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Are you distorting what you 'see' or are you 'mirroring' it as it is?
Eastern traditions speak about a person as if they were a mirror, reflecting what is around them without trying to change it. Often people distort what they 'see', because their desires 'push' them to want something other than WHAT IS. How bizarre! How can a person change what they can't even see clearly?! Change WHAT?
Jesus has a nice phrase, directing those who want others to change to look at what makes their sight distorted:
Lk. 6.42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Seeing clearly is very simple, but first you have to look inside to find the plank (desires) that distorts your sight. Looking 'inside' is easier than looking 'outside', because 'inside' is where awareness happens. It's where we engage reality. Meditation is a good place to look because through meditation you've calmed down the activity (confusing multiplicity of sensations, thoughts and feelings) that make it difficult to see clearly. Focus your attention on one thing, so it can become clear to awareness.
Once you find your desires you'll see how they have been distorting what you see and let them go. It's in the dropping of desires (finding and extracting the plank) that allows a person to see and engage in reality. In the 'final' state you could say you aren't even a mirror anymore, you're not anything...you're just part of WHAT IS (a mirror is still as distinctly separate 'thing').
Matthew
Are you distorting what you 'see' or are you 'mirroring' it as it is?
Eastern traditions speak about a person as if they were a mirror, reflecting what is around them without trying to change it. Often people distort what they 'see', because their desires 'push' them to want something other than WHAT IS. How bizarre! How can a person change what they can't even see clearly?! Change WHAT?
Jesus has a nice phrase, directing those who want others to change to look at what makes their sight distorted:
Lk. 6.42 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
Seeing clearly is very simple, but first you have to look inside to find the plank (desires) that distorts your sight. Looking 'inside' is easier than looking 'outside', because 'inside' is where awareness happens. It's where we engage reality. Meditation is a good place to look because through meditation you've calmed down the activity (confusing multiplicity of sensations, thoughts and feelings) that make it difficult to see clearly. Focus your attention on one thing, so it can become clear to awareness.
Once you find your desires you'll see how they have been distorting what you see and let them go. It's in the dropping of desires (finding and extracting the plank) that allows a person to see and engage in reality. In the 'final' state you could say you aren't even a mirror anymore, you're not anything...you're just part of WHAT IS (a mirror is still as distinctly separate 'thing').
Matthew
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