Journal For The Discovery Of The Self And The Nature Of Things

[Contemplative Ape]

Sunday 16, April 2017

Body-Mind-Spirit unison

I recently moved to a new city where all my schedules and daily routine have been messed up, it is not a time of balance but rather of change, were I'm oscillating constantly looking to find stability. It is good though, change is always good, it allows growth. It is going to take some time until I can ground myself firmly, but I'm actively moving towards it. The endless quest for happiness, of learning, of gaining awareness and aligning the spirit, the mind and the body to what is an authentic human expression of the self.

[Contemplative Ape]

Be adventurous. Jump.

Last week I had made a small trip to a beautiful city where I had the chance to meet good people and spend a good time. There are so many things to see out there that I want to keep exploring as much as I can. I want to push myself outside my comfort zone. It might not always be great, but it is only by trying that I can say whether a experience was good or bad. I often find myself trapped in my routine, likely because I enjoy all the things that I do, I like my job, my sports and my friends. I don't feel the need to go out and try new things, but that is a big trap. There are unlimited opportunities out there waiting for me to just show up. I'm going to be grateful for what I have, but also I'm going to try new things: getting to know new people, trying out different restaurants, ordering different things, visiting new places and many other things.

[Contemplative Ape]

I only have this day. I am happy today.

There is nothing in this world worth of dragging me down. Everything is ephemeral, anything good or bad is going to pass like a breeze. Every day, every action, everything vanishes in the vastness of time. It is so liberating that I feel compelled to be loyal but to myself and nothing else. I have control over every single action of my being and it is my responsibility to do good and commit myself to my purpose of life, to live with integrity and harmony, within and without.

Many times I find myself living submersed in the confinements of my mind and my body sensations, consumed by my thoughts and misconceptions of reality. Striving to grasp reality as it actually is requires deep reflexion and openness.

I was thinking about my perception of commitments for example: Whenever I say "I will always (never) do that...", it ends being mentally intimidating and overwhelming. However I always feel compelled to say it, to show commitment and self trust. I've realized though, that it is better to take one single day a time, to wake up and say: "Today I'm (not) going to do that thing, because it does (not) let me show the best of myself. I does (not) lead me to happiness and today I want to be happy." and I stay committed to it, only till the time that I go back to sleep with big smile of accomplishment. Then next day the same, day after day, a healthy cycle that increases my well being and my will to achieve anything that I set myself to achieve.

[Contemplative Ape]

Happiness is not a consequence of virtue, virtue is happiness on itself.

On a world of endless options and yet a single opportunity to choose, it is a constant battle of judgement to know which one is more suitable. Given the same set of options I would still make different choices depending on the circumstances where they were given to me. On many situations there is no bad nor good choices, sometimes they are simply different, even though many people would fiercely defend one side or the other, reality simply is what it is independently of any judgment. Human nature is what it is independent of any judgment or reasoning. It is only by being in harmony with this real nature, that one can be elevated to a place of happiness and authentic existence, since the being does no longer opposes its nature, but it is one and indistinguishable with it.

One should therefore live in accordance to reality, in accordance to authentic human nature, which in itself is very difficult. Senses and mind are faulty and not fully capable of grasping reality as a whole, only minimalistic versions of it.  The true nature of human beings, goes beyond what any text book of theory can explain, in the same way that humans are incapable to grasp reality in its totality, grasping our own reality, our own nature is inaccessible to the human condition.

The quest of human nature though is not all a hopeless journey, even though it is not possible to grasp its full spectrum, there are manifestations of it, glimpses that illuminates the understanding of the human nature. Philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, biology, religion and many others are all attempts to give insight on what the human nature is about. Keeping oneself open to all those various spectrums can bring a better understanding on what  a true human existence is about. All the theoretical knowledge contributes to a better understanding of which choices to make, it contributes dramatically to personal experience and self understanding. 

Acting according to true human nature is a continuous process. it requires self analysis and learning.  It is in fact a duty of a being to be in harmony with its nature, only there its existence can be authentic.

I want to give myself the determination of  working towards an authentic human existence. To stop wasting life time in banalities and low value activities. To stop cluttering my mind with things that go beyond my control. To cut out the egoistic society from my center of self. To continuously readjust the course of my journey. To be disciplined. To live a life of virtue. To live life for a higher purpose and to not diminish my existence to simple material satisfaction.

The hero call to claim the holy grail has been given all along, it is time to act, time to go after the greater possible value of this world, that is mine by right: my authentic existence, enlightment.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Contemplative Ape

[Contemplative Ape]

There is no wrong or right, there is simply being.

Things in reality are what they are, external judgements don’t add any significance to what already is. Looking at a tree, one can judge and say that tree is not leafy enough, that tree is not big enough, that tree is not flowery enough or any other quality that can be judged. However none of those qualifiers affect the being of the tree, the tree simply is, one could even loose its mind on trying to wonder why the tree does not please those mental idealisms of perfection. However that is a useless and pointless struggle.

This emerges from the way human minds work, for a human it is impossible to process the vastness of information that comes from reality, in order to make sense of it without being overloaded with information the mind filters out a lot of content and simply creates abstractions, minimalistic versions of reality. Ever since the origin of language every aspect of life has been vehemently labeled, just because the mind operates on abstractions, not on reality. Language defines in grant extent what the mind can process, it defines our thoughts. It then makes sense to have more and more abstractions, labels, so that knowledge and understanding can be expanded.

The problem is that one can get sucked in this world of abstractions and give it more importance than reality itself. One then frantically starts to label everything. This is ugly, that is beauty, this is good, that is wrong and so on. In general there is lack of awareness and acknowledgement of reality. Being contemplative is a big challenge, to go beyond the primal mechanisms of the mind. Awareness has various degrees, stop judging objects is a first step. For example when a train is full of people, one can get in a state of psychological suffering and labeling it as something bad. Even though it is uncomfortable to the senses. That does give the train in reality the attribute of badness, the trains simply is, the badness of it is something confined to the limits of the mind. Next step is to stop labeling people, very challenging one. Say I get cheated by my girlfriend, me labeling her as a bad person, simply doesn’t alter anything in reality, she would in reality just be what she is. This labels, this abstractions don’t provide a complete understanding of reality. They are just toy tools that can be used to have notions of reality, but only that. To grasp reality in an authentic way requires attention and awareness. It can never be perfect though, as imperfect being as I am, I can aim to give my best and recognize that even failing at it sometimes is the way of nature.

This all sounds sensical, but at the same time it leaves a feeling of relativism, but it is not. If I get cheated by girlfriend, I’m not going to judge her, that simply is the way it is, period. I could remorse myself trying to find explanations and justifications to my judgments, but that does not change what it is. It would be painful through my senses, but at the end it is just reality. All I could do is acknowledge it, not immerse myself in a world of labels and abstractions, just let it be and let it go. It does not mean that I would continue to be in a relationship with her. Even though I’m acknowledging reality without judging her, part of that acknowledgment is to understand that it does not give any value to my being and I rather go away from it. In the same way that I would get burn by a hot pan, it does not make any sense to judge the pan as good or bad, the pan simply is what it is. All I can do is acknowledge its nature and go away from it.

Left on this stage of awareness, it seems to be a very anarchistic place to be. If I cheat, steal, kill or whatsoever that would be part of reality, nothing to judge apparently. However there is yet the most important reality to be acknowledged and that is the inner reality. Acknowledging that reality requires awareness and action. I cannot go away from my self reality, I can only embrace my inner reality and act according to it. A being is meant to be one with its  authentic reality. It translates to peace of mind and happiness. Any time I do something I make an effort to recognize that my actions come from a place of fulfillment and mindfulness. Not from a place of neediness, instant gratification or submission to common thinking.

Edited April 22, 2017 by Contemplative Ape

[Contemplative Ape]

Authentic human nature

Human nature is what is manifested in myself and any other human. Any being that has a human condition manifests human nature, manifestation which occurs in a broad spectrum, on the lower side having addictions and on the higher side having virtues, illness and health, weakness and strength, ignorance and understanding. It is there, in the higher side of the spectrum where the authentic human nature resides.  

Authentic human nature is not a materialized entity, but rather an abstraction, an entity on the world of ideals. It is the ideal to which we aim. It is the collection of traits that lead to human fulfillment and happiness. Each of this traits are not an invention, they are factual traits, traits that lead one closer to the authentic human nature. One can take trivial things such as exercising or eating healthy, factually those activities enhance one's closeness to authentic human nature. Those can be easily identified and practiced, but there are yet deeper and more important traits that make up for an authentic human experience. Living on virtue is authentic human nature, yet we get lost on pleasure trying to find fulfillment in emptiness.

A being having a human condition does not necessarily live according to authentic human nature, but it has a built-in mechanism that brings the best of its being when it is aligned to that authentic nature. Our authentic nature is pre programmed within us, but it doesn't come finished, we have to purposely work on it to make it flourish. In a way we are imprisoned to go after the authentic nature; not acting according to it only leads to self destruction and agony. It becomes then one's responsibility to listen to that inner authentic self and embrace it as strongly as possible. Overcoming any temptations that pulls one away from authenticity and undergoing challenges that puts one's closer to the long longed authentic self.