August 8, 2024
Principle 8. Comprehended Action. Week 2
You Will Make Your Conflicts Disappear When You Understand Them In Their Ultimate Root, Not When You Want To Resolve Them
Last time: Tale of a Blanket.
This time: Conflicts and Contradictions.
This Week:
Last week we looked at the basic structure of principle eight, the principle of immediate action. We considered its general meaning, and broad implications. We also played the game of find it, where we looked for other versions or illustrations of the principle in the culture.
This week to help gain some new perspectives on this principle we will consider how it might have applied in our past, and we will also play the game of
Ask About It!
The Game of the Week.
The basic idea is simple: turn to someone and ask them what this principle might mean. This will likely, include the difficult task of taking a little risk and overcoming any initial self-censorship. Why so inhibited? You’re only asking someone’s opinion.
Try it out. Simply say to a friend, your neighbour, family member, or some stranger on the street. The point is to solicit their opinion, and then the hard part. You need to listen — even when they say, “I think that’s stupid”.
General Considerations and Personal Reflections:
Here are some personal reflections. I offer them in the spirit of dialogue and exchange, and look forward to hearing your thoughts about, and experiences with, this principle.
Can I recall a situation where I tried to resolve a problem that I didn’t really understand? How did that go? Did I stumble on a solution through blind luck, or did my actions make things worse?
Can I recall a situation where I was able to delay acting until I had a better grasp on the roots of the problem? Did those insights help?
If I can’t recall such things in regard to my own actions, can I recall how this principle impacted the situation of others (real or imagined)? From Oedipus to TV situation comedies many of our great myths, stories and popular entertainments revolve around situations where the roots of the conflict are misunderstood, or where the conflict arises from a mistaken belief or perception.
Conflicts are not really hard to find.
It’s not only that I recognize conflicts between myself and others — conflicts about values, things we want to do, money, etc. Some of these are substantial, most (one hopes) are trivial. I also find internal conflicts of varying degrees of seriousness. Most notable among these are perhaps the contradictions between what I think, what I feel and what I end up doing. When we talk about contradiction we are pointing to a certain kind of conflict. Not all conflicts are contradictions.
The principles are principles of valid action a powerful medicine that dissolves the knots of conflict. Some people see these principles as rules or laws. Others see them as tactics, or as a moral code. Some dismiss them as trivial platitudes.
There is a however a very different approach which involves understanding them as reminders that point us back to our own registers and our own direction in life. From this perspective their value is found in their function as signposts indicating the need, and the way, to move toward registers of internal unity and away from those of internal conflict.
However, as we’ve discussed previously, making them into something more than platitudes can only come about by engaging with them and trying to weave them into a style of life with which to face daily life.
I think all this points to a staggeringly important possibility, that of transforming our daily life into a profound meditation, and path of awakening, and liberation.
No doubt the simplicity of daily action, of doing with and among things, is shaken to its core by this change in perspective.
It is always helpful on occasion to try and apply a principle to this or that specific situation, but what if we actually incorporate this principle, and all the others, into the heart of how we live. That could open up a very different way of being, the Emerald Path where, as the Inner Look proposes: the worldly is not opposed to the eternal.
Worth Repeating:
The Principle of Immediate Action reminds us that we should learn to benefit from all the intermediate steps or situations that lead to our goals.
Remember:
- Reflect on your basic understanding of the principle, it’s general meaning and implications.
-Play the game of
Coming Up:
Next week we’ll continue with
Besides the opportunity to participate in the weekly experiences, our next meeting will be a chance for an interchange about your thoughts, insights, examples and questions.
You’ll receive a reminder the day before the meeting.
We hope you can join us.
Remember:
“A new life is not based upon destroying previous “sins” but upon recognizing them, so that from now on it will be clear how ill-advised are these mistakes.”
Silo_ The Internal Landscape lX:18
Worth Repeating:
Coming up:
Next week we will turn our focus to reflecting on this principle in the light of our present experiences.
Note:
Illustration by Rafael Edwards.
These notes have been posted on Facebook and sent to our email list, and, on my website www.dzuckerbrot.com
See you around.
Don’t forget:
In some moment of the day or night inhale a breath of air and imagine that you carry this air to your heart. Then, ask with strength for yourself and for your loved ones. Ask with strength to move away from all that brings you contradiction; ask for your life to have unity. Don't take a lot of time with this brief prayer, this brief asking, because it is enough that you interrupt for one brief moment what is happening in your life for this contact with your interior to give clarity to your feelings and your ideas.
Silo_ La Reja, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005
Here’s a few things to consider this week. Our next meeting, besides the opportunity to participate in the weekly experiences, will be a chance for an interchange about your thoughts, insights, examples, and questions.
You’ll receive a reminder the day before the meeting. We hope you can join us.
