--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> The question is, "How is doing 'the work,' Byron Katie-
> style, *not* fraught with addictive pain?" It seems to
> me that what Rory describes above is very much a form
> of moodmaking -- starting with the assumption that one
> *should* not be criticizing other aspects of ones Self
> and acting accordingly, *in the pursuit of a desire*.
I am recommending that one be aware of where the criticism is coming
from -- that one place attention on the core expectations behind the
criticisms, and thereby to discover the illusory and projective
nature of one's thinking, and of one's pain. The result IME is
generally a tremendous expansion of heart, of compassion, of
consciousness as we reabsorb that "demonic" which we had projected
outside ourselves and condemned.
> The desire in this case is to have no expectations of
> others in terms of their behavior, and to see them as
> other aspects of one's Self, if I've gotten what
> Rory is saying.
No, the desire is to be free from pain, and this is one technique to
unravel pain's illusory slipknot.
>However, the desire to behave like that
> is an expectation. One *practices* "a little Byron
> Katiesque Inquiry" and intellectually convinces one's
> self that it is relating to others on a non-judgmental
> level.
No, the end result IME is most certainly not merely intellectual. I
live a visceral life, and wpould not be satisfied with nor recommend
mere intellectual masturbation :-)
>But it seems to me that the very *process* of
> doing this is by definition a judgment upon one's *own*
> self, a desire to *change* the way it's behaving and
> "should" it into another form of behavior, an attempt
> to moodmake it into acting the way that it "should."
No, it's a realization one is in pain (or in my terms, projecting
monsters "out there"), and a decent method to see through and embrace
the illusion -- to meet and conquer the challenge offered by that
particular "bardo demon".
> I'm not particularly down on Byron Katie, or advaita,
> or Rory...I'm just intrigued by the proponents of these
> philosophies' ability to ignore what seems to me to be
> a raging contradiction. If the practice they're recom-
> mending to get beyond judgment requires "the work,"
> isn't that *by definition* a form of judgment about
> judgment?
It's a recognition of pain, and an Inquiry to heal it. The technique
is a great deal like transcendence itself, as it allows us to reverse
the process of manifestation/projection by tracing the thoughts
consciously inward to their source, recognizing their fallacies, and
remembering the truth -- in a deeply satisfyingly visceral, sensory
way.
> And please, anyone who feels like answering, don't come
> back with "a thorn to remove a thorn." That may work on
> TMers who've been trained to salivate at the sound of
> Maharishi's voice, but it ain't gonna cut the mustard
> intellectually. What I'm asking is whether the Byron
> Katie "thorn" is just a form of moodmaking, of training
> one's self into acting a certain way ("acting" in all
> senses of that word) because they've been convinced
> that they "should" act that way? Sounds like classic
> moodmaking to me.
Again, I'd say No, because it merely provides a tool for recognizing
and piercing the source of our pain.
OTOH my current understanding of moodmaking is in no way
condemnatory, as all the states of consciousness look much like moods
to me. From where I stand, we have a choice as to our primary "mood"
or "frequency," which colors what interpretations we wish to ascribe
to the myriads of incoming data, and this choice in turn actually
determines which of the data we imbibe and manifest through our
various levels of bodymind and thence into our environment. I do
realize for many of us however that this initial choice
of "frequency" is as yet unconscious.
> How is "the work" gonna help you determine the proper
> course of action when the other person you're trying
> not to be judgmental about is holding a gun on you,
It's not a question of "trying not to be judgmental;" it's a question
of destroying one's pain.
>and
> acting a whole lot like a madman on crack who is more
> interested in shooting you and your family just to see
> how you fall than he is in your wallet?
"Be afraid; be very afraid!" :-)
> We Buddhists might have compassion for the poor, drugged-
> out guy, but we'd also do our best to kick the sucker in
> the nuts and get the gun away from him. The way I'm read-
> ing Rory's comments, he'd see that the guy is coming from
> a place of hurt/pain, relate it to his own hurt and pain,
> and say, "LOL. You're just another aspect of my Self, and
> everything is OK." :-)
Then you are reading me wrong, as appears often to be the case. I see
no problem with Self kicking Self in the nuts if that is what is
required. :-)
> Question, short form: Is Katie's "the work," whether
> valuable or not, just another form of moodmaking?
Answer, short form: No.
> I don't know. I'm just wondering. Those of you who know
> more, please explain it to me.
Try it and see for yourself, or keep on spinning rationalizations why
Not to try it, it makes no difference to me. I'm still gonna kick you
in the nuts every time I see you on crack waving a pistol around --
metaphorically speaking of course :-)
