Just One Look Forum Archives

Wonder about your thoughts and experienses about how to live life to aid the practice of looking. I feel like canceling my business plans because my mind and attention get so busy, simple living seems best for the practise.

Hello Inward,

as far as I know, planning life and living life are not mutually exclusive. Trying to complete long term projects is part of being human. Also, looking at yourself is merely a shift in attention, not a practice or an act like brushing your teeth or learning to drive a car. In my experience, you can try and look at yourself, or try the attention training to keep your attention on your breath, even amidst mental and physical activity, especially when you're performing tasks you're used to and can perform in a mechanical fashion - like brushing your teeth for instance. These acts will go on even without your attention focused on them.

When you say your mind and attention get very busy at times, remember that this is the way humans have lived all of their lives, without knowing it. In my experience it's easy to forget that this state is not new, apart from the fact that I can now choose where I put my attention. To help with this turmoil, the mindfulness training helps - in the long term. It might not help when such turmoil occurs, but with time it will help to steady the beam of your attention when it occurs.

I hope this is of any value to you.

Wouter

Good question! I, too, have business plans that I want to move forward with, but I want to get "better" first. At the same time, I think my emotional stuckness might be caused by the very fear I have about moving forward with my life in this way. (In other words, I am probably perpetuating my misery by avoiding the very thing I desire.)

So I don't have an answer for you, but I will say that the looking is something you can do at almost any time, any place, any where. "Wherever you go, there you are," so really, what does it matter whether you're working on starting a business or taking a more relaxed approach to life? Is starting a business really going to keep you from being able to look? Or is it just simply a matter of remembering to do it, no matter what else you're also doing?

I started on this quest to uproot the delusions in the mind about seven years ago, and this particular technique about a year ago. It has been the highest priority. I suppose I have been fortunate that other people have not depended on me in that time, so I've been able to simplify life and make this a high priority. And there has been very little motivation for anything else in life. I've isolated myself socially, except for family, and have given very little attention to career/money etc. The irony is striking: the objective has been to embrace natural living, but quest and recovery can seemingly be the opposite.

Kaushik

I love your question. It is one I have wondered about in the past as well ... but lately, my life just slowed down all on its own, and it took me a while to "catch up" with the silence of it.

My guess is that the old patterns of fear, as they present themselves, will just hold sway until they don't -- whether we are busy or not, whether we choose one thing or another. So we can choose something different to do, or choose something different to put our attention on -- or maybe both! You are in the right place to find the answer to your question, and it will arise -- just by looking at yourself, doing the mindfulness meditation, becoming still, listening and receiving.

Lots of good luck to you, and thank you for asking this great question.

with love,

Dawn