As always you describe our situation beautifully and honestly. Thank you. As for me, like John Lennon once said,I just want to be happy and I’m still struggling to accept the times I suffer. It’s good to know I’m not alone.
Thank you Joan, your words always leave me with a big smile, making life’s happenings somehow easier, both, the seemingly difficult and painful times as well as the joyful moments. It looks like there is no specific change necessary, the change is coming anyway, what a relief!
It seems to come down to 'to be or not to be'; there won't be any answers while we're alive. I'm not saying end it to find answers, though. But yeah, rest in the silence, in the space of pure potentiality, get bored of that and get all invested in maps of meaning again, get bored of that, or rather, oscillate, be frustrated, then have some calm, and so on, until you're done. Does asking the question, 'What if we’re simply here, not knowing what this is or where it’s headed?' help any? It lets people know they are not alone, I guess. I appreciate that. Does it help any? Maybe that's the wrong question; perhaps it's part of the oscillation and keeps us engaged.
I didn't intend that question philosophically, as something to think about. If it is heard that way, it just becomes more fuel for the obsessing mind. But in my experience, questions like that can sometimes stop the thinking mind and open us to something much vaster and more alive. That was the intent.
Your writing talent is a gift that keeps on giving and the world is better for it. It demonstrates a clarity of awareness I for one envy. I imagine I would feel a great sense of accomplishment looking back at such a body of work as yours. But I also understand how there can still be a sense of lack, no matter how accomplished we are, how many billions of dollars we have amassed, how many awards and other symbols of achievement we have received. I read once that upwards of 90% of our mental functioning takes place in the subconscious mind. I assume that is where all the inexplicable urges and impulses and mood swings emanate from. I further assume that is where our talents and innate wisdom originate that breach the surface during flow states. On the other hand, I recognize these are all 'borrowed' concepts I have picked up along the way and the simple truth is I do not know anything. As you point out, it is all fluid, all changing, and our only sense of stability or feeling of equanimity can be found in the stillness of the present moment. If not here and now, where and when? This is all there is and we are all we are. In any event, thanks again for sharing your perspectives with us.
I have been thinking (maybe my first “problem”) about this idea a lot lately: “These articles [any human action] are a slightly more refined and complex bunch of grunts and sounds and relational moves that life is doing.” And this: “We can invent explanations, but the truth is, we are as clueless as our ancestors. And yet at the same time, we know exactly what to do now. Just like the geese who know exactly how to sit on their eggs and when to migrate and what route to follow and how to find their way home again.” On many levels I agree unquestionably, but where I struggle A LOT is in considering those way-too-many instances when a human parent appears to have lost its way: when it is “supposed” to “sit on its eggs” and instead neglects or abandons or abuses its progeny. I am open to considering This Too—people can’t be other than what and who they are—and that all the other forms of “unnecessary violence” are part of the Whole Happening. But I often wonder if the human brain (and its resulting behaviors) is just fundamentally flawed. I take no issue with a lion ravaging its prey, but humans doing the same to other humans? And maybe just maybe it’s not the action itself that’s flawed, but the functioning of the brain that interprets and remembers and perpetuates. As you offer: “God apparently enjoys drama, play, hide and seek, lost and found.” I still have a lot of questions about traumatic experiences and what their “purpose” is, why they are even a “thing”, especially because the transcendent experiences don’t really offer any clarity (for me). This little me wouldn’t mind if God found another form of play (AI?). But for now I’ll go back to drinking this cup of tea, watching my sweet baby sleep, and enjoy being utterly clueless. And sitting in gratitude for your beautiful complex grunts, which do help me feel less messy when I get tired of feeling messy.
Thanks, Christie. I recommend watching Chimp Empire, if you have access to it. They are often violent. They fight. They kill other chimps. They are tribal and territorial. You'll see the roots of many of our human behaviors on display. Not all non-human parents do a good job either. We know that brain anomalies in humans can result in violent or psychopathic behavior. There are many reasons for why certain behaviors occur. I don't think in terms of traumatic events having a purpose, as if there is some Giant Controller planning out what happens. Enjoy that cup of tea and that baby. ❤️
Thank you for the reply, Joan. I had an opportunity to watch Chimp Empire this past week and was stuck by the beauty of natural instinct; chimps do what chimps do. And I could absolutely see the roots of human behavior. It’s that 2% difference in our shared DNA, whatever makes humans self-conscious, egoic, that seems to me to be “unnatural”, a flaw in the code. But I can also be open to accepting that all of THAT is just life being life, taking the apparent form of humans with all of its real/perceived trauma and bliss and equanimity. And on the days I can’t accept it, that’s also life being life too. Thank you again!
I don't think self-reflective consciousness or the ability to engage in complex thought using memory and imagination is inherently problematic. It has gotten us to the moon and to the top of the food chain, enabled us to create art and literature in its many forms and make amazing discoveries in science, not to mention such things as spirituality, meditation, psychotherapy, etc. Yes, it also gets us into forms of suffering and confusion that no other animal has enough brains to get themselves into, but with such tools as psychotherapy and meditation, we're also finding our way beyond such suffering and confusion. Whether we evolve in time to avoid wiping ourselves out first, we shall see. But either way, it's all the movement of life.
I watched The Weekend University interview with Ian McGilchrist that YouTube served up for me after I watched the Don Hoffman interview you referenced in another comment chain… his explanations of the brain’s hemispheric “duality” (my words) speak to this problem I’m stuck on/interested in right now. Don Hoffman’s description of humanity’s current level of “amoeba” consciousness and the radical possibilities of more beyond suggest there is at least an option to evolve or devolve in time to avoid wiping ourselves out.
Thank you, Joan, for expressing so clearly, simply, and directly what I feel but cannot say. To my mind, you captured the essence of spirituality and the experience/wisdom of a lifetime in a single post. We are fortunate that you articulate so brilliantly how life moves within us and without us.
As always you describe our situation beautifully and honestly. Thank you. As for me, like John Lennon once said,I just want to be happy and I’m still struggling to accept the times I suffer. It’s good to know I’m not alone.
Thank you Joan, your words always leave me with a big smile, making life’s happenings somehow easier, both, the seemingly difficult and painful times as well as the joyful moments. It looks like there is no specific change necessary, the change is coming anyway, what a relief!
Change is going to come our way..nothing more to figure out or to acheive..the All Good🙏💙
Simply wonderful as it is. 🙏🏼❤️
It seems to come down to 'to be or not to be'; there won't be any answers while we're alive. I'm not saying end it to find answers, though. But yeah, rest in the silence, in the space of pure potentiality, get bored of that and get all invested in maps of meaning again, get bored of that, or rather, oscillate, be frustrated, then have some calm, and so on, until you're done. Does asking the question, 'What if we’re simply here, not knowing what this is or where it’s headed?' help any? It lets people know they are not alone, I guess. I appreciate that. Does it help any? Maybe that's the wrong question; perhaps it's part of the oscillation and keeps us engaged.
I didn't intend that question philosophically, as something to think about. If it is heard that way, it just becomes more fuel for the obsessing mind. But in my experience, questions like that can sometimes stop the thinking mind and open us to something much vaster and more alive. That was the intent.
Terrific, thank you Joan!
My heart is singing with gratitude. Thank you Joan!
Beautifully expressed. I took a suggestion to to watch for impermanence in each breath. Each one is impressively different when you keep watch.
Your writing talent is a gift that keeps on giving and the world is better for it. It demonstrates a clarity of awareness I for one envy. I imagine I would feel a great sense of accomplishment looking back at such a body of work as yours. But I also understand how there can still be a sense of lack, no matter how accomplished we are, how many billions of dollars we have amassed, how many awards and other symbols of achievement we have received. I read once that upwards of 90% of our mental functioning takes place in the subconscious mind. I assume that is where all the inexplicable urges and impulses and mood swings emanate from. I further assume that is where our talents and innate wisdom originate that breach the surface during flow states. On the other hand, I recognize these are all 'borrowed' concepts I have picked up along the way and the simple truth is I do not know anything. As you point out, it is all fluid, all changing, and our only sense of stability or feeling of equanimity can be found in the stillness of the present moment. If not here and now, where and when? This is all there is and we are all we are. In any event, thanks again for sharing your perspectives with us.
Joan you are a treasure. I wrestle with these questions, and I appreciate your wise counsel.
So good and the timing is/was perfect. Soothing and really needed. Thank you Joan.....loved the part about 'a fucked up mess'....
dear joan,
thank you as always for your beautiful words.
i particularly love this: "There is no finish-line in life, no formula, no method, nowhere to go, only this ever-fresh aliveness, just as it is."
and this: "Indeed, that seems to be our human koan: finding the sacred right here in what often appears to be a mess, a mistake or a total failure."
and all the rest!
much love and thanks,
myq
I have been thinking (maybe my first “problem”) about this idea a lot lately: “These articles [any human action] are a slightly more refined and complex bunch of grunts and sounds and relational moves that life is doing.” And this: “We can invent explanations, but the truth is, we are as clueless as our ancestors. And yet at the same time, we know exactly what to do now. Just like the geese who know exactly how to sit on their eggs and when to migrate and what route to follow and how to find their way home again.” On many levels I agree unquestionably, but where I struggle A LOT is in considering those way-too-many instances when a human parent appears to have lost its way: when it is “supposed” to “sit on its eggs” and instead neglects or abandons or abuses its progeny. I am open to considering This Too—people can’t be other than what and who they are—and that all the other forms of “unnecessary violence” are part of the Whole Happening. But I often wonder if the human brain (and its resulting behaviors) is just fundamentally flawed. I take no issue with a lion ravaging its prey, but humans doing the same to other humans? And maybe just maybe it’s not the action itself that’s flawed, but the functioning of the brain that interprets and remembers and perpetuates. As you offer: “God apparently enjoys drama, play, hide and seek, lost and found.” I still have a lot of questions about traumatic experiences and what their “purpose” is, why they are even a “thing”, especially because the transcendent experiences don’t really offer any clarity (for me). This little me wouldn’t mind if God found another form of play (AI?). But for now I’ll go back to drinking this cup of tea, watching my sweet baby sleep, and enjoy being utterly clueless. And sitting in gratitude for your beautiful complex grunts, which do help me feel less messy when I get tired of feeling messy.
Thanks, Christie. I recommend watching Chimp Empire, if you have access to it. They are often violent. They fight. They kill other chimps. They are tribal and territorial. You'll see the roots of many of our human behaviors on display. Not all non-human parents do a good job either. We know that brain anomalies in humans can result in violent or psychopathic behavior. There are many reasons for why certain behaviors occur. I don't think in terms of traumatic events having a purpose, as if there is some Giant Controller planning out what happens. Enjoy that cup of tea and that baby. ❤️
Thank you for the reply, Joan. I had an opportunity to watch Chimp Empire this past week and was stuck by the beauty of natural instinct; chimps do what chimps do. And I could absolutely see the roots of human behavior. It’s that 2% difference in our shared DNA, whatever makes humans self-conscious, egoic, that seems to me to be “unnatural”, a flaw in the code. But I can also be open to accepting that all of THAT is just life being life, taking the apparent form of humans with all of its real/perceived trauma and bliss and equanimity. And on the days I can’t accept it, that’s also life being life too. Thank you again!
I don't think self-reflective consciousness or the ability to engage in complex thought using memory and imagination is inherently problematic. It has gotten us to the moon and to the top of the food chain, enabled us to create art and literature in its many forms and make amazing discoveries in science, not to mention such things as spirituality, meditation, psychotherapy, etc. Yes, it also gets us into forms of suffering and confusion that no other animal has enough brains to get themselves into, but with such tools as psychotherapy and meditation, we're also finding our way beyond such suffering and confusion. Whether we evolve in time to avoid wiping ourselves out first, we shall see. But either way, it's all the movement of life.
I watched The Weekend University interview with Ian McGilchrist that YouTube served up for me after I watched the Don Hoffman interview you referenced in another comment chain… his explanations of the brain’s hemispheric “duality” (my words) speak to this problem I’m stuck on/interested in right now. Don Hoffman’s description of humanity’s current level of “amoeba” consciousness and the radical possibilities of more beyond suggest there is at least an option to evolve or devolve in time to avoid wiping ourselves out.
Thank you, Joan, for expressing so clearly, simply, and directly what I feel but cannot say. To my mind, you captured the essence of spirituality and the experience/wisdom of a lifetime in a single post. We are fortunate that you articulate so brilliantly how life moves within us and without us.
Indeed. Deep bows.
Joan you have done it again. We just don’t know a damn thing, only that this is the best show in town. Thanks. Much love to all.