Vinaire's Blog

Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness

If something does not make sense, then recognize that it does not make sense. Do not try to justify it. Justification simply puts the blame somewhere without resolving the inconsistency. When you are faced with an inconsistency, and you feel an impulse to explain it away, then be alert to what you might be taking for granted. At times it may take some out-of-the-box thinking to realize what is going on.

Purpose:

To discern that something incomprehensible could actually be incomprehensible.

Pre-requisites:

Complete Exercise 3: Something Missing.

Instructions:

In this exercise you simply become aware of something that is incomprehensible and do not try to explain it away. You may do this exercise while sipping coffee in a café or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed. Then patiently observe the world go by.

Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner. See if there is something that does not make sense. For example, Kantian philosophy says that pure knowledge cannot be sensed because knowledge becomes impure the moment it is sensed. Recognize this as Kant’s idea that does not explain how Kant “sensed” it. Do not pretend to understand. Simply become aware of the incomprehensibility of it.

Look more closely and isolate exactly what it is that you do not understand. If this area can be researched using a dictionary, encyclopedia, or Internet then do so. If it is some contradiction or inconsistency, then check your assumptions. Be alert to what you might be taking for granted. Verify any assumptions.

If it is a failure in life that is incomprehensible, then check if there is blame being placed somewhere. Blame pretends to be an answer, but it does not provide solution. Ignore all attempts at blame. If it is an unwanted condition, then check for explanations that are being used. Ignore all explanations that have not led to resolution in the past.

Expand your span of attention and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in. Let the realizations present themselves to you. Do not justify what is incomprehensible.

Continue this exercise for at least 20 minutes. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish.

End of Exercise:

When you can discern that something incomprehensible can really be incomprehensible and it does not have to be justified, then this exercise is passed.

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Reference: The 12 Aspects of Mindfulness

Desires make one want certain outcomes. This leads to speculations that have no basis other than the expectations. The fact is that it is only when you know what is there without desires and expectations, can you predict future in a reasonable and consistent manner.

Purpose:

To discern the influence of desires and expectations on the perception of what is there.

Pre-requisites:

None

Instructions:

In this exercise you simply become aware of the desires and expectations that are accompanying your observations. You may do this exercise while sipping coffee in a café or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed. Then patiently observe the world go by.

Notice the environment and the people in a causal, easygoing manner. See if there is a desire or expectation underlying your observation. For example, when you see a person in priestly robes, there may be a desire present to trust him implicitly along with the expectation that he be a man of God.

You do not have to do anything more than becoming aware of your desires and expectations. The awareness reduces their impact on observations. If there are extraneous thoughts arising in your mind see if there is an effort to predict something.

Expand your span of attention and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in.

Continue this exercise for at least 20 minutes. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish.

End of Exercise:

When you can discern the influence of desires and expectations on your perceptions, then this exercise is passed.

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Please refer to Resolving Anomalies.

Suppose a person believes that all men have two ears. When he comes across a person with only one ear, he faces an inconsistency. His assumption then adversely influences his viewpoint and actions.

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Assumption

Prejudice, bias, and beliefs are the result of inherent assumptions that people have. They think and act only in ways that agrees with their assumptions. Thus, assumptions act as constraints on their viewpoint. Their viewpoint is narrow.

From a narrow viewpoint, a person is unable to perceive the whole situation. Therefore, he misjudges and cannot resolve many situations in his life. He gets stuck with unwanted conditions.  He is not able to make progress.

An assumption narrows one’s viewpoint and leads to unwanted conditions.

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Inconsistencies

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 feelings had haunted him in school when he could not understand a subject, such as mathematics. He is faced with unwanted conditions that are filled with inconsistencies.

His doubts, confusions and perplexities corrupt his attention. It either becomes unfixed and sweeping at random or becomes too fixed without sweeping. This corrupted attention is a powerful indicator where he should be looking in meditation.

When he looks more closely at the area that is corrupting his attention he becomes aware of many inconsistencies. As he looks closer at the inconsistencies he finally discovers the underlying assumption that is causing him trouble.

Mindfulness exercises help one look at one’s unwanted conditions more closely and discover the underlying assumptions that he needs to get rid of.

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