Confusing defintions

[vinett]

Hello guys,

I am in spirituality for a while now, but I still found all the main terms confusing, because I have used various sources. Could you please tell me, even very briefly the differences in your definitions of 

-Awareness

-Mindfulness

-Present Moment

-Now (like in E.Tolle Books)

-Meditation 

-Concentration

 

Thank you. 

[SoonHei]

i'm no pro but I've got 2 cents.

here they are:

 

Awareness = pure knowing. the knowing of the content within your experience including your thoughts

Mindfulness = being aware of a specific thing you may want to focus on. also a practice of mindfulness

Present Moment = the eternal now as you said in the E.Tolle books. there's only this NOW in which all is accessed, viewed, thought, projected from

Meditation = various mind exercises in effort to still / empty the mind. the stillness/emptiness occurs on its own. you cannot "try to still" the mind for example.

Concentration = ummm, unsure. i guess strong unbroken attention/focus on a certain object/content in your experience 

[Forestluv]

@vinett Ahhh, you have encountered the limits of language. You can explore various ideas of what each of those terms mean. Yet keep in mind, there is no universal definition. For example, some awakened spiritual teachers use the first four terms you list as synonymous. Other teachers use the terms slightly differently and other teachers may use them completely differently. It sucks. I know. It's important to get a sense how someone is using a term - what is the context?

For example, when I first listened to Rupert Spira, I noticed he was using the term "God" a lot. I thought "Oh geez, another holy roller religious nut" and I moved on. Yet, then I noticed many awakened people considered Spira as I wise awakened teacher. I thought "What gives?". I re-visited his videos. In one video he said that he used the terms awareness, presence, consciousness and God as synonyms. That completely changed the meaning of his talks for me and I had to recontextualize everything he was saying about God. Using the term "God" the same as "Consciousness" is VERY different than using the term "God" as an authoritarian guy in the sky that judges what is right and wrong.

Humans assume their definition is "normal" and that everyone else uses the term the same way. This can be fine for terms like coffee cup and pencil. Yet, people can give very different meanings to words like "relationship", "respect" and "honesty". From my POV, many interpersonal conflicts are due to people assuming they have the "normal" definition of a term and that everyone else uses the same definition.

[LaraGreenbridge]

Good point, @vinett!

different teachers define these terms differently. Some of the definitions can be quite vague, too. 

I absolutely agree with you, it can get confusing. 

But it is the same in everything.... Notice how in a court of law, for instance, they will get totally bogged down in one little phrase, in a small clause in a legal document of 20 plus pages? Everything will hinge on how that one little phrase should be interpreted in applying the law to decide the case. It's fascinating.

I think it shows how much human beings are beholden to language. 

Notice how Christian scholars spend years arguing over the possible interpretations of different parables in the Bible? 

Everything is open to interpretation! You will never, ever find consensus. 

[LaraGreenbridge]

17 minutes ago, Serotoninluv said:

 

For example, when I first listened to Rupert Spira, I noticed he was using the term "God" a lot. I thought "Oh geez, another holy roller religious nut" and I moved on. Yet, then I noticed many awakened people considered Spira as I wise awakened teacher. I thought "What gives?". I re-visited his videos. In one video he said that he used the terms awareness, presence, consciousness and God as synonyms. That completely changed the meaning of his talks for me and I had to recontextualize everything he was saying about God. Using the term "God" the same as "Consciousness" is VERY different than using the term "God" as an authoritarian guy in the sky that judges what is right and wrong.

Another term to be aware of is "truth". It is used several different ways.

Great point, @Serotoninluv.

what if I were to interpret "consciousness" as the the authoritarian thing in the sky that judges right and wrong? Would there be just a little bit of truth in that, perhaps? 

And would everyone then go running back to God??

The word "truth"is absolutely being manipulated to serve certain purposes, by certain people. Even within the traditions of self- Enquiry and non-dualism, you will see this word brandished about quite inappropriately. Also the word "ego". When someone disagrees with you, they simply say "that is your ego" as a way to shut down the conversation. It's over-used and it's inappropriate as far as I am concerned. 

 

Edited September 17, 2018 by LaraGreenbridge

[Forestluv]

@LaraGreenbridge All words are manipulated. Language is bulky, awkward, inefficient and limited. After millions of years of evolution, is this the best humans could do? How disappointing.

In 500 years spoken language will be extinct. A more efficient form of communication will arise.