Just One Look Forum Archives

It struck me this morning, as I was thinking about the recent great forum posts, that we need to get this word out there fast and efficiently. I thought that speaking to large groups would be more efficient than one on one relating, having the whole group look together. Perhaps there would even be a synergistic affect when done this way?

Than I thought about John in prison and how this was the genesis of the whole endeavor. John's pain in prison caused him to search in a way that he may not have done in another setting. There also seems to be a theme among lookers that they are more open to this act when they are desperate and have exhausted all other resources. Anyway, I got this vision of groups of prisoners listening to John and doing the looking with him. He would have total credibility given his past and the audience, it would seem, would be highly focused on his story and the act of looking. I also think word would spread within the prison system about this new thing that others are doing to feel better.

Also, We could change society from the bottom up, the inside out (not that the prison population is necessarily the bottom of society). It might also be a good setting to do a clinical study. Choose prisoners who are going to be in prison for at least four more years and are relatively stable within one prison system and do a longitudinal clinical trial over four or five years.

Funny, I just read an article (Cracked on FB) about prisoners that won a debate contest over a Harvard team. Not all that related but I just read it before reading your post here, which is a great idea. I once attended a one-day training to become certified to do spiritual counseling at my local facility. Never actually did any counseling.

Do we have any data on the general profiles that would-be lookers fall into? Can we survey past lookers to help point us to more likely 'candidates'? I may be wrong but I have a hunch that people must first be in a particular mindset.

Brilliant idea Jackx! I have mentioned that I have great hopes for the looking to halt our collective destructive demeanor and recidivism, for example, is a way to measure the general satisfaction among subjects.

Bradley, everyone living in fear is a would-be looker. Making others perform the look has nothing to do with them or their state of mind. It's a skill which you have to acquire and develop by practicing it like any other skill. Personally, I see this is the defining act of the Bodhisattva, using this life to perfect the art.

Hey Jackx and Bradley!

Your idea on prisons, Jackx, is an interesting one. Considering the physical and social boundaries of a prison it could very well a grateful place to bring the message of the looking to many in a short period of time. Both inmates and correctional officers would benefit a great deal, just like you and I have, no doubt. USA has a lot of folks in this category too. If it's successful maybe it could spread. I believe we need ideas like this that have potential to give Carla and John's message wings so to speak.

Bradley, it seems to me no-one needs to be in a certain state of mind. In fact making people look (remember it only takes once) doesn't seem at all that difficult. A guy from Amnesty International approached me in the street the other day. I declined his invitation to join but just by being friendly and gently bringing the suggestion to him he made the move of attention with intent. Just like John says; intent is the key.

I think an attractive perspective or hook would be an offering of sanity. The Way of Sanity may sound like a spiritual type of practice but it is not. The attraction would be a part of a person's need or yearning for the silence to settle and be without fear. So much noise and fast dancing tends to numb and exhaust and an offering of sanity is very straight and to the root of looking without any bait and switch nonsense. The whole process of looking,recovery and the deep enjoyment of being human could be included in this presentation.

A very good point clearly stated, riewnai1. I will add it to my toolbox.

Although I have found it hard to translate sane/sanity to Swedish without it sounding like an insult, putting it like it's something they should want, ie don't already are/have. Suggesting they have fear faces the same problem. Still looking for language and an approach to efficiently communicate what we are talking about here in my mother tongue.

Many I meet are deep in denial over their own dissatisfaction and I find it challenging to talk to them about the looking in terms they will accept. Indeed the experience of going through looking and recovery is greatly benefited by insight to the process of recovery and the community here, and while I wish I had the means to convey this when sharing the looking I find it secondary to the looking itself. Any time I deviate and sound like there's an important message, or if there's more work to be done, I lose influence over their attention and run the risk of being shut out before getting through.

My opinion on sharing the looking with others is that we should keep our eye on the ball. Make them look. Bait and switch is nonsense, but so is the whole context of a fearful mind. John's approximation of 10% of humans to heal the world seems legit. Everything else we accomplish along the way is bonus.

The simplicity of this act is a profound gift to humanity. At the present moment, it lacks validity and acceptance in the general public's eyes, imo. Focusing on marketing (bad word) this as an anxiety killer could potentially get the word out effectively with the resulting exposure reaching the general public.

I also would love to be able to read a book that was a distillation of highlights from all of the YouTube content, put in written form and grouped and indexed. There is wonderful knowledge and insight there as well as instruction.

The act of looking allows a new way of relating to life to be born. The recovery period is a process of re-orientation. A teacher that brought a type of energy balancing work called Jin Shin Jyutsu to North America from Japan called Mary Burmeister defined fear as False Evidences Appearing Real. I find this insight relevant to this act of looking because the fear of life undercurrent depends on false evidences to support a reality. Not REALITY but a reality.People will enjoy being human when they no longer base their reality on false evidences.