A Critique of "Living in the Moment"

NiNjABackflip
reply to post by BDBinc

 

Your mind produces and sends you things that do not come from life; it sends you things it makes up itself

Is the mind not a part of life?

I think saying that the mind and thoughts does not come from life, or that thinking isn't something that happens to the living is quite closed-minded inclination. Are you not a living being who thinks? Where exactly to do thoughts come from outside of life?

It would appear to me that you do think, you are living and there is no way to superficially claim the opposite.

I am a living being even when I don't think . I did not say the mind is not part of life.The still mind is preferable and the natural state.

The full quote to bluesma was trying to show her what happens when (in the example she gave of the hospital) she has focused her mind on PAST thoughts, emotions,meanings and feelings. What she then is experiencing is past IMAGININGs, these things/thoughts from her memory are not happening. They are made up things she is safe but she then reacts to the thoughts as though they are real.


Matter, energy, life are they three or one?

BDBinc


The full quote to bluesma was trying to show her what happens when (in the example she gave of the hospital) she has focused her mind on PAST thoughts, emotions,meanings and feelings. What she then is experiencing is past IMAGININGs, these things/thoughts from her memory are not happening. They are made up things she is safe but she then reacts to the thoughts as though they are real.

You just can't stop, can you???

I have explained to you, you are mistaken. That is NOT true.

I told you I began to have a physical reaction before I had any conscious thought about the past event.

When I started to feel tears well up in my eyes, I did not know WHY that was happening.
I had to consciously decide to search my memory to find the past experience that had influenced this conditioned subconscious response!

Yes... THEN it became conscious, after I did so. But the physiological reaction to the present environment was not a result of "thinking about the past".
I was completely focused on the present, until I decided to look inward for the explanation.

Look- when you have an automatic reaction, like pulling your hand away from a flame that suddenly flies at you.... do you do that because you were thinking about a time when you were very small and burned yourself, and learned fire is hot???

No, you don't need to think about it because it is automatic, because the body makes subconscious associations and reactions to the elements of the present. No amount of being focused on the present will rid you of conditioned reflexes and reactions!

This panic attack you write of, I tried to find the closest sort of experience I have had and the was the closest I could find. Apparently I have never had a "panic attack", in the sense you mean.

-editted to add- I didn't see your last post to me until now, where you wrote:

You, like all humans, need sovereignty over your mind not over others.

I think you are trolling. Especially writing something like that, and putting a smiley face after it.

I spend days and days explaining every which way the concept of personal soveriegnty, and how it is power over oneself, and you continue to tell me what I think, feel, experience, need...!

I throw this right back at you- YOU need to stop trying to have power over others, telling them what they feel, think and need!
Everything you are writing is your higher self trying to speak to your own ego.
You'd do better taking heed to it yourself.

reply to post by Bluesma


I had panic attacks at one point in my life, I would actually lose sight in the middle of a transaction and have to stand there until it came back. Fortunately, having a lot of practice in mindfulness I was able to see how it was arising and stop it. It wasn't from any past trauma or anything of the sorts... it was knowing I had to go to a place regardless of whether I wanted to or not, instead of just going I was attaching an unconscious anticipation... where I had to go I had no interest at all in being there so that dread turned into anxiety and after the first attack, I started anticipating it happening... not to sound crass but mental erectile dysfunction occurs in the exact same way. You're not expecting an issue but an issue arises, that sets a firm anxiety and anticipation that it will happen again so it does... and it will keep happening, until a person stops putting so much weight on a situation that has yet to occur, stage fright is the same way as well, panic attacks arise from some performance anxiety, you anticipate it happening so of course it does happen... a self fulfilling prophesy.

I found to get over the self anxiety setup, was to not think about what I was about to do or where I was about to go, because the more I dwelled on it procrastinating from dread instead of just getting to doing, the more anxious l'd become when there and that was what was triggering them, also when in a place that would trigger them, I focused on a singular thing as hard as I could despite the commotion going on all around me. That was my experience of how it was arising and how I eventually got over panic attacks. They were starting to become almost like a physiological muscle memory of sorts, and when in it, I was so in the moment of everything arising and passing in so many senses at once, one would shut down on it's own because I could not filter any of them out.

Perhaps this makes some sense in your experiences of panic?

reply to post by Bluesma


It occurs to me to be much the same way as focused and unfocused. A mind running where it wants is unfocused and wasting energy, using the watcher or consciousness to pull it back into focus allows it to rest and become at ease, and when it needs to be used is a very sharp exact tool for the task, unless otherwise impaired... mental fatigue gets myself, if I spend too much time on forums my focus starts becoming blurred and all sorts of error in punctuation, spelling etc. start occurring... so I take that as a sign to back away so my mental balance does not falter to far away from center, it's easy to let the mind run away and ignore the needs of the body, and vice versa... knowing when to hold them and when to fold them makes balance less of a gamble.

Bluesma

BDBinc


The full quote to bluesma was trying to show her what happens when (in the example she gave of the hospital) she has focused her mind on PAST thoughts, emotions,meanings and feelings. What she then is experiencing is past IMAGININGs, these things/thoughts from her memory are not happening. They are made up things she is safe but she then reacts to the thoughts as though they are real.

You just can't stop, can you???

I have explained to you, you are mistaken. That is NOT true.

I told you I began to have a physical reaction before I had any conscious thought about the past event.

When I started to feel tears well up in my eyes, I did not know WHY that was happening.
I had to consciously decide to search my memory to find the past experience that had influenced this conditioned subconscious response!

Yes... THEN it became conscious, after I did so. But the physiological reaction to the present environment was not a result of "thinking about the past".
I was completely focused on the present, until I decided to look inward for the explanation.

Look- when you have an automatic reaction, like pulling your hand away from a flame that suddenly flies at you.... do you do that because you were thinking about a time when you were very small and burned yourself, and learned fire is hot???

No, you don't need to think about it because it is automatic, because the body makes subconscious associations and reactions to the elements of the present. No amount of being focused on the present will rid you of conditioned reflexes and reactions!

This panic attack you write of, I tried to find the closest sort of experience I have had and the was the closest I could find. Apparently I have never had a "panic attack", in the sense you mean.

-editted to add- I didn't see your last post to me until now, where you wrote:

You, like all humans, need sovereignty over your mind not over others.

I think you are trolling. Especially writing something like that, and putting a smiley face after it.

I spend days and days explaining every which way the concept of personal soveriegnty, and how it is power over oneself, and you continue to tell me what I think, feel, experience, need...!

I throw this right back at you- YOU need to stop trying to have power over others, telling them what they feel, think and need!
Everything you are writing is your higher self trying to speak to your own ego.
You'd do better taking heed to it yourself.

edit on 17-10-2013 by Bluesma because: (no reason given)

Don't let anyone troll you on this friend. You are right at least in part. It's simple established science
Look up benjamin libet. This one time I'm leaving metaphysics alone. This is straight science.

KPB

here here. most excellent. Agreed a million times over. Not much to ad except..awesome post and thank you very much. a worthwhile read