Author Archives: vinaire

I am originally from India. I am settled in United States since 1969. I love mathematics, philosophy and clarity in thinking.

Rightness

August 18, 2014 – 3:17 PM
boy-statue-regret
Reference: Mindfulness 6: Let the Mind Un-stack

This exercise is about meditation on the subject of how right one has been in one’s life. This meditation is done under the discipline of mindfulness.

Every person wants to be right. All those moments when he has failed to be right gnaw at his conscience until resolved. Hectic digging for answers usually does not bring resolution. It simply bypasses the self-protection mechanism of the mind. This makes the mind increasingly unresponsive. As a result, the unresolved moments get stacked up and suppressed in the mind.

Most difficulties arise when perceptions, memories and visualizations get suppressed. They start to resolve when the discipline of mindfulness is applied.  Relief comes when the mind is allowed to un-stack itself in its natural order.

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Exercise

Meditation Directive: “HOW HAVE YOU BEEN RIGHT IN YOUR LIFE?” 

  1. Contemplate on this question letting the mind associate freely.  

  2. See if there is some response that appears on its own. Please note that the response may not be an exact answer to this question. In fact it may be bring up moments of wrongness.

  3. No matter what the response is, take time to inspect and experience it fully without resistance.

  4. Let the mind associate freely whatever follows, until the attention frees up enough to look around.

  5. Ask this question again and follow it up per steps 1, 2, 3 and 4.

  6. Keep on asking the question as long as responses are appearing in the mind. In other words, let the mind un-stack itself naturally on this subject of “rightness.”

  7. When there is no more response to the question consider the exercise complete.

  8. Follow up with the exercise per Mindfulness 12: Let it be effortless, and let the mind complete the review of this session as necessary.

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Memory Recall (old)

August 14, 2014 – 1:59 PM
Please see Memory Recall

Once a person can comfortably recognize items in the present per Being Objective, he may start on the mindfulness exercises per The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness. Only when he is well into the mindfulness exercises should he be asked to recall items from the past.

For therapy purposes, an accurate recall is a response given by the mind to some item or question. It is not digging into the mind, or imagining what might have happened. It is letting the mind respond freely, and when there is no response then recognizing that fact.

As a first step, the person needs to recognize that a valid recall is per the definition above. When no immediate response appears, but just a feeling of something there, then the person should simply wait patiently until the response appears. If the reponse does not appear in reasonable time then move on. The response may become available later.

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EXERCISE

Purpose: To identify valid recall in the mind in response to an item or question.


  1. Start from the beginning of the following list.



  2. Read an item, or have somebody call it out to you.



  3. Notice if an immediate response to the item appears in the mind.



  4. If there is no immediate response, but just a feeling of something there, then wait patiently for the response to appear.


    CAUTION: Do not go digging into the mind, or imagine what might have happened.



  5. If there is a response, then acknowledge it by nodding to yourself.



  6. If there is no response then simply move to the next item on the list.



  7. Repeat steps 2 to 6.



  8. When the list is completed you may start from the beginning again. Additional and older memories may show up when you are going through the list a second or third time.



  9. You may do this exercise as often and for as long as it is comfortable.



  10. You may also extend this list with items that are general in nature.


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LIST: Look at the following instances one at a time:

Can you recall a moment when…?

  1. You were happy.
  2. You climbed a tree.
  3. You ate something good.
  4. You received a present.
  5. You enjoyed a laugh.
  6. You helped somebody.
  7. You threw a ball.
  8. Something important happened to you.
  9. You played a game.
  10. You jumped down from a tree.
  11. You won a contest.
  12. You laughed loudly.
  13. You met someone you liked.
  14. You flew on a plane.
  15. You were at a beautiful place.
  16. You jumped into a pool.
  17. You enjoyed a beautiful morning.
  18. You went for a walk.
  19. Somebody teased you.
  20. You sat in a coffee shop.
  21. You danced with joy.
  22. You raced with someone.
  23. You completed something important.
  24. You were pleasantly surprised.
  25. You met somebody after a long time.
  26. You were caught in a rain.
  27. You heard a thunder.
  28. Someone smiled at you.
  29. You played with a pet.
  30. You held someone’s hand.
  31. Someone picked you up.
  32. You were spinning around.
  33. You read a good book.
  34. You felt breeze on your face.
  35. You saw a beautiful flower.
  36. You smelled a rose.
  37. Somebody called you.
  38. You were in a play.
  39. You sang aloud.
  40. You watched a movie.
  41. Your team won.
  42. You rode with friends.
  43. You visited a beautiful garden.
  44. You played in water.
  45. The weather was stormy.
  46. Somebody gave you a hug.
  47. You liked somebody.
  48. You slid down a slide.
  49. You ran toward someone you liked.
  50. You enjoyed beautiful weather.

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How to use KHTK Mindfulness

August 13, 2014 – 8:23 AM

Reference: KHTK Mindfulness

The purpose of this page is to map out the most fundamental trait of human intelligence. This trait is the ability to “see things as they are”. It is called mindfulness. It was the focus of Buddha.

This page may be used as follows:

  1. The “Mindfulness” section outlines the 12 aspects of mindfulness, and provides exercises to practice them. Study and continually practice the 12 aspects of mindfulness as and when time permits.

  2. The “Mindfulness Therapy” section provides various gradients of therapeutic actions that may be applied to help sort out the difficulties a person is having in practicing mindfulness. Proper gradient of a therapeutic action may be selected as needed by a person.

  3. The “Mindful Meditations” section provides short processes that may be applied to oneself for specific benefits through directed application of mindfulness.

  4. The “Mindful Discussion” section provides the basics of how to engage in productive discussions with others, or with yourself and with authors of the books you read. Study and practice these basics.

Please note the sections on “Mindful Therapy” and “Special Processes” are currently under development. Any feedback is welcome.

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Ground State of Universe – History (old)

August 12, 2014 – 2:48 PM
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Please see Ground State of the Universe.

The following is quoted from the book The Tao of Physics.

“The term ‘physics’ is derived from this Greek word [physis] and meant…, originally, the endeavour of seeing the essential nature of all things… The Milesians… saw no distinction between animate and inanimate, spirit and matter. In fact, they did not even have a word for matter, since they saw all forms of existence as manifestations of the ‘physis’, endowed with life and spirituality…

“Heraclitus [c. 535 – c. 475] believed in a world of perpetual change, of eternal ‘Becoming’. For him, all static Being was based on deception and his universal principle was fire, a symbol for the continuous flow and change of all things. Heraclitus taught that all changes in the world arise from the dynamic and cyclic interplay of opposites and he saw any pair of opposites as a unity. This unity, which contains and transcends all opposing forces, he called the Logos.

“The split of this unity began with the Eleatic school, which assumed a Divine Principle standing above all gods and men. This principle was first identified with the unity of the universe, but was later seen as an intelligent and personal God who stands above the world and directs it. Thus began a trend of thought which led, ultimately, to the separation of spirit and matter and to a dualism which became characteristic of Western philosophy.

“A drastic step in this direction was taken by Parmenides of Elea [c. 515/540 -c. 450] who was in strong opposition to Heraclitus. He called his basic principle the Being and held that it was unique and invariable. He considered change to be impossible and regarded the changes we seem to perceive in the world as mere illusions of the senses. The concept of an indestructible substance as the subject of varying properties grew out of this philosophy and became one of the fundamental concepts of Western thought.

“In the fifth century B.C., the Greek philosophers tried to overcome the sharp contrast between the views of Parmenides and Heraclitus. In order to reconcile the idea of unchangeable Being (of Parmenides) with that of eternal Becoming (of Heraclitus), they assumed that the Being is manifest in certain invariable substances, the mixture and separation of which gives rise to the changes in the world.”

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The unity of the universe is defined by awareness. AWARENESS may be identified as the Divine Principle. Identifying this principle further with a personal God seems to be the result of human bias. Spirit and matter are not really separate. They both are aspects of existence.

Parmenides was looking for a reference point for all change. He simply assumed it to be a Being. But, logically, if the unity of this universe is defined by awareness, then the reference point shall be “absence of awareness.” This is similar to the mathematical view that the reference point for all numbers is zero.

The red herring here is the assumption of a Being, or Cause, as the reference point. This assumption seems to satisfy a human-centric viewpoint. But it does not take into account the consideration that the Being, or Cause, itself requires a reference point.

This problem does not arise when we accept the “absence of awareness” as the reference point.

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Mindfulness Therapy

August 11, 2014 – 5:39 PM

scream

For improvement to occur a person needs the ability to be mindful, which means that he should be able to see things as they are. It is only when a person can see things as they are that he is able to spot the source of his unwanted condition and resolve it.

When a person is mentally distressed, or ill, his ability to “see things as they are” is compromised. All the data he needs to resolve his condition is there, but he cannot recognize it and deal with it properly. External therapy cannot be applied because he cannot deal with the data locked up within him. Only actions that can now be taken are those that help him recognize what is there.

In the beginning, you can help by minimizing distractions in the environment of the mentally distressed person. If he is sick physically, then that can be taken care of through medical treatment, nutritious diet, and physical therapy. But the treatment of the mental condition requires a calm environment that is free of stress. Please see Basic Care.

Next step would be to help restore the person’s ability to recognize things on a gentle gradient. It is much easier to recognize physical objects than the subjective thoughts and ideas. So the person should gradually be brought up to a point that he can recognize physical objects in his present environment first. Please see Recognizing Objects.

The person’s memory is very fragile so no demands should be made to recall things from the past. All conversation must be limited to simple things in the present. Only when the person is able to deal with items in the present should he be asked about items from the past. Again that should be done on a gentle gradient. Please see Being Objective.

Gradually, the person should be brought up to a point that he can visualize subjective ideas and recall things from his past. His ability to recall cannot be trusted at first. His ability to be mindful would have to be built up slowly and carefully. This in itself may prove to be a wonderful therapy. Please see Memory Recall.

The next step would be to get him started on the mindfulness exercises. Please see The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness.

He will naturally start looking at his unwanted condition. Please see Handling Unwanted condition.

It may be difficult for him to deal with his emotions at first. Externally applied therapy would be needed to help discharge traumatic emotions suppressed within him. Please see Cleaning up Trauma.

Such therapy should also help strengthen his ability to be mindful. Please see the links provided above.

With these steps, the mental distress of a person can be brought down to a manageable level.  Soon the person should be able to apply mindfulness under supervision. He is now on his way to full recovery.

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