MISC. NP. since we have talked about mindfulness here

Mon Jan 26 08:48:02 CST 2015

Excellent, Keith. I look forward to reading The Brain That Changes Itself.
It's true, apparently, though I'm merely a student, not an authority, that
cognitive and behavioral changes actually do have structural effects upon
the brain. This is most important during adolescence, from the ages of
about 11 - about 25, depending upon the individual, when the brain goes
through an amazingly active period of neurogenesis followed by a longer
period of paring away unused neurons. It's a part of why young people know
everything, I guess, and we have more questions than answers as we age.

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 4:58 AM, Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com> wrote:

> David E., yes, this is what I've been saying about Pynchon for a while, in
> not exactly the same words.
>
> David M., funny, I have this volume of Parabola. It was something
> recommended and referred to in a study group I was involved in.
>
> Here is a book I just borrowed from my cousin, about one of the topics
> we're discussing. I haven't read it yet, but it looks interesting.
>
> http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself.html?id=CfY4AAAAQBAJ
>
> Here is an interesting talk about non-duality:
> http://www.sailorbobadamson.com/introductory-talk/
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 1:41 AM, David Ewers <dsewers at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I agree; good stuff!
>>
>> You read my mind, Mr. Morris.  I was just writing when I saw your post:
>> We've been talking about crossing equators lately in M-&D-.  The human
>> brain also has hemispheres, so it lends itself conveniently to a dualistic
>> viewing (right and left brains, etc.).  But, as Ian Livingston points out,
>> thinking non-dualistically [feels/seems/thinks] good for/to/as the brain.
>> This observation, which I share, reminds me of something I read a long time
>> ago about brain bicamerality (something about the interface between brain
>> hemispheres, changing over time, by way of attention), which makes me
>> wonder about brain physiology.  Could there be electrochemical brain
>> changes resulting from our mental seafaring?  Or (at the risk of sounding
>> even more spaced-out...)  other physical correlations between our - if not
>> conceptual unification, at least 'motion' in its direction -, and the
>> 'outside world'?  So some Brain><Earth symmetry, leading to self-similar
>> processes of unification?  To my mind, Pynchon is a lot about this sort of
>> synthesis.  For me, novels like his are part of a sort of Western
>> non-dualistic tradition.
>>
>> On Jan 25, 2015, at 10:01 PM, David Morris wrote:
>>
>> Meditation usually starts with focusing on the process of breathing, with
>> the goal of slowing down the verbalizing mind, often called the "monkey
>> mind."  Pre-verbal experience is the goal.  It can take you to places that
>> tripping drugs go, but with longer lasting results.
>>
>> Some eastern schools teach about the energy channels of the esoteric
>> body: the left, right, and central channel.  The dominant human-ego channel
>> is the left-brain (right body) side. Meditation seeks to allow the right
>> brain to have its equal place.  And ultimately the two sides meld into a
>> vortex in the central channel. That blend is the Tao.
>>
>> David Morris
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, January 25, 2015, Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Great stuff!
>>>
>>>
>>> Www.innergroovemusic.com
>>> Sent from Beyond the Zero
>>>
>>> On Jan 25, 2015, at 11:57 PM, Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> "Mind training" is brain training. Like any other part of the body, the
>>> brain responds well to exercise, and, as with any other part of the body,
>>> where you tether your attention is where you will go. Attention--that's the
>>> key. Selecting a tether is easy, staying at that anchor in the raging
>>> stream of consciousness is another. We Westerners don't really get the
>>> whole non-dual thing. It's a concept for us, but that is not the case for
>>> the native people of the cultures in which non-dual reckoning is a natural
>>> part of being in the world. It ain't the same as oneness with the deity, as
>>> the Catholic monastics seek, nor is emptiness the emptiness of our
>>> conceptualization. We don't have the metaphors that fully convey those
>>> reference points in the non-dual traditions. It's important to flirt with
>>> it, though. It seems to be good for the brain.
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 8:32 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Awakening" is gaining access to the perspective of oneness, breaking
>>>> through to experiencing it. Satori is a temporary higher state. One can't
>>>> stay there, or one might as well be dead, commit suicide. The trick, higher
>>>> goal, is the bring that unified state back into this dualistic world.
>>>>  "Enlightenment" is the state of living in this world with an awakened
>>>> perspective.
>>>>
>>>> This topic is a BIG playground.  That's why reincarnation is an
>>>> infinite reality.  Buddhism described a multiverse long before theoretical
>>>> quantum physics surmised it.
>>>>
>>>> David Morris
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sunday, January 25, 2015, Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> According to Ken Wilber, Keith, yes, repeated exposure to further
>>>>> stages of development speeds development along. So repeating satori
>>>>> experiences can lead to enlightenment.
>>>>> Theoretically.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 11:51 AM, David Ewers <dsewers at comcast.net>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daigo_(Zen)?  Or were you referring to
>>>>>> something more nameless?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jan 25, 2015, at 9:19 AM, Keith Davis wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Trouble is, that satori, like any other state, is temporary. What is
>>>>>> it that lasts?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Www.innergroovemusic.com
>>>>>> Sent from Beyond the Zero
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jan 25, 2015, at 11:56 AM, Ian Livingston <igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Buddhism is just another religion. Mahayana is so like the Catholic
>>>>>> church it's no wonder there are so many crossover attendees in both
>>>>>> denominations. Chan resembles Orthodoxy in many ways, and Hinayana and Zen
>>>>>> are like protestant derivatives of their forebears.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The parallels break down in details, but the overarching themes
>>>>>> remain pretty equivalent. You're as likely to achieve satori in Catholic
>>>>>> mystical practices as in any of Buddhist lineages, depending on the
>>>>>> metaphors that serve you best. Another excellent route to a very similar
>>>>>> experience, I think, is the deep study of any of the physical sciences.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 7:43 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yeah. Pretty long koan to me, more power to you, less is my
>>>>>>> 'enlightenment'.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 10:32 AM, Keith Davis <kbob42 at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> > Seems very complicated.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > Www.innergroovemusic.com
>>>>>>> > Sent from Beyond the Zero
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > On Jan 25, 2015, at 10:26 AM, Ian Livingston <
>>>>>>> igrlivingston at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > "A very real Zen answer, to me."
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > Hinayana, actually. Zen and Hinayana are Pacific descendants of
>>>>>>> Mahayana.
>>>>>>> > Both evolved out of Chan, the Chinese variety of Buddhism that
>>>>>>> integrates
>>>>>>> > many Taoist elements, especially elements of alchemy and of flow
>>>>>>> being
>>>>>>> > unidirectional. Both follow the premise that the goal of
>>>>>>> enlightenment is is
>>>>>>> > to achieve Nirvana and, well, graduate out of the cycle of
>>>>>>> suffering, death,
>>>>>>> > and rebirth. In Mahayana, the aim is to achieve Nirvana so that the
>>>>>>> > enlightened one can return as a bodhisattva to guide others along
>>>>>>> the path
>>>>>>> > to enlightenment.
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> > On Sun, Jan 25, 2015 at 4:59 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> This morning, while driving to get my pressing news (no NYT
>>>>>>> delivery
>>>>>>> >> where I live), the NPR show ON BEING was on.
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> Ms. Tippit interviewed Thich Nhat Hanh, leading Vietnamese
>>>>>>> Buddhist,
>>>>>>> >> and quoted to him from his Meditation Handbook. "these techniques
>>>>>>> will
>>>>>>> >> help you handle the pressing questions in your life"...
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> She then asked him "What are Your pressing questions?"...
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> He:  "Pressing questions?", reflectively ......."I have no
>>>>>>> >> pressing questions"....
>>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>> >> A very real Zen answer, to me.
>>>>>>> >> -
>>>>>>> >> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> www.innergroovemusic.com
>
>
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