Ulysses (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} ulyart) wrote,@ 2009-11-17 15:15:00 |
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meditation, the Red Book
Meditation involves paying attention to attention; being aware of awareness; sensing sensation.
It does not involve, however, thinking about thinking, which would more properly be called philosophy or cognitive science.
Philosophy and cognitive science are important pursuits in their own right, but not to be confused with meditation.
I've always thought of my philosophizing as a kind of obsession, a desire to project categories upon the chaos which surrounds me, and in doing so, obtain some semblance of security and familiarity. In philosophical mode I toy around with concepts; I create new ones, refine them, winnow them down, see how they relate to what I experience.
In meditative mode, I suspend all concepts, and apprehend the world in a more direct way-- surfing on naked energies. As a most obvious entry into this other way of being, I suspend the use of words-- this is why Zen arts like archery or the tea ceremony are conducted in silence.
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I bought Carl Jung's The Red Book not necessarily intending to read the text.
I wouldn't expect to get transformative insights just by reading transcripts of sessions of somebody else's psychoanalysis. The only way to get that insight would be to undergo psychoanalysis myself.
It's interesting to note that Jung's individuation process including building a stone tower with his hands, creating stone sculptures, drawing mandalas, and painting and writing the myths of the Red Book. Traditional psychoanalysis ("Talk therapy") alone could not get him where he needed to go.
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So many of my LiveJournal friends have left the site.... I am thinking of shifting my blog to another host as well. Anyone have any advice for me who has made a similar move?
Meditation involves paying attention to attention; being aware of awareness; sensing sensation.
It does not involve, however, thinking about thinking, which would more properly be called philosophy or cognitive science.
Philosophy and cognitive science are important pursuits in their own right, but not to be confused with meditation.
I've always thought of my philosophizing as a kind of obsession, a desire to project categories upon the chaos which surrounds me, and in doing so, obtain some semblance of security and familiarity. In philosophical mode I toy around with concepts; I create new ones, refine them, winnow them down, see how they relate to what I experience.
In meditative mode, I suspend all concepts, and apprehend the world in a more direct way-- surfing on naked energies. As a most obvious entry into this other way of being, I suspend the use of words-- this is why Zen arts like archery or the tea ceremony are conducted in silence.
* * * * *
I bought Carl Jung's The Red Book not necessarily intending to read the text.
The Village Voice Bookstore called me saying "Your order has arrived... you'll probably want to come with a wheelbarrow to pick it up."
I ended up going with a small suitcase with wheels. And was glad I did!
Anyway, it's not the content of the text that is important. Rather, The Red Book offers a record of a psychoanalytic modality, the one that worked for Jung.I ended up going with a small suitcase with wheels. And was glad I did!
I wouldn't expect to get transformative insights just by reading transcripts of sessions of somebody else's psychoanalysis. The only way to get that insight would be to undergo psychoanalysis myself.
That said, after much reflection, I don't intend to undergo traditional psychoanalysis myself. Not for the time being at least. It's going to be one of those roads not taken, mostly because of the huge financial outlay it would require.
Jung encouraged everyone to "Create your own Red Book..." I take this literally: get out the pens and inks and create your own illuminated manuscript, your own sacred object. That would be a better modality for me.It's interesting to note that Jung's individuation process including building a stone tower with his hands, creating stone sculptures, drawing mandalas, and painting and writing the myths of the Red Book. Traditional psychoanalysis ("Talk therapy") alone could not get him where he needed to go.
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So many of my LiveJournal friends have left the site.... I am thinking of shifting my blog to another host as well. Anyone have any advice for me who has made a similar move?
