Reference: Patanjali Sutra 1:7 as explained in Patanjali 1:3 – 1:7
When a person is running into problems with relationships, finances, or in living, he has a gut feeling that something is not right somewhere, but he can’t put his finger on it. Similar feeling haunts him in school when he cannot understand a subject, such as mathematics. We may refer this gut feeling as an inherent sense of inconsistency.
An inconsistency is characterized by incoherency or lack of harmony, which comes about when there is doubt, confusion, or simply a lack of understanding.
When a person is faced with inconsistency, it does something to his attention. It has been noted that,
“Attention is aberrated by becoming unfixed and sweeping at random or becoming too fixed without sweeping.” ~ L. Ron Hubbard
Normally we can freely direct our attention and put it wherever we want; but when a person is faced with inconsistency he cannot do so. In KHTK, we make use of this observation as follows.
Fixed or dispersed attention is a powerful indicator of where one should be looking.
Here is an example form Hubbard’s writings. “Engineer on duty, normal but experienced perception. Is observing his area. Hears a hiss that shouldn’t be. Scans the area and sees nothing out of order but a small white cloud. Combines sight and hearing. Moves forward to get a better look. Sees valve has broken. Shuts off steam line.”
One looks more closely at the area that is causing the attention to become fixed and/or dispersed and narrows down to the inconsistency.
Inconsistency is likely to be found in the area holding undue focus or which is difficult to focus upon.
As one becomes aware of the reason underlying the inconsistency, one’s attention gets freed up. One can now act to handle the problem.
Pursue non-optimum attention to discover what is amiss and handle the problem.
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To resolve non-optimum attention fully one needs to look at the factors stacked up in the mind. These factors are interwoven with other factors in a complex manner. Complexities of the mind cannot be resolved through thinking alone.
However, it is possible to un-stack the mind by letting it do so. Mind is like a coiled spring. It uncoils itself when it is not interfered with. This principle is violated when one makes assumptions and pushes the mind. A much safer approach is to:
Allow the mind to un-stack itself. It is like letting a coiled spring to uncoil itself.
All one has to do is to follow the points of non-optimum attention without forcing the mind. Let the mind operate freely in a broad context.
Let the mind associate freely in a broad and unrestricted context to un-stack itself.
When left to itself the mind will bring up data that needs to be looked at. As one looks, questions may arise, and one may consult appropriate references, or carry out experiments to resolve the inconsistency.
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Comments
Nicely stated. Overall very workable.
“If you find that it is getting uncomfortable to look at the mind, then step back and look at the physical environment until the attention is optimum. Then you may go back to looking at the mind.”
I think you’ve done a post on objectives which would be good to link to here. It may take more than a casual look at the physical environment to bring about the ability to look at some of the things in the mind.
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Thanks. I added the reference. Good suggestion.
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Hy Vinay. What you call “inconsinstency ” is an identity……. when the person’ s attention is dispersed/fixed, it means there is an identity..and ok, the person must only experiencing/feel what is there or/and look at from the viewpoint of that identity…….taking just a look……..
The best for you
GIO
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Yes, anything that is defined in some way is an identity. But in this case there is an identity with an inconsistency. There is something that needs to be sorted out.
It cannot be sorted out by thinking. It can only be sorted out by looking more closely.
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Best for you too, Gio. How have you been?
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I have revised this essay on Inconsistency in KHTK to make it more clear.
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Here is a response to advise by Mohanji (see http://mohanji.org/):
“When man moves towards liberation from all that binds him to the earth that created life times on earth, each blocking factor will come to the surface to deter him from a total liberation. One by one they appear – the fears, the anxieties, insecurities, jealousies, anger, phobias, doubts, needs, desires, places, people, time, situations, relationships – the list is usually long. They all stay hidden in the hard drive of human existence as long as he leads a mundane life of total ignorance and repetitive past impressions. When awakening happens in him that everything around him is relative and false, shallow, repetitive or useless and the truth is the state of bliss and the mind with all its ingredients are blocking this realization and corresponding experience, man chooses liberation with all his heart and soul. This is a challenging time. These are the times when mind intensifies its efforts to capture man back to slavery over liberation. This is when various layers of darkness is brought to delude man from his progress. Mind fights and struggles to stay alive. Determination for salvation helps in this journey. Faith is the key. Faith is a must. Faith helps much more than any other understandings. When mind deludes, faith helps. When darkness deludes, faith comes as light. When he arrives at total liberation, everything will disappear, including mind and the faith. There will be no mind to even hold the faith.”
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I think that the reason for these blocking factors is “inconsistencies,” as described in the OP.
To remove these blocking factors, one needs to resolve these inconsistencies. These inconsistencies are stacked on top of each other in one’s mind. One needs to start from the inconsistency on top of this stack. This is where one needs to examine one’s attention.
Mohanji recommends only faith and determination in meditation. KHTK recommends that you follow non-optimum attention to discover the areas of inconsistencies, and then meditate on such areas in the order which will help you unstack the inconsistencies. This procedure is more scientific.
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