I'm reading Eckhart Tolle right now. He is pretty good at taking Buddhist ideas and applying them to other religions/aspects of life. He is basically saying what many have been for a long time, but in more plain instructional words. He's saying spirituality is essentially the same experience for everyone, but we just express it in different ways. We often get caught up in our expressions and lose the spirituality. He focuses on western culture in his critique.
The most interesting observation Tolle made was how much of an impact Descartes statement "I think therefore I am" has had on western society. A monk would answer "you think, therefore you are not!". This of course leads us to dysfunction, expensive diets, books from amazon.com "like Tolle's :-)" that "explain" to us how to know the difference between -being- and thinking "Ego".
I would swap out the term spirituality for a more Heidegger like "authentic experience". There are many issues with the comparison, but at the core is the idea that we must not question what something is as a substance, "even emotions" but in a more basic pre-theoretical way. I specifically like Heidegger's "thing v object" distinction. The difference between fine art and a mouse pad. I think Tolle's discussion of the Ego overcoming our spirituality is another more specified way of talking about authentic v. inauthentic experiences. I'm pretty sure he would disagree with me. I imagine a teenager who is kissing for the first time, thinking about kissing, and a song they like involving kissing, and imagining the character they idolize in that movie when they are kissing v. the person who is experiencing a kiss, what it does, and how they "ego and all" are reacting to it. I think that is essentially the same thing Tolle is talking about, but not in spiritual terms.
Tolle's big mission seems to be discussing the ego in Buddhist terms, but relating it to western religion/spirituality to form a conclusion of similarity over difference while facilitating personal growth.
It's a good thing, I just wish he expanded beyond the Ego to other interferences such as social norms, commercialism, etc. I suppose he would say that these are merely different expressions of the Ego....
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Power
I'm in a funny spot right now. I am applying for jobs and becoming increasingly stressed out by the whole activity. I have tried to literally overwhelm employers with my resume, websites, call backs, and thank you letters. The idea was that my name would be there, and perhaps one individual would take the time to say "who in the heck is this guy".
I've realized that this was a good idea, but not successful in reality. In reality all this practice did was drive me down, consume my spare time, and produce products that were sub par "spelling mistake, perhaps a 'position' instead of 'positions' in one line". It is like anything else in life. A product created on an assembly line should be better theoretically since many people are working on only one specialized part. In reality we know going to a single person who has mastered something is better.
You know power is funny that way. I am saying that this "my employment search tactics, production, anything involving human interaction" has to address power.
A thought: When you try to limit power, you can actually encourage it. Think of it this way, an oligarchy, monarchy, and dictatorship are the smallest forms of government. There are few middle men or bureaucracy
to deal with. Small does not = limited, and limited does not = less power... just a thought and one analogy. The idea of power... or is it control? Apply to many things in life.
I've actually come to realize that I am trying to control a situation that is uncontrollable, "an employer calling me back". People are upset right now about.. say the oil spill because they feel they have no control, no power, and so they look to attack people, ideas, ideologies in "control" with "power".
Every wise person, theologian, or guru knows that attempts to gain control often end in no control, a cycle of self destruction. There is a Greek story about Dionysus and his/her attempt to enter a Greek city. The city leader refused entrance because he feared the cult following. In pursuit of chasing the wine cult off he himself became a part of it due to his loss of control... in pursuit of control.
Control is the idea of having power to make things as you see fit. It doesn't matter if it is a Statist Communist regime, corrupt small town local government, job search, relationship, search for spirituality, how you eat, what product you buy, exercise Et cetera.
It's tricky, you must to have the passion and drive to want some sort of control/power in pursuit of your goals else you'll fail. Too much... and you'll fail in pursuit and even in achievement.
Such confusing monkeys we are....
I've realized that this was a good idea, but not successful in reality. In reality all this practice did was drive me down, consume my spare time, and produce products that were sub par "spelling mistake, perhaps a 'position' instead of 'positions' in one line". It is like anything else in life. A product created on an assembly line should be better theoretically since many people are working on only one specialized part. In reality we know going to a single person who has mastered something is better.
You know power is funny that way. I am saying that this "my employment search tactics, production, anything involving human interaction" has to address power.
A thought: When you try to limit power, you can actually encourage it. Think of it this way, an oligarchy, monarchy, and dictatorship are the smallest forms of government. There are few middle men or bureaucracy
to deal with. Small does not = limited, and limited does not = less power... just a thought and one analogy. The idea of power... or is it control? Apply to many things in life.
I've actually come to realize that I am trying to control a situation that is uncontrollable, "an employer calling me back". People are upset right now about.. say the oil spill because they feel they have no control, no power, and so they look to attack people, ideas, ideologies in "control" with "power".
Every wise person, theologian, or guru knows that attempts to gain control often end in no control, a cycle of self destruction. There is a Greek story about Dionysus and his/her attempt to enter a Greek city. The city leader refused entrance because he feared the cult following. In pursuit of chasing the wine cult off he himself became a part of it due to his loss of control... in pursuit of control.
Control is the idea of having power to make things as you see fit. It doesn't matter if it is a Statist Communist regime, corrupt small town local government, job search, relationship, search for spirituality, how you eat, what product you buy, exercise Et cetera.
It's tricky, you must to have the passion and drive to want some sort of control/power in pursuit of your goals else you'll fail. Too much... and you'll fail in pursuit and even in achievement.
Such confusing monkeys we are....
New background
This reminds me of Indiana Jones whenever he has to fly from one spot to another. The part right before the racial/ethnic stereotype enters the screen.
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