Our Dangerous Quest of Attention

[Trevcaru]

[kserwick]

I'll give you my perspective on a few of these issues brought up here.

 

First, I'd like to remind us violence is not bad. Brush fires are violent.

Now, in people, violence is often rooted in fear/hatred and ultimately self-serviceness which is the intention behind most desire.

(Desire and wanting is tricky in language though because the words can be used to describe something selfless. You understand this. You can distinguish "want (for my personal pleasure)" from "see the necessity of". But it's fine for someone to say "I want food"... common language is a problem in these subtle issues.)

 

I don't see the ego as wanting to live in others minds as an image for sustenance thing.

(I don't see it as wrong. It never really came to mind.)

I see more of an ego seeking self-glorification issue and maybe it sees others as part of itself since it wants to own everything for itself and when others don't support its prime directive of self glorification it moves to destroy them.

(I'm reaching here. Some of these ideas came from others' observations of psychopaths that I've read.)

 

Yes, i see this whole becoming thing as the ego/self desperately trying to validate itself because it's truly nothing.

 

Deep down people want to be witnessed. That's what we do to ourselves with Tai Chi. We stop our running and see our self. We aren't the mind with the thoughts. We aren't the body. We aren't the feelings. We are the spark inside that sees. We witness god. God witnesses god. Creation needs an audience.

 

Just seeing our tensions relaxes them. I don't understand the mechanics of that yet.

Being seen is a deep directive.

 

Then I see these Columbine kids as wanting to be seen so badly that they explode for it.

At any time they could have seen themselves, but we all know how hard it is to stop running around and do Tai Chi.

Their violence is their natural and good witness-god-directive twisted because they are so afraid of or hate so much what they are.

It's like the piece of god we are assigned the responsibility for witnessing is our self and others in our life.

[Trevcaru]

 

First, I'd like to remind us violence is not bad. Brush fires are violent.

Now, in people, violence is often rooted in fear/hatred and ultimately self-serviceness which is the intention behind most desire.

(Desire and wanting is tricky in language though because the words can be used to describe something selfless. You understand this. You can distinguish "want (for my personal pleasure)" from "see the necessity of". But it's fine for someone to say "I want food"... common language is a problem in these subtle issues.)

 

 

No, im not talking of brush fires. What i mean is, is our effort to 'become', the root of this violence? Im talking about actual violence, which is the division we have between ourselves. I associate with all the various things cause i am lacking inside. I am not talking of wanting food when you are hungry.... are you listening to what im asking? Im talking of the psych, not brush fires and wanting a meal. Im talking of the desire we have inside for happiness or contentment.

 

I don't see the ego as wanting to live in others minds as an image for sustenance thing.

(I don't see it as wrong. It never really came to mind.)

Who wants to be remembered when they are gone? I havent met anyone yet that has not. The fear of the unknown is the search for psychological sustenance. We want to be remembered. We want to be thought of. We want to come into the room and be showered with attention. We want our face on the dollar bill. We want our loved ones to miss us when we are gone. We want to be famous. Some of us have more will to go about it, and others have not so much. Let it come to your mind, cause you are discussing it now.

 

maybe it sees others as part of itself since it wants to own everything for itself

 

I would say you have the cart before the horse. I can see that separation is caused by my association with various things, such as religion, country, my class in society and so on. But what is it that separates us when those things arent there? i dont mean to speculate, but i would not say that the reason we see others as part of ourselves is because we want to own everything as you suggest; it is quite the opposite.

 

 

Deep down people want to be witnessed. That's what we do to ourselves with Tai Chi. We stop our running and see our self.

 

Yes, i am lacking this witnessing of myself cause i am always busy running to these images, these ideas i have for myself to become. But what does it mean when we have the desire for another to witness me? Who is it that i want to present to my fellow human. You see what i am asking? Do you see the futility of it all? We occupy our attention with controlling how we look in others eyes! continually, continually.

 

We witness god. God witnesses god. Creation needs an audience.

Im saying the audience is the creation. No separation.

 

At any time they could have seen themselves, but we all know how hard it is to stop running around and do Tai Chi.

So what do you do? Its hard, you say, to see yourself. But what is it that you are doing? I would say its hard to not see yourself, the strife is the effort to become all the things you want to become. And when you see those things, with an attentive mind, isnt that the end of them? If i truly see that my hand is burning on the stove, do i have to choose to take it off? do i have to strive? and hope to take it off? no, there is no time, no becoming.