Dividing our attention.

[Tony]

This thread is about the effect of distractions.

To put it in the most simplest way:

There is Consciousness.
At its subtlest level Consciousness is Pure.
Because of habitual patterning this Consciousness seemingly dims,
and forgets its Purity.
When Consciousness remembers its Purity,
job done!

This dimming (or freezing) of consciousness is due to our fixating onto an object.
This fixation builds up a pattern in the mind, producing a mind-set or 'set mind'.
This is your devil!

When this is first shown, we get a glimpse of reality.
Gradually, through practice, this glimpse extends and become more continuous.
In fact, what actually happens is that this natural state stays as it always has been:
it is just that our confusion time shortens.

There are two factors here.
One is our pure natural state, and the other is the habitual distractions that obscure that pure state. This thread is about the distractions or fantasies.

I use the word 'purity' or 'emptiness'.
I do not use the word 'Source' or 'God' as this implies an external force.
One could well use the words Source or God in place of purity or emptiness in an internal sense, if one wished. But if it is used as an external force, that is out of place here.

This thread is also about the two truths.
One truth is absolute truth - purity/emptiness.
The other truth is consciousness in a conventional state of distracted confusion – the seeming reality.

The practice is in seeing the absolute truth in the relative truth...they work nicely together!
Understanding this unity is essential.
Without it, one would be led into the extremes of nihilism and eternalism.

This is a complete, beautiful system.
Arguing will not change this system.
There are other systems to choose from.
Systems may be similar,
but at some point they have to separate.
There is no point in arguing!

Dividing a community is where the negative powers thrive.

[buckminster fuller]

didn't a mindset got you to write this thread ? If so, is that mindset your "devil" ?

I don't think we should try to dissociate so much. Being aware of the danger of allowing those mindsets to obliterate intuition and cognition can be enough. We have to become masters of our "mindsets", and not allow them to overrule ourselves. that is taking into consideration our ability to understand our personal "truths" to be what they are : an illusion grounded on our beliefs through perception (brain screening). yet, those "truths" of ours are grounded also in our history of interaction with other's truths. mindsets are always permeable, I understand them to be what prevent us from dementia, even if they can also bring us there in some ways.

peace

[Tony]

didn't a mindset got you to write this thread ? If so, is that mindset your "devil" ?

I don't think we should try to dissociate so much. Being aware of the danger of allowing those mindsets to obliterate intuition and cognition can be enough. We have to become masters of our "mindsets", and not allow them to overrule ourselves. that is taking into consideration our ability to understand our personal "truths" to be what they are : an illusion grounded on our beliefs through perception (brain screening). yet, those "truths" of ours are grounded also in our history of interaction with other's truths. mindsets are always permeable, I understand them to be what prevent us from dementia, even if they can also bring us there in some ways.

peace

Ah! The devil is now my teacher!

[buckminster fuller]

didn't a mindset got you to write this thread ? If so, is that mindset your "devil" ?

I don't think we should try to dissociate so much. Being aware of the danger of allowing those mindsets to obliterate intuition and cognition can be enough. We have to become masters of our "mindsets", and not allow them to overrule ourselves. that is taking into consideration our ability to understand our personal "truths" to be what they are : an illusion grounded on our beliefs through perception (brain screening). yet, those "truths" of ours are grounded also in our history of interaction with other's truths. mindsets are always permeable, I understand them to be what prevent us from dementia, even if they can also bring us there in some ways.

peace

Ah! The devil is now my teacher!

lol, that's a tad over streched... I'm only saying there is no devil, but there can be mind traps. also, creation truth is not in any way shape or form comparable to our own truth, which is the result of many processes. Let's say it's the hardware, and our truth is the software. We are both playing the software and continuously updating it. or not.

[Tony]

didn't a mindset got you to write this thread ? If so, is that mindset your "devil" ?

I don't think we should try to dissociate so much. Being aware of the danger of allowing those mindsets to obliterate intuition and cognition can be enough. We have to become masters of our "mindsets", and not allow them to overrule ourselves. that is taking into consideration our ability to understand our personal "truths" to be what they are : an illusion grounded on our beliefs through perception (brain screening). yet, those "truths" of ours are grounded also in our history of interaction with other's truths. mindsets are always permeable, I understand them to be what prevent us from dementia, even if they can also bring us there in some ways.

peace

Ah! The devil is now my teacher!

lol, that's a tad over streched... I'm only saying there is no devil, but there can be mind traps. also, creation truth is not in any way shape or form comparable to our own truth, which is the result of many processes. Let's say it's the hardware, and our truth is the software. We are both playing the software and continuously updating it. or not.

That is your view, and I respect it. However I think we are saying the same thing. The mind traps are inner demons, our ego trip. Our truth is the software..yes I agree. But 'our truth' is a subjective truth.

[buckminster fuller]

we do agree... :) I would stay away from the "demon" type vocabulary because it removes self responsibility in a way. I understand you're using it metaphorically.