Posts Tagged ‘Human Nature’
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Signals before the snap? A chord progression?
No- it’s a definition of the material context. If you’re reading this you’re probably a human being- within the material context. Thus, we can consider Four Three Four Four to be the human context, our context for spiritual growth.
Four- old age, disease, death, and birth.
Three- refers to disturbances from others (whether mosquitoes, neighbors, or government representatives, to name a few possibilities), natural disturbances, and disturbances from our own body and mind.
Four- This refers to intrinsic shortcomings of human nature. These include inherent limitations, and the tendencies to be in illusion, to make mistakes, and to cheat.
All of the readers (perhaps even the author?) of this article have cheated in various ways. For example, we’ve all stolen (yes, “we” includes you). And consider scenarios such as the customer thinking “I’m getting this for so little”, while the seller is thinking “I’m selling him rubbish and making such a profit.”
It’s dark and shadowy. Just a few feet in front of me, it’s a snake! No. It’s just a piece of rope. That’s illusion. Also it’s a form of illusion to confuse the body with the self. If I’m thinking “I am white”, I am black”, “I am fat”, “I am thin”, “I am American”, “I am German”- these are all indicative of our tendency to be in illusion, removed from spiritual growth. Our actual identity is no more connected to these bodily designations than it is to designations related to the car we drive- e.g., “I am four-door”, “I am two-door”, “I’m a mid-size Japanese SUV”. Metaphorically, we are the driver of the car. It’s easy to slip into illusion about the very nature of who we are, without even knowing that we’ve done so. As Soren Kierkegaard stated “The greatest danger, that of losing one’s own self, may pass off quietly as if it were nothing; every other loss, that of an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc., is sure to be noticed.”
To err is human. Pressing that “send” button too quickly, lack of discretion with that aggressive investment, a foolhardy romantic adventure- we can make a long list of varieties of mistakes. The same is true for limitations. We can’t see what’s happening directly behind us, or hear frequencies beyond a certain range.
Four- Eating, sleeping, mating and defending. These propensities are common to all living entities within the material context. Some may eat off the ground, and others in an upscale restaurant. Some may defend with claws, others with thermonuclear devices, or sophisticated rationalizations.
Resisting the human context is the source of much suffering and against spiritual growth. Naturally we may endeavor to delay, reduce, or alleviate consequences and symptoms of these fifteen elements. That’s different than resisting the fact that they are inherent to our existence. For example, we of course make efforts to decrease the frequency and severity of our mistakes. Resisting the reality that mistakes are inherent to human nature, though, can result in unnecessary shame and guilt, or hurt, resentment and hostility. Naturally we strive for healthy living to minimize the occurrence and effects of disease and old age. Denying their inevitable reality, however, might be the cause of excessive anxiety, or debilitating depression, and hindering our spiritual growth.
How are we responding to the human context? Are we trying to avoid it, to escape the pain of it? To what extent are we consciously responding to its various features with a sense of purpose? Embracing the fifteen factors as integral to the human experience opens the possibility of utilizing the material condition in the service of self-awareness, of realization that we’re the driver of the car, supporting our spiritual growth. We get to consider how the material context provides a complete arrangement for our process of spiritual growth.
Endeavors to achieve fulfillment, contentment and security within the material context are ultimately futile. We’re eternal beings, and can’t be satisfied with temporary gratifications, any more than a fish can be happy outside of water, whatever amenities the land may offer. Four Three Four Four affects only the material aspect of the human being. Cultivating genuine (as opposed to pretentious) spiritual consciousness, spiritual growth, allows us to transcend miseries inherent to the material condition, and be like the lotus, in the water, though untouched by it. This lotuslike state of being is the foundation for enduring happiness and well-being, not dependent on the fluctuations of the fifteen components of the material context.
Tags: David Wolf, disease death, government representatives, human context, Human Nature, resisting reality, shortcomings, Soren Kierkegaard, spiritual growth, survival
Posted in Articles, Conscious Living, Personal Development, Personal Development in Florida, Personal Growth, Practical Spiritual Life, Spiritual Growth | 1 Comment »
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
I conduct Life Transformation Skills seminars. These seminars provide an environment for spiritually-based personal development. During one part of the training we ask the participants what are some tangible, material things for which people strive. Typically the resulting list looks something like this: cars, computers, a big house, attractive spouse, children, job, jewelry and vacation time. Then we ask why people endeavor for such things. The resulting list includes experiences such as happiness, security, power, intimacy, fulfillment, balance, love, vitality, freedom, strength, courage, joy and affection.
There Is No Intrinsic Connection Between The Things We Strive For And Our Experience
Next, by observing the two lists we consider whether there are persons who possess a large house, a big car and a prestigious job, but who do not experience much joy, power or fulfillment in their lives. Certainly there are. And we consider whether there are persons who experience an abundance of happiness, intimacy and vitality in their lives, although they don’t have the items on the other list. Clearly, such persons exist. The conclusion is that there is no intrinsic connection between the two lists. Although they sometimes overlap, there is no inherent causal link.
Tamas
With reference to the three gunas, let’s look at the lack of innate correlation between the “things” column and the “experience” column. Tamas is a mode of inertia, where our consciousness clings to a paradigm that may be called Have-Do-Be. In this paradigm we think, “If I could just have $100,000 in the bank, a nicer car, a job with paid vacation…then I could do what I want to do, and then I would be happy, satisfied, appreciated, vibrant…” “If I could just have a nicer boss, then I would be content and peaceful.” In this mindset, our experience is dependent on having. The saying, “What profits a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul?” indicates the difficulty with this attitude.
Rajas
Rajas is the mode of activity, where we adhere to the framework of Do-Have-Be. In this way of thinking we consider that if I could just do what I want to do, then I’ll have what I want, and then I would be free, strong, giving and vital. Our consciousness starts from the point of activity, and experience is contingent upon that.
Sattva
Sattva guna corresponds with enlightenment. Sattvic consciousness is the natural state of the authentic self. Steady in sattva we live in the paradigm of Be-Do-Have. Fixed in this way of being, experiencing strength, beauty, security, intimacy, warmth, freedom, etc., is not dependent on doing or having. I don’t need to do or have anything to experience satisfaction, aliveness, courage, clarity, etc., because these qualities are who I am, they are my essential nature. It’s not that, in a Be-Do-Have paradigm, there isn’t doing or having. Rather, our doing and having assume full potency, compared with tamasic or rajasic perspectives, because what we do and have flow naturally from our being. They are not separate endeavors. To experience joy, closeness, radiance, and all other qualities of our self is not dependent on what we do or have. In Be-Do-Have, we naturally do things that bold, enlivened, successful people do, because our nature is bold, enlivened and successful. And naturally we’ll have things that powerful, confident, and trusting people have, such as abundance, rewarding activity and fulfilling relationships.
Personal Development Entails Uncovering Qualities of Our Self
Bhagavad-gita, presenting the essence of Vedic teachings, delineates a Be-Do-Have approach to life. In that book Sri Krsna encourages Arjuna to “Be transcendental..be free from dualities…be without anxiety…and be established in the self.” The process of personal development entails uncovering qualities of our self, our being, that have been covered, and fully manifesting them in our lives.
With one coaching client with whom I was working we specifically focused on him being patient and peaceful, qualities that were missing in his life, and which he wanted to cultivate. With earnest he connected with the patience and calm that are inherent to his being. During our next coaching session he described, with surprise, that his supervisor asked him to accept a position with increased responsibility, involving training others. She particularly mentioned that she offered this because of his patience and ability to be calm in stressful situations. Being patient and peaceful naturally resulted in acting in ways that patient and peaceful act, in this instance a more rewarding career activity, and having things that patient and peaceful people have, in this example an increased income. Be-Do-Have.
Tags: Be Transcendental, Bhagavat Gita, Freedom, Human Nature, increased confidence, Living an Authentic Life, Managing Stress, Personal Development, personal transformation, Personality Assesment, Qualities of Our Self, Raja, Rewarding Career, Sattva, Spiritual principles, Success, Tamas, Transformative Communication, Vedic, Vedic Personality
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