversation; then if I have trouble expressing myself at all (or functionally receiving attention), then that is also an "ego" issue.
So, we now have a more complete definition of ego. The functional aspect can express all six early developmental skills (pleasure, attention, closeness, trust, power and trait assessment) without reactivity or emotional and psychological (mental) processing. In other words, I just use power or control to get something functional. However, when the self-worth is tied into this skill, then "ego" in the pejorative sense emerges.
And this is where the inner work must begin. We can never become a complete, mature or transformed person without addressing these issues as they transfer into our daily lives. We can have fun, and be competent in our careers, or even have a spiritual experience once in a while, but if we do not work on these ego issues (all eight), then they will show their ugly heads in our daily lives.
William Edwards
Author, Trainer
The Skill of Wisdom
www.wisdomskill.com
wisdomskill@gmail.com ...read more
As much as it is important to "be-in-the-present", this should not deny the importance of appropriate goal setting. Present-centered experience is vital if one is to let go of the mechanical and compelling motion of the mind, which dictates inappropriate mental states and problematic behavior.
However, if one does not know where one is going with one's life, one will still be confused. When one is lost in their thoughts and feelings, due to the over-processing of social experience, there is the tendency to be confused, conflicted and with the prediction to cause complications in one's life. This occurs, because the internal saturation of internal material (narcissistic thoughts and feelings) prevents deeper aspects with the mind (eventuall seeping into social behavior).
When one achieves a connection to deeper internal conditions of the Self - Pure Awareness, Being and deeper Qualities - then one's life becomes more clear. Part of this is the important training of present moment attention. We do this by contacting the four important sensory zones of sight, hearing, touch and balance of the body in space. This allows us to be more in the moment.
However, part of the inner work of self-discovery and self knowledge is to look at all aspects of human behavior such as the Will, or technically, Volition. We can be always "in the moment", but we are always, "doing something". Consider any moment in time. Even though we can transcend our thought, feeling, memory and motivation, temporarily, in order to be in the moment, we are always involved in some activity.
This cannot be transcended. For example, if I am walking down the street, I can be in the moment, by watching the movement of life in front of me: the trees, the cars, the people walking by and so on. We can do this better if can observe our mind, and let go of unneeded distractions. Thus, we are in the present. However, what we do not normally realize is that we are always "in the world", and in order to do this with any degree of efficacy (functioning), we need to actuall complete our activities. So, even though I am in the moment through looking at things around me (in the example above), I as still -doing- a social activity: a walk (as an aspect of free time, or through transportation - to the store or to a neighbor's house).
We cannot be in the present at the same time that our actions do not make sense. We are always in some activity, so if we do not look at that activity with some sense of importance, meaning or functioning, being in the present will not really help. We have to look at the action, itself, and not just the sensory aspects of its functioning. If we did not do this, our life would totally deconstruct.
Consider what would happen if we did not actually finish activities, or accomplish appropriate goal setting. If we did not attend to ordinary volition, we would have too many things to worry about, and thus, would intrude upon our "being in the present". In order to be in the present, we have to take care of our volitionary living. We have to finish projects and make functional goals. If not, we would not know what to do. We can "be", but if there is confusion about how and what action to take, our "being" will be confused and meaningful.
Therefore, we have to "be" and we have to "do".
It is great to enjoy sensual living, and let go of all our worries of the mind and heart, but we need to act in the world. This outlines the great existential (and spiritual) skill of living in the world, but not of it. Being in the present is really a transcendent skill, because it allows us to just rest in our primal Awareness (or pure Beingness) and not concern our self with outcomes or positions. It can help us to transcend our narcissistic need to evaluate and monitor our lives, relative to others or our self.
However, we still have to be in the world. We have to act. All this present moment centering has to occur in the domain of an activity, otherwise, we would be randomly walking around in a strange condition, like forever being in a sensory awareness workshop. We cannot aimlessly walk around touching objects and looking around. This is why right volition is just as important as right attention. We need to be in the moment, but we need to look at our actions and make appropriate goals.
Even spiritual people make goals: it is an important part of our development. Even the act of meditating is a goal. We attempt to do some activity for a certain amount of time. We can only be truly present, if we actually find our actions meaningful. And to do this, requires that we not only choose appropriate actions, but to follow them through completion.
This is right volition: it goes hand in hand with being in the present (or right Attention). We set a goal and then we carry it through with attention (eliminating distraction, or being in the present).
There are two kinds of goal setting: short term and long term.
We understand this in our daily lives. We finish short term activities, such as paying bills, making telephone calls and cleaning our rooms. These are challenging enough. We often are conflicted over whether we should complete many functional duties, or whether we should be with friends, watch television or play games. This is a work in itself.
Secondly, we also need long term goals. Our lives not only move in the direction of the - day - but in the direction of our - life. We also need to look at our long term goals, because our being in the present also takes place in our life. The movement of our life includes these longer plans, which usually outline broader action plans. We cannot have a full life, if we do not take into account our long term investments. Where is our life going?
Of course, most of our problems of internal confusion stem from the fact that we are over concerned with our long term goals. This is why "being in the present" is such a healthy psychological remedy. However, if we over simplify our lives, we cannot construct a full life, which implies more complexity in social living.
Evolution involves the complexity of culture, just as it does the individual. The ideal is not just to do simple activities and not think about the future at all. This is the simplicity of the child. It is healthy to generate simplicity for order's sake; however, to refrain from complexity does not involve one in the world, or at least our complex modern world. Self-knowledge involves the understanding of how to transcend the world and also how to be in the world. And the modern world, through evolution, is complex
Therefore, besides looking closely at our own minds, feelings, motivations and memories, which can allow us to transcend the unneeded and narcissistic elements of our psyche, we can realize more transcendent aspects of our nature. However, to truly be in the world, we need to make constructive goals and intentions, which not only strengthens the will (our Volition), but also assists us in bring enlightened qualities in the complex world.
This will also evolve the world in which we live.
William Edwards
Author, Trainer
The Skill of Wisdom
www.wisdomskill.com
wisdomskill@gmail.com ...read more
