Saturday, March 28, 2009

What is inside....

I have always been intrigued by the inside outside Zen thing, since reading a short story by Hermann Hesse way back called 'Inside and outside'. This story is about 'a little idol that ruptures a friendship'. My memory of the story is that the idol is really ugly to the main character, but that the idol somehow gets a place in his heart so that when it goes missing he notices its absence. Of course my memory of this story could be incorrect after so many years. The Free Online Library says the story reveals Hermann Hesse's 'life's philosophy' that 'our mind is capable of passing beyond the dividing line we have drawn for it. Beyond the pairs of opposites of which the world consists, other, new insights begin.' I think I will need to read this story again. What made the story stay in my mind was that I did not completely understand what Hesse was getting at when he said 'What is inside becomes outside, and what is outside becomes inside.' Since then I have again come across references to inside and outside, mainly as philosophical concepts. The novel/philosophical treatise Sophie's world for example talks about two possible views of the world - as a separate entity with everything seen as completely individual and unique, or as all the one entity that incorporates the viewer and the viewed. There is not necessarily a right or wrong view, just possibilities. Again, intriguing. But then philosophy is, and Zen philosophy is meant to get you thinking or meditating on the concepts or meaning behind imagery. You are not meant to understand them in the first instance.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Meditation for better living

In desperation recently, I decided to avoid falling in a hole by revisiting a book from my past called Meditations from the Tantras. This excellent (pink) book by Swami Satynananda Saraswati offers a program of meditation exercises and philosophy that can save your life! The difficulty is following it without being rigid, in a disciplined way without getting trapped into a pattern that becomes just another habit. Because habit of mind is the exact thing the program is trying to overcome. I say 'program' but it isn't really - the book just offers pathways and you can choose your own way through it depending on what is meaningful for you. The main thing is your motivation. The minute you turn it into a routine that you 'have to do' you've lost the plot. So now I am working on being mindful of my mind. Tricky stuff as my mind wanders all over the place and has been doing so for years. It has had complete freedom so to train myself to pay attention is difficult. But I'm working on it. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to meditate or delve deeper into their own psyche. There are many different ways to do this and I will post separately on these different elements and some of the words of wisdom from this little pink gem. Here is one to close this post: 'Remove these fears, phobias, complexes, likes, dislikes and any other prejudices and we will start to see a clearer picture of the world.'
Note: book is now blue - I have an old copy. 'Blue is the new pink.'

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Love is the new black

I would like to say that this is my term (because it is clever, witty and also deep), but it isn't. It's a Paul Frank pop art design. But I like it. Especially because a few years ago I realised the truth of someone (forget who so can't reference right now) who said, 'Whatever the question, love is the answer.' I have come to this realisation in a different way and wording, but happiness is definitely defined by 'soul actions' - what you do for someone else, what you feel. Nothing else matters. But it is also love for nature. I cannot pretend that human beings are supreme in my esteem.

Right intention

Having said I will have to source others re 'right intention', I forgot to do so! Here is one link http://www.vipassana.com/resources/8fp3.php but there are many more if you Google the term. There is also right view from which right intention comes. I had read about these concepts but the term came to my lips in describing a relationship with a friend, and referred to something I have thought about a lot - that it is best if your intentions are pure with regard to relationships, but how easy is that to create? That is, how often is there a subtext of self-interest? How genuine is the interaction, how caring?

Friday, March 13, 2009

About this blog

This blog aims to be not so much self-reflective as self-educating, and if in the process that educates others or taps into what viewers are interested in, that is a contribution to society, and we are all keen to make one, fundamentally, yes?
So the blog will explore a range of topics that interest a 21st century thinker (some topics have also interested past thinkers).
To start with, what does the title mean? In my own words, 'right intention' is about one's motive for doing everything - talking, listening, acting, loving, relating, walking, swimming etc etc. It includes not just right intention with people but also with animals and other living things (the biggest one being the earth). How I have longed to communicate at a deeper level with the world. So far books and the inner workings of the minds of characters have been my only source of deeper connection. So here is this blog.
But to define 'right intention' at a more Vipassana or Buddhist level (as this is where the term originates) I will have to source others. Buddha, in his sojourn under the Bodhisattva tree, observed and categorised his thoughts into two baskets - 'desire, ill will, and harmfulness' (one we are all familiar with) and 'renunciation, good will, and harmlessness'. Ideally the latter is the sort we want, and Buddha was insightfully able to dissolve the undesirable, suffering-provoking thoughts and nurture the life and happiness-giving thoughts, till he experienced only that kind.