I am one of only a few people that online never use the language tics of ‘lol’ or ‘roflmao’. I see these tics as just what they are – unconscious and habitual responses. I do not need to know every time that you manage to laugh in a conversation with me – I am a funny guy, and I expect you to laugh. ‘Lol’ is like a doggy treat that we toss at each other to fill in the silent spaces. Some people use ‘lol’ as a nervous tic when nothing funny has actually been said by anyone. Try and type something different. Make up a new response that enables you to be mindful of your interactions.
What are your speech tics? Figure out your tics, and become mindful of changing them. Be proactive rather than unconscious of the smaller details of your life. It takes an especially alert Self to stay on top of language. The Self has to use the brain after all to speak. It is a matter of passively speaking, or actively speaking – unconsciously or consciously. Examples of speech tics are: ‘like’. ‘ummm’, ‘you know what I mean’, etc etc.
One of the most unconscious tendencies is to complain, bitch & moan every chance you get a willing audience. This is pure brain emotional vampirism. I tell my students to sit on their hands every time they have the impulse to complain or be negative…this to give them time to ascertain if the negativity actually belongs to them or not. There are a lot of ways the brain will inject itself into your presence, and the use of language is primary.
~ DC Vision
I have noticed in my silent times, that keeping a watch on the body’s posture pays dividends too: perhaps in a similar way?
I think you answered your own question. Pleasure & pain would be the only interests of a brain…
Just re-read a yoga book: Vanda Scaravelli’s Awakening the Spine. She says Krishnamurti used to say, that one should live like one were living with a cobra – perpetually aware/awake. It is a direction my life seems to kick me towards – I the reluctant student. I want my keep my naps. Don’t know if it is the body or the mind that finds the idea of 100% awareness too much. What is the part of me that feels it needs to disconnect every now and then?
But life is such an excellent teacher: looking at myself/looking at others – it is as if we were using these automatisms as placeholders, or maybe cover-ups, knowing something better should be there, but still being somehow too poor to produce anything. I am bothered by the countless ways animals are being used as examples of stupidity/dirtiness or whatever – morons are asses, dirty are pigs, gullible are sheep – uselessly discrediting the animals for very human shortcomings. For sheep it is an excellent idea to go where others are going. Took me a while to weed this phenomenon out of my vocabulary.
Welcome Kristina to the forum here and thanks for a very rare response.
I think the ‘idea’ of 100% awareness can be misinterpreted as being hyper and actively aware to the point of getting a migraine. It really is not about maniacally paying attention to everything – it is simply what is doing the identification (?), if there be any of it going on…is it the brain (asleep) or is it the Self (awake)?
Being perpetually awake is not a strain whatsoever…you just have a much deeper relationship with the people and environment that surrounds you. It runs in the background, rather than being always right up in your face.
If heading into this awareness is simply happening naturally for you, then there is nothing to do to get there…and joyfully you cannot screw it up (was joyful for me anyways as I worried about goofing it up).
Awakening enriches your life – makes the humor funnier, the rocking rollier, and the mischief far more entertaining. That personality is the Self at face value…it is the part that is dancing with the music of your life. You won’t lose it. You’ll love what emerges as the non scripted Kristina.
Blessings & Joy on your journey.
DC Vision
Thank you for your response. I’ve been reading through your material, very interesting. Some of it resonates. I like your idea of emerging/ascending consciousness. And I tend to experience awareness (at best) as a field rather than a single point of this me -this may be similar to what you describe.
From what I’ve read so far, it seems to me you think animals have a more primitive awareness than us humans. My current experience seems to say that animals have an awareness that is covering a bit different field than human(or my own, as that is mainly the prespective I have) awareness. Somehow it seems animals can boost my awareness in the non-worded experience. Only having words to think with is somehow crippling, as it looks like we humans need to figure out some new paths into the unknown, and in that words lag a long way after the real stuff. But maybe spending time in animal awareness field is just correcting the problems of my personal brain? It is as if my brain has a very sturdy rational cluster that simply blocks a lot of more subtle knowledge. I’d like to dance a lot more but some of the time I can’t hear the music.