Just One Look Forum Archives

Since I started to look at myself I have developed a way of dealing with questions that used to affect me in an undesirable way. Most of these questions are considered important to many people past and present. Why am I here? Where did I come from? Who am I? Where am I going? etc... There is no definitive way for me to answer these questions that could appeal to me in any fundamental way. When looking at myself I realized that I am not in need of such answers because I see that I am myself in every moment. When I am who I need to be I realize I am not everything else. I am not in need of answering "Why am I here" because my worth comes from an expression of being exactly who I am. I don't need to be bothered by questions that have absolutely no role is defining who I am. The only being who has any say in the definition of me is myself. I do not need an answer or a question to be me. Looking at who I am is a simple, humble, but powerful direction of attention that tells me I am who I need to be. My advise to any one bothered by questions of the nature about who they are is to look at who they really are.

When you look you allow yourself to see if needed that You are you and your self worth is independent of all else.

This writing contains opinions and if others see that there is feedback to give then go ahead, I welcome feedback.

Your post makes me feel very good. Thank you for writing it.

Best regards,

David

Thanks for the feedback. I try to write with an intention to impact people in a positive way. I am glad you were impacted by what I said in a positive way.

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your post. Something that I used to try to believe was that "there is no end to what we can know." These days, that idea just makes sense to me, without the desperate need to believe it, or defend it. It also makes sense to me that everything we think we know now, is subject to more knowing. The one thing I can know for sure is that I'm here, and I don't have to believe it, but there is certainly more to know and understand about me after that fact, which is just interesting and fun, and sometimes sucks but I'm here none the less and not harmed or helped by any of it.

Best

Mike

I was thinking about how you replied and had an interesting thought about "there is no end to what we can know". The thought went something like "How much information, knowledge, or wisdom can fit in my mind." When I really look at myself though, I have the sense that I am more than I can even fit in my own mind. Upon looking further I might even be more than my own mind. I mean this with the most humility. I am just looking and noticing these things. I don't take things literally when I look. I just make observations sometimes while looking. Don't take what I am saying as anything other than a Thank You for your post response.

Again, Thank You.

-Jon K

I bit of what I paid attention to today...

It dawned on me in a particular way today that I don't have control over much. I pay attention to what happens but I don't control what happens. A concrete example would be that I am just now paying attention to a bag of junk food chips to the right of me on the table. I choose to pay attention to the part of my experience that doesn't want to stuff my face with chips. Also I am paying little attention to the cravings I have to eat the chips. The craving is something I am aware that I am experiencing, but I will not give my full attention to the craving. I am now aware that I will not eat any of the chips. The result of paying attention to my experience is that I don't control what happens. Notice that I didn't mention that I choose not to eat the chips.

To me the only choice that I see that I have is the choice of how and what I pay attention to. Chips are only one example of experiencing reality and the art of paying attention. Empowerment for me has little to do with the choice to control. I recently saw a Lexus commercial that emphasized a slogan that said something like 'Control is the ultimate expression of power'. I don't know the exact wording but the message was clear. If I could take that slogan and apply it to the chips example then I might say make the statement that to have power I must control my desire to eat junk food chips. I have tried controlling many things without much success, and desires are amongst the worst thing to try to control. The more I have tried to control my desires the more I realize that my will power has a temporary affect, at best. How much food can a person will themselves not to eat? How many desires can we try to control by measure of will power?

I say for myself that I know that my will power is best confined to other tasks besides regulating my choices. I use will power as a subtle guide to make choices to what it is that I pay attention to. I notice things as they happen so that I pay attention to what is happening in my experience. I take this information and apply it to how I may pay attention again at a different moment. In conclusion the only control I have is my attention. All other attempts to believe the thought that I can control the experiences that occur are futile. In the past my attention was not aware of the potential involved in the very act of paying attention. What is there to control other than my attention? I say nothing. Upon closer inspection what I have said, there isn't anything to control in the first place. Also what is it that is doing the controlling in the first place? I don't even think that the act of paying attention is control. My reality goes a bit like this: I pay attention, a thought occurs, I pay attention, something happens, I pay attention, a thought occurs, this goes on and reality continues. There are a lot of rich and fulfilling experiences out there to pay attention to. I am noticing that this is the case.