|
|
|
accentuate the positive |
|
|
|
George G Clark, 19 November 2004
|
|
|
|
| I am at a loose end. No distractions in the post or in
the email. I am on the morning's second cup of tea. There is an urge
'to fill the void'. I am programmed for 'doing' and am bewildered by
the lack of 'projects'. Boredom threatens.
So what is this 'thing' called boredom? It is a frame of mind. Mindfulness can be brought to bear on it. Its dimensions can be brought into attention and its features can be recognised. Know the enemy. Then firmly but compassionately deal with it. |
|
|
|
But this is one of those issues that torture common sense. When boredom arrives the task is not to 'push it away' but rather to 'let it go'. This is more than two ways of saying the same thing. The former is an active process with an assertive ego. The latter is a passive process born of mindfulness. |
|
There is talk of watering seeds. The subconscious is full of seeds. Those
that are watered get bigger those that are not watered remain small. There
is also talk of good seeds and not so good seeds. The good seeds
(kindness, compassion, generosity etc) should be given space in attention
while the not so good ones (anger, greed, boredom etc) should be passed
over. The task is to accentuate the positive. Language begs for an agent of this process. Using the passive voice skirts the issue. The process includes discrimination (this is not that) and judgement (this is good and that is not so good). Language thus demands a discriminator and a judge. He is commonly thought of as 'I'. But the 'I' is illusory. So who or what is the agent? |
|
|
More on the theme of agents |
The agent (or is it the agency?) is rooted in the subconscious. It is one seed amongst many while, at the same time, being the source of all seeds. There is talk of the host and the guests (where the guests are offspring of the host). When the guests have been watered by culture and worldly experience they are loud and brash and the host rarely appears in up front consciousness. Note, however, that the host is still there; he is the foundation of all the guests; he is the root from which all else springs; he occupies the basement. There are, however, occasions when circumstances (with multiple and subtle causes) conspire to briefly quieten the guests with numinous experiences eg death of a beloved one, the brilliance of a sunset etc. The host then emerges to suffuse up front consciousness. There is at-one-ment. This is a 'good' experience. Those who notice it want more. Some want more urgently than others. The most eager become shamans and mystics. Through the centuries they have charted roadmaps for the host to rise above the clamour of the noisy guests. The various cultural corridors lead to a single peak pathway. This is the royal road to the bliss of reunion. The essence is to be still and know. Know what? Know 'reality' as it is in itself (an interpenetrating oneness) and thus know the peace that passes all (common sense) understanding. |
