Philosophy, Theology and Science

I set out to try to document some of what I am doing in my own Search for Self in this blog and I am hitting wall after wall. I have lots of posts started that make sense to me, but they are in no particular order. I have wandered back in my recent past to recall some of what I have done and wrote about that while trying to stay current at the same time. The result has been a sort of stagnation as nothing is getting completed, just started.

I realize why just now. I have no starting premise to frame what I am doing, nothing to call the starting point and no particular end point in mind yet. Some of what I have started makes no sense without the supporting ideas that form some of the basis.

So here is one such base.

I have been reading about, and working on some changes that I would like to make in my personal repertoire of unconscious skills as well as establishing some new habits directed at improving myself in various ways. In doing so I have come across some varied ideas and theories as well as some research into related topics.

Interesting stuff. 

Rather than taking a superficial approach I have dug far deeper and have delved into a more basic and spiritual train of thought so my reading has been... well... very eclectic to say the least. As varied as the sources are I am finding that everything... from the Bible through turn of the century thinking up to modern day speculative writing and scientific research... is leading in the same general direction.

Yes, I mentioned the Bible, I did say eclectic after all.

I'd love to be able to say that, "the long and short of it is...", but there is no short version. Everything from here on is based upon the initial premise that we are all of two minds. Well, at least I can accept that I am. The one, consciousness and the other, unconsciousness. This equates to our earthly selves and our souls. There are many ways to say the same thing depending upon your view of life and humanity whether philosophical, theological or scientific. So I will let any reading come to their own conclusions.

Jeff.

Dissolving Stress and Anxiety

I have started a bunch of blog entries and just found them too large to fit into about a page due either to the topic's complexity or my inability to succinctly articulate the ideas in writing... so I will keep trying. Eventually I will end up with some material worth posting that is not so long an cumbersome as to put anyone to sleep.

Meanwhile, expanding on my meditation topic might be a good idea to continue with for now.

I have managed to keep the meditation up almost daily, missing a day or two here and there as the odd time my schedule gets in the road. I do consider it a habit now and it is something that I look forward to as it completes my day even before my day begins. Although I have been enjoying that still time in in the pre-dawn while the house is quiet it is something else to have a particular plan and to execute that plan every time.

During my meditations I have been experimenting with relaxation, posture, breathing, focus, un-focus and various other aspects of meditation. The interesting part is that some of these "new to me" things (not that I thought for even a moment that I was breaking ground) I read about shortly after "discovering" them. Others I am sure I have read sometime in the past but have long forgotten them, at least in my conscious thought.

A cool method for literally removing stress and anxiety intentionally and directly was one such example. In some places it is referred to as "clearing" and perhaps known by a few other names and not specifically associated with meditation. The simple version is that focusing on the anxiety as an inner energy, letting it flow to an external imaginary point and dissolving it, effectively removes the anxiety and it stays removed. This has worked wonders without even having to know what the anxiety was about or what it's source may have been.

I will admit that any underlying issues are not directly addressed nor are they just covered up either. Unlike  just "thinking happy thoughts" it feels more like telling my inner self that I am OK with the issue no matter what it is. The anxiety and stress over some unresolved issue only serves to keep me away from directly addressing it anyway, so eliminating the anxiety will ultimately let me at it at some future point.

Besides, I think that a lot of this negative energy is just that, negative energy for it's own sake.

I know, like any other methodology it is easy to shorten it to an almost unusable description and call it simple or easy, so I will work on the specifics another time.

Jeff.