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THE ROOT OF ALL CONTEMPLATIVE/YOGIC/EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES
Matthijs Cornelissen, one of the major contributors to the writings on Indian and yogic psychology, once said to me he thought – as I do to – that in 1 or 2 very brief letters, Sri Aurobindo had pointed to the very essence of yogic practice.
I don’t have the quote in front of me, but Sri Aurobindo spoke of the “stress of consciousness.” To me, it meant two things:
where we put our attention
what we identify with.
Internationally renowned psychologist, Bernard Baars, once said in regard to learning, that “attention is the universal solvent.”.
With admirable humility, he added that we have no idea how attention functions as a foundation of learning.
But in the aspiration to live always in the Presence of the Divine, if we “know” this secret of attention, it then becomes a matter of a simple shift of attention, from the surface, to as deep within as possible at the moment (or as high above) to recognize the all-pervading Divine Reality.
Now what about the development of the mind, vital and physical ins
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4 Replies
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Let’s say I’m sitting down to learn to play a Chopin Etude at the piano. #1 of Opus 25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-isqwcclQ8g
I sit. Sit on the bench, by the keyboard.
Shifting attention, shifting identity from the body, the emotions, the life energy, the mind, opening to vastness.
Now, listening, seeing, the music now memorized (through prior intense attention, intention, devotion).
Now, playing, listening to the rhythms, phrasing, volume changes, harmonies, flow of melody, being present feeling the Force move the fingers, recognizing the Divine Beauty…..
and seeing the tension of the fingers at certain points, emotional reactions, mental assumptions, views, beliefs,
seeing each practice session with greater and greater clarity
the seeing and hearing and feeling all sustained by an unbroken attention….
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Very interesting observations. Thank you, Don, for this post. I think that hearing is first then feeling and finally seeing. Feeling is the bridge between hearing and seeing.
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Ah, but is that any different from what i said?
can you say what you mean by the words “feeling” “hearing” and “seeing” – using completely different words? I think it’s possible – assuming I understand what you mean – that I DID say something along the same lines.
Perhaps, you could describe the processes you’re referring to in terms of attention. What is “hearing, “seeing” and “feeling” simply in terms of how Consciousness attends? (without using the. words “hearing “seeing” feeling”
I don’t understand yet – at all – how you’re using those words, so perhaps you could help me?
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Yes, we speak about the same thing. I thought about the progression of the activation of faculties.
Of course, if you are a pianist playing music it must be quite different, because then all of the faculties are activated: hearing, seeing and feeling.
I am trying to envision listening to music that is unknown. It is quite simple, I hear the music, provided I don’t know it yet, and don’t have any association with, I feel it within myself and then I can see the images this feeling creates in my mind.
From hearing something unknown, to seeing it within there is a bridge through feeling, I assume. The same way from seeing to hearing, or from apprehensive to comprehensive cognition.
Or? Do you have some other thoughts?
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