The whole idea of the exercises is to practice the following skill:
LOOK AND SIMPLY OBSERVE WHAT IS THERE WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING, OR ATTEMPTING TO GET AN ANSWER.
LOOKING includes becoming aware of all perceptions and not just visual.
LOOKING is not suppressing anything. In looking, one is being totally honest with oneself.
LOOKING at feelings, emotions and sensations simply means that you fully experience them without resisting.
LOOKING is not thinking. In looking, one is simply recognizing what is out there. Looking includes the recognition of the fact that there might be nothing there at all. In thinking, one is drawing upon memory and knowledge to visualize what might be there.
LOOKING is totally non-judgmental. Any judgment belongs to the activity of thinking.
Basically, one is looking at things in the physical environment or in the mind. One is noticing them for what they are, without calling them by name, judging them, or trying to figure them out.
The purpose of looking is to get accurate input, which may then be used for thinking.
It is the suppression of perceptions, memories, knowledge, thoughts, visualizations, etc., that causes all difficulties in life. This suppression may be addressed effectively by letting the mind un-stack itself through patient looking.
When one is looking for resolution in an area, the first action is to get rid of all suppression by letting the mind un-stack itself naturally, and not dig into the mind. With all relevant data there, the resolution is swift and effortless.
LOOKING by its nature is totally effortless. If there is any effort it comes from thinking on top of suppressed data.
Practice LOOKING as you go through your life until it has become a second nature to you. As you do so, thinking becomes effortless too, and you are then able to resolve the difficulties in life much faster and more often.
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Comments
Looking without judgement will result in no seeing.
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I disagree. There can be recognition of what is there without casting any personal judgment about what is there.
I can recognize a chair when I see it without judging whether it is suitable for my purposes or not.
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I disagree. Your example makes one decide upon matters of degrees and this is judgement.
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From Dictionary.com
rec·og·ni·tion
– the perception of something as existing or true; realization.
judg·ment
– the ability to judge, make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, especially in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion: a man of sound judgment.
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From Tomkin’s Perspective “Looking” would first create affect which creates reactionary judgements. But FURTHER LOOKING melts away the illusion first created by affect and realigns affect to create better understanding out of the cacophony of never-ending affect.
LOOKING is not a “one step thing” but is an ongoing thing. From Tomkins Viewpoint (a materialist), KHTK is about aligning AFFECT WITH LOOKING.
Of course if a being exists outside of the body, it would act BEFORE all of this.
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This is what I get from Wikipedia “Affect Theory”:
(1) There seem to be one-to-one correspondence between a subjectively experienced feeling and its expression through body.
(2) In adults, that feeling is also expressed through certain mental constructs.
(3) AFFECT is this correspondence between feeling and its hard-wired expression.
(4) There a nine main affects. 2 are positive, 6 are negative, and 1 is neutral.
(5) One should consciously express positive affects and avoid expressing negative affects.
(6) Affects provide a more precise language to describe psychological issues.
LOOKING includes “looking at the affects.” Affects seem to be as hard-wired as perceptions. I would say that “perception hard-wiring” is more basic than “affect hard-wiring” because perceptions make one aware of affects.
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Looking does not create anything. Looking simply recognizes what is there without adding anything. Looking will make one recognize the affects and their bodily and mental expressions.
Looking is simply looking. One is looking at what is there and that’s all. There are no other steps to Looking. KHTK is about Looking and clarity of understanding.
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From Wikipedia “Affect theory”:
“Affect theory is attributed to Silvan Tomkins and is introduced in the first two volumes of his book Affect Imagery Consciousness. The word affect, as used in Tomkins theory, specifically refers to the “biological portion of emotion,” that is, to “hard-wired, preprogrammed, genetically transmitted mechanisms that exist in each of us” which, when triggered, precipitates a “known pattern of biological events,” although it is also acknowledged that, in adults, the affective experience is a result of both the innate mechanism and a “complex matrix of nested and interacting ideo-affective formations.”
Does affect create what we perceive?
It seems to me that there is some kind of programming that we all share, which makes us perceive the physical universe the same way.
The “agreement on perceiving the same chair” seems to come from this programming.
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Our minds are individualistic extensions of a universal mind. So we all have a common base of perception. Science is probably trying to tap into that.
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“Our minds are individualistic extensions of a universal mind. So we all have a common base of perception. Science is probably trying to tap into that.”
Moments like this, I really want to give you a hug, brother.
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Hug back to you. 🙂
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I don’t know enough to say about affect creating what we perceive. I’m familiar with the theory but not an expert.
There is an Affect group on FB. I’m a member if you want to look it up to learn more about it or ask questions.
If there is an immortal self, it may exist outside of affect and push it’s buttons. Or perhaps affect could be purely material and the self an ultimate delusion.
Donno.
But the Affect scale is dang useful tool.
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I now have A Model of the Mind.
It seems that individual selves extend outwards from a universal self. The “hard-wired, preprogrammed, genetically transmitted mechanisms that exist in each of us” must be based in the universal self, and somewhat modified in individual selves. AFFECT is this correspondence between feeling and its hard-wired expression.
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Tell me with your experience with the Affect scale. In what way do you find it useful?
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Unlike your familiar Tone Scale, the Affect Scale is NOT linear. The list appears in various mixes of the same words.
One CAN make a linear scale out of it if one wants to.
The main thing about affect theory is “scripting.” Scripting is the reactions we do automatically when something is triggered. This has been very helpful to me.
Scripting shows up very easily in the Shame affect. I have seen this in my life and spotting it is really helpful. The trick it to SPOT THE SCRIPT AND WHAT AFFECT IT IS COMING FROM AND THEN BE WITH IT INSTEAD OF ENACTING ONE OF THE FOUR DIRECTIONS THE SCRIPT WILL GO.
In Affect theory, the most negative affect is shame. People when shamed will do one of four things: 1. AVOID shameful circumstances from happening, 2. ATTACK OTHERS to shift blame from self, 3. ATTACK THEMSELVES and absorb the shame or 4. WITHDRAW when confronted with a shameful event.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE COMPASS OF SHAME.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.realjustice.org/Media/compass.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.realjustice.org/articles.html%3FarticleId%3D399&h=369&w=409&sz=9&tbnid=xIya8j5ZbjoPHM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=125&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcompass%2Bof%2Bshame%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=compass+of+shame&usg=__Ok0-C5ysQUG1GW4_3qLfQ3xZ7i4=&sa=X&ei=VCMaTt_kC-uLsAKN6sHCBw&ved=0CDAQ9QEwAw
These four choices create scripts over time that run over and over. Think of the alcoholic that says in the anger affect “I’m drinking again because you are too bitchy!” (ATTACK OTHERS). Later in the conversation when he becomes more reasonable and sad he says, “I’m a drunk because I’m just no damn good.” (ATTACK SELF). And in just five more minutes he learns that a representative from AA is coming by and he wants to leave! (WITHDRAW), and the next day he avoids seeing his wife so he doesn’t have to face the issue (AVOID).
Affect theory is different than cognitive therapy in that you SPOT THE AFFECT BEHIND THE THOUGHT AND DEAL WITH THE AFFECT AND NOT THE THOUGHT. IF YOU DEAL WITH THE AFFECT THE THOUGHT WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.
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AFFECT is this correspondence between feeling and its hard-wired expression. So, in Affect Therapy, one is basically addressing the underlying feelings and not the thoughts.
In KHTK this is addressed in Mindful Therapy, specifically by Handling Unwanted Condition and Cleaning up Traumas
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You are mistaken. The Tone Scale is not and never has been linear. If you want to graph it, it has always more closely approximated a conical spiral.
http://www.google.com/search?q=conical+spiral&hl=en&biw=1440&bih=799&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iZoaTrToHYi20AG3jaWXBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CC8QsAQ
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Would you say that realization is consistent with imagination?
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A realization is the result of spotting an inconsistency in its totality so that it disappears. A new viewpoint then emerges.
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