#733 Time for Intra- & Interpersonal Qualitative Change?

     "Einstein said that we cannot solve the problems of he world from the level of thinking that we were at when we created them. I think a lot of people embrace this concept, while underestimating what it really means. A different level of thinking means a different level of thinking. It does not even mean just a different kind of thinking. It does not mean a different emphasis in our thinking. It does not mean a more loving kind of thinking. It means what he said, a different level of thinking, and to me, that is what meditation brings.
      Meditation can change the world because meditation changes us. That is the point. The world will not change until we change. The state of the world is a reflection of who we are. The state of the world is the effect; the state of consciousness of human beings is the cause. Mahatma Gandhi said the problem with the world is that humanity is not in its right mind and that is what meditation addresses. It returns us to our right mind, and until there is this evolution in consciousness, we will stay locked in a fear based perspective in which we continue to see ourselves as separate from each other, and in which we continue to think we can do something to someone else and not reap the result ourselves."    Marianne Williamson

        Ed Shapiro, Deb Shapiro eds. "Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World" Sterling Ethos, 2011.

Ancient Chinese Dragon

 

#415 Can You Predict the Future?

     The logical answer of course is no. And yet, don't we all act as though we could?
     We briefly catch sight of someone, and immediately categorize them in all sorts of ways (education, socio-economic status, morals, IQ, etc etc) - is that not predicting the future based on minimal data? Prejudice, stereotyping, racial profiling ...
     Someone starts saying something, and we immediately know the rest of the story. Our listening shuts down, and our own self-talk takes over, as if we had a more concisely packaged version of what's being said (but are now failing to hear). Is this not also predicting the future based on minimal data? Premature closure, narrative (vs experiential) focus of attention, jumping to conclusions ...
     But perhaps the most limiting, most damagingly handicapping of all our pseudo-clairvoyant misadventures is our total and utter ineptitude at predicting our own potential as human beings.
     Three concepts should be considered: levels of consciousness, iterative learning, and experiential learning.  
     Einstein said “No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.” Looking at it another way, your 6-year old self joyfully beating your mother's cooking pot with a wooden spoon could not possibly understand, and thus could not possibly predict, the sublime pleasure you now (perhaps) derive from listening to classical music.
     There were many steps between your 2-year-old and current musical sensibilities. At each step, you changed as a person (levels of consciousness & changing brain anatomy & physiology), and with these changes, your perceptions kept changing stepwise - iterative learning. 
     Experiential learning is another way of looking at levels of consciousness and iterative learning. One can read forever about a lived (mind-body) experience eg climbing Everest, yet remain quite naive about it. A classic example is the qualitative difference between reading about meditation versus practicing it - there's really no comparison. See: http://healthyhealers.blogspot.ca/2013/06/intellectual-glass-ceiling-it-most.html
     Practicing mindfulness meditation, one learns that one's consciousness continuously evolves, and as it does, one is constantly surprised by how one's life improves. One cannot predict how it will improve, nor even adequately describe the improvements, particularly to non-meditators, for the reasons above.
     But it's important to understand that we all can evolve our own consciousness via meditation practice, cannot predict what it's going to be like, and others cannot give us a detailed description of what we'll experience. It's best to keep letting go of old ideas - they distort the absolutely unique present moment. Why not experience each moment's fresh surprises?

Exchanging Atoms Timelessly

#340 Mindfulness is Intentional Transformational Learning

      "Fundamental change is difficult because it involves a radical shift in identity. 'Fundamental', 'structural', and 'radical' are terms that highlight different aspects of transformational learning (TL). ... An apt metaphor for transformational change is the caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly — not a difference of degree, but, rather, one of kind; not superficial, but, rather, structural in nature. When we move from the biologic metaphor to the psychologic of TL, the structures implicated are those of identity rather than those of anatomy. The ground of assumptions upon which we construct our identities is remade during transformational learning."

       Green L. Transformative learning: A passage through the liminal zone. in: Psychoanalysis and education: Minding a gap. Karnac Books, London, England, 2012. pp199-216. 

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