Being critical without criticising.

[Tony]

Being critical without criticising.

Evolving means noting, discriminating and evaluating all that appears. One lets be of one's reactions to that.

Only accepting and rejecting because of our biased habitual opinions, leads us into deeper mind traps. we only achieve a more ingrained attitude, and therefore become more aggressive and have less freedom. We have to be critical of our criticising to be even more discerning!

I find it useful to have an invisible peg board up in front of me, where 'all' information is hung, and pended.
As more information comes in, the pegs either join up or go nowhere.

There are two aspects to everything, in this world and our relationship to it. Quite often we criticise the world but don't notice that we are part of the problem. It's like being in a traffic jam and complaining about it! Even though we are part of the problem we still have to evaluate ...constantly evaluate!

We know that all sorts of consciousness control (mind control) is going on: we are constantly being distracted into looking in the 'other' direction. We also do this to ourselves daily, distracting our consciousness with entertaining speculations.

So how on earth do we agree on what will make a better world?

Honestly, I do not think it is possible. By the time one group has agreed on something, someone else will come up with a plausible alternative argument. There are many points of view of the same problem. All we can do is agree to see things differently, and get on with our own evolution. That is the only way to work together and keep our sanity...unity in diversity.

When we are aware of our own frailties, then we can empathise with others, and communicate.
The more critical – without criticising - we can be of our own reactions, the more we learn to evolve. The trick is to be critical and kind at the same time.

If you meet a spiritual guide (apart from killing them!), be careful of how you judge them. It is easy to looking for a stereotype of calmness and silence, but they are not all ...what you might expect! Some are laid back, laugh a lot and seem to be hardly there, while others are very precise and critical of procedure and language...and can be a bit scary!

Meditate - know your own mind!:peep:

[Tony]

I am always surprised how much can be learnt from an uncomfortable situation. If it's comfortable then it is just business as usual, and I've missed something. Artists find their magic in spontaneity.

Like a Koan ever situation (on closer inspection) can nudge the mind beyond fixated ideas.
Unless the Koan becomes a philosophical life-style.

If we saw spirituality as psychological events in the mind, it may all look differently!

[music]

There are many points of view of the same problem. All we can do is agree to see things differently, and get on with our own evolution. That is the only way to work together and keep our sanity...unity in diversity.


I was thinking in a similar vein today elsewhere:


I like to concentrate on similarities not differences - unity, not separation ... In fact, I find that by focussing on similarity, we quickly realise that the differences fade and eventually disolve as illusion.


Good stuff Tony

[Daft Ada]

Hi Tony how are you doing mate? When I was working for a living I was not only a commercial Airline Pilot, I was a type rated examiner/instructor, and part of my duties was not only to check out pilots once a year on how they fly the aircraft but on how they behave to one another in the working environment. When I did the training for this, it was constantly drummed into us that criticism is a gift, because without criticism you are not made aware of shortcomings and therefore cannot take steps to correct and improve. Pilots work in very close proximity for long periods of time and the last thing you want on a flight deck is the two up front arguing or sulking. I have seen and experienced some horrendous situations of this, especially in my early years when the massive ego with the four stripes, in the other seat, would treat me like his servant. It was not until the later years, and I believe thanks to the Americans, that this CRM as it's called was introduced, and it made the cockpit a much better place to be.
Regards to super clucky :o

[sigma6]

You made me dig up a book, I thought I remembered the Name of but I had forgotten it completely! An interpretation of Kirkegaard... called "Kierkegaard's Philosophy: Self Deception and Cowardice in the Present Age" by John Douglas Mullen... rather then dig it out, I searched the net, harder to find than I thought, but a very profound book.

One of the ideas presented was that to live according to the principle of "Love" was ultimately about being able to see, and exposing ourselves to the fullest "truth" of things, can't quite remember how he posed it, but it was profound, ie getting at the idea of a wide open perception of our reality to the best of our ability is what it means to live according to the principle of "Love" to be so open, so aware, we become transparent to ourselves... obviously a dynamic and constantly developing state of awareness... why I think the idea so attractive and compelling...

and it would have to be a profound experience, both humbling and empowering and enthralling and full of human emotions, discomforting at points, as real as an individual perception of reality could get, as experienced by an individual sentient soul...so many things beyond words, an experience that most of "modern" humanity would reflexively shrink away from I am sure... pure unadulterated perception, to see the world as a child again, with the 'adult' knowledge somewhere in the background 'supervising' only (or something like that)

...that would be a most worthy pursuit and practice to freshen one's spirit I think... why being around children is so precious, it gives a measure of truth about a certain aspect of our psyches before we begin to fill our minds with all the pre-conceptions and 'man-made' ideas of what is 'civilized' ... most is just 'programming' oneself to become a worker ant. Functional utilitarianism to the point of being a mindless robot feeding the needs of a giant parasitic government that has created an infinite appetite for our energy and labour.

...we are literally dumbing ourselves down and limiting our potential in so many ways... and for what? ... to avoid getting a ticket or being fined for thinking as free men and women? all our our thinking has been supplanted by militaristic, legalistic, and insurance based thinking in a world taken over by fault finding and attributing liability and payment to every human interaction with a government so pervasive that they live in our computers, cell phones, sometimes our very phone calls... with the definition of 'success' being how well you have modeled yourself to 'plug-in' to this system and feed off it successfully?

Give me access to the abundance of the infinite energy that exists all around us, and let me build my earthship home in a wide open space, with an aquaponic green house, (yeah!) and let me contemplate the reality of this existence in spiritual peace and freedom, before I lose the meaning of my own self...

[Tony]

My take on things is to be clear, precise and logical. If one takes things personally then we are bound to get upset.

I spent a year at the Florence Academy of Art, training in classical drawing and painting. An instructor would come round twice a day to give us a 'crit'. They would say things like, too short or too long, too light or too dark, too warm or too cool. The point was, one could see what they were saying, so it was not an opinion, as their eyes were more trained.

So the wonderful thing was one never felt criticised, we were just becoming more accurate. My first two weeks I kept on saying, “Oh you mean accurate...oh more accurate....oh that, accurate!”
Learning is hard, but we learn.

The world today is giving people false confidence, and the idea of not judging, so our feeling do not get hurt. Subtle we know we are on thin ice, so we get a bit touchy. This creates insecurity and therefore aggression. It's a good way to dumb people down!

My fencing coach demanded precision, precision precision. If at any time he let my make a sloppy move, I would have left him. If I made sloppy moves too often, he would have thrown me out...we were well suited!

It's a combination of nature and nurture that makes us the way we are. But it's good to recognise one's patterning and not feel guilty. This is slightly different from our ordinary habitual patterning, it's a sort of joyous flare!

We've all got it!

We find we are doing something...with a great big smile on our face!:o

[deridan]

sigma6, like how you put it that it is the challenge of an age,

next step, to really accept criticisms, one would have to know in which class one is in, wouldn't one, or criticisms would cut useful functions for something else; the great advantage of being finished with a class is then knowing that ones output is flawless and competitive

[Dorjezigzag]

If you meet a spiritual guide (apart from killing them!), be careful of how you judge them. It is easy to looking for a stereotype of calmness and silence, but they are not all ...what you might expect! Some are laid back, laugh a lot and seem to be hardly there, while others are very precise and critical of procedure and language...and can be a bit scary!

I always remember the Dalai Lama emphasising this, using the example ( I think) of the fifth dalai Lama who was often angry and argumentative. When the historical context is studied the particular persona suited the challenges that were faced. Apparently Padmasambhava as well was not of the meek and mild temperament that we associate with a spiritual adept

The reason why so many false spiritual guides are allowed to exist is because of this inability to see through the style to the substance. There is a stereotyped 'role' that has evolved and many people belief that anyone who acts like this role is a spiritual guide. A guide is from essence there is no performance it is the real thing, if the essence is scary to people they will not change it just so they can be liked because then they would be playing a role which is not essence.


I spent a year at the Florence Academy of Art, training in classical drawing and painting.

Funnily enough I met two amazing artists today who had spent several years training in Florence, who I had lots of synchronicities with and we exchanged details. Their work was beautiful, very much in the renaissance style. This is a very precise style, with expert execution of proportion and exquisite capturing of skin tones.
http://payload88.cargocollective.com/1/8/282815/4077335/Bryan.JPG


I also like other styles of Art though that are anything but precise, such as Chagall. He is known for his out of proportion figures, unreal but stunning use of colour, in many ways the opposite of what renaissance art is about but for me just as valid.
http://thirtyfourflavours.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/chagall_2.jpg?w=500

So two different styles but what is important is the substance of the painting, the essence of the painting. Like spiritual masters, masters of paint come in many different styles

[Tony]

If you meet a spiritual guide (apart from killing them!), be careful of how you judge them. It is easy to looking for a stereotype of calmness and silence, but they are not all ...what you might expect! Some are laid back, laugh a lot and seem to be hardly there, while others are very precise and critical of procedure and language...and can be a bit scary!

I always remember the Dalai Lama emphasising this, using the example ( I think) of the fifth dalai Lama who was often angry and argumentative. When the historical context is studied the particular persona suited the challenges that were faced. Apparently Padmasambhava as well was not of the meek and mild temperament that we associate with a spiritual adept

The reason why so many false spiritual guides are allowed to exist is because of this inability to see through the style to the substance. There is a stereotyped 'role' that has evolved and many people belief that anyone who acts like this role is a spiritual guide. A guide is from essence there is no performance it is the real thing, if the essence is scary to people they will not change it just so they can be liked because then they would be playing a role which is not essence.


I spent a year at the Florence Academy of Art, training in classical drawing and painting.

Funnily enough I met two amazing artists today who had spent several years training in Florence, who I had lots of synchronicities with and we exchanged details. Their work was beautiful, very much in the renaissance style. This is a very precise style, with expert execution of proportion and exquisite capturing of skin tones.
http://payload88.cargocollective.com/1/8/282815/4077335/Bryan.JPG


I also like other styles of Art though that are anything but precise, such as Chagall. He is known for his out of proportion figures, unreal but stunning use of colour, in many ways the opposite of what renaissance art is about but for me just as valid.
http://thirtyfourflavours.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/chagall_2.jpg?w=500

So two different styles but what is important is the substance of the painting, the essence of the painting. Like spiritual masters, masters of paint come in many different styles




Thanks Dorje, that was so well put.

Tony

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The point is, that there are 'essence guides' everywhere. An 'essence guide' only reflects our true nature! Understanding that essence guides/teachers/gurus come in many shapes, sizes...and temperament.

The importance of this is so we learn from every single situation, because our real teacher is ...our reactions! Every time we react this reaction takes us away from...our essence/source/being.

Our essence/source/being shows us what is happening. Just like a mirror...it's that simple!

So, everyone and everything is our teacher...especially our emotions...they really brighten up the mind, though a tad uncomfortable at times!

So, now we can change being critical to being observant.

...and we don't all have to be the same!