Language and Uncommon Sense

George G Clark, 20 November 2011

I have grey hair and am retired from ‘making a living’. These days my ‘work’ involves making the inner journey by turning the mind around. Metaphorically this involves (a) draining the muddy pool and exposing the hidden treasure; (b) letting the mud settle so that clarity returns; and (c) reprogramming what passes for common sense. The end point is to know the peace that passes all understanding.

But there is more to this ‘work’ than merely cracking norms and shifting paradigms. It involves more than just replacing one world view with another in a culturally relativistic manner. All options are not equal.

We can imagine (a) a continuum of ‘normal’ world views, and (b) various independent ‘abnormal’ world views that are beyond the continuum. But, when cultural trappings are removed from the various ab-normal (spiritual) world views, they are the same – there is what Aldous Huxley famously called the perennial philosophy.

There are many ways to climb the mountain but there is only one summit.

The perennial philosophy recognizes that ‘Reality’ is other than what appears to our culturally conditioned sense organs and brains. The idea is that IF you disengage from your culturally given ‘normal reality’ (which is but one of many on the cultural continuum) THEN you will appreciate the nature of the ‘spiritual reality’. This is the same for all people who manage to strip away the cultural accumulations by which they have been caught. 

Language evolved late in human evolution. Arguably it improved communication and the teaching of sophisticated skills amongst competing tribes of hunter/ gatherers. It was so successful that humanity quickly spread across the planet.

But this involved evolutionary emergence rather than managerial predetermination. There was no forward plan (at least before there was consciousness of consciousness). Variations of words and concepts arose and some survived better than others. (see Box 1)

Language would have helped with understanding cause and effect and thus the idea of agency. There would have been practical questions about ‘how’ and philosophical questions about ‘why’. (see Box 2). And the pattern of answers would have evolved through various stages of human evolution (see Box 3)

Box 1: The Beginnings of Language.	Box 2: The Six Questions
Thought experiment – try to guess what some of the first nouns would have been. Then have a go at the first verbs and then the first sentences (Subject Verb Object)	My six good friends are with me now Who, why, what, when, where and how

Box 3: Stages of Human Evolution
Pre-modern (Traditional)	Modern	Post modern
Magic and Myth	Science and Truth	Social constructivism (anything goes)
Priest and King	Technocrat & Businessman	New age hippie

Language appeared a few seconds before midnight on the 24 hour clock of human evolution. Language is new born. As an infant it has served us well. We made stone axes, invented war and agriculture, and put a man on the moon. But language has some serious limitations. But these can be overcome (see below).

There are causes and conditions for all the mental formations that appear in consciousness and in the unconscious. The basic scaffolding is genetic (nature) but the filling in is cultural (nurture). We are hard wired to learn a language but culture controls which specific language we learn and thus our world view.

Eskimo language has fourteen words for snow but none for butterfly!

Different cultures have different languages. When we have a word for a thing it ‘exists’. If there is no word for it then it does not exist.

Language does not offer names for things as they ‘really’ are. ‘Things’ are cultural creations. Children have to be educated/ indoctrinated to carve up the world in socially acceptable ways. Sexism, ageism, racism etc.

But, in this global age, we need to rethink our condition. We need to rise above parochial xenophobia. We need to reconsider the concept of agency and the boundaries of belonging. The good news is that we do not need to begin from scratch. We can put a new spin on the perennial philosophy. Its longevity suggests an element of hard wiring. (Have neurologists really found a God-spot in the brain?)

Cultures have shamans, seers and mystics. They go-between the people and their Gods. They deal with the cause/effect links between the natural and the supernatural worlds. Magic and myth abound and sacrifices are made to placate the dangerous forces of nature and the Gods. But, as we developed, black magic gave way to institutionalised religion and then to science. In the post-modern era we have the existential nihilists. (What’s it all about Alfie?) (See Box 3).

Often the ‘priests’ are closely linked to the powerful, high status groups in developed cultures. There is then a massive outpouring of mumbo jumbo and mellifluous spin. The King/ Emperor/ Pope/ Parent Figure is in touch with the Divine and passes on His/ Her messages to the lowly and obedient workers. But that is aberration.

Some individuals are ‘called’ to the life of a hermit, recluse, or mystic. Some become sages whose understandings are coopted by the power elites to serve their personal ends. But that is aberration.

Mystical loners from various times and places have been to the peak of the spiritual mountain. By sitting quietly doing nothing they clear away their cultural clutter. It becomes apparent that the ‘reality’ (world view) espoused by a particular culture and language is not the ‘real reality’.

Round and round and round in the circle game.

Language supposes boundaries that limit ‘things’. But there is a type of ‘knowing’ that lies beyond words and things. It appreciates the interconnected Oneness which has no beginning or ending but is nonetheless in a constant dance of creation and destruction.

Our infantile language did not evolve to talk of these ‘mystical’ ‘things’ but they can be ‘intuited’. Those who recover the ability for supracultural intuition talk of freedom, of enlightenment, of a release from bondage. They come to know a peace that passes all rational understanding. The best they can do using baby language is to create poetry and paradox. Here are some examples:

The reality that can be described is not the real reality.

Those who speak do not know
Those who know do not speak.

Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form

The impermanence of all created things.

Be still and know (Stillness Speaks)

When one sees Eternity in things that pass away and Infinity in finite things,
then one has pure knowledge.

A few men in all times have longed for Eternity and have attained Eternity,
but only a few.
When the light seen by a few becomes the light of the many,
then man will be able to fulfil himself on this earth.

What has been a Light for a few shall be in time a Light for All.

We are such stuff as dreams are made on:
and our little life is rounded with a sleep

SO:
IF I am to urgently make the inner journey and turn my mind around to find peace, THEN I had best get on with the work of reprogramming my common sense.
OM.

Practice Conscientious Compassion

Each of us has some task, some way to practice conscientious compassion. The question is: How do we find that task? To find it, a specific method can be prescribed. 

At the outset, practice the usual meditation on compassion, perhaps for 20 or 30 minutes.

Then focus your attention on several of the formidable problems that loom before humanity today:

• futile and self-destructive wars,
• rampant military spending,
•  global warming,
•  violations of human rights,
•  poverty and global hunger,
•  the exploitation of women,
•  our treatment of animals,
•  the abuse of the environment, or
•  any other concern that comes to mind. 

Reflect briefly on these problems, one by one, aware of how you respond to them. 

At some point, you will start to recognize that one of these problems, more than the others, tugs at the strings of your heart. These inner pangs suggest that this is the particular issue to which you should dedicate your time and energy.

- Bhikkhu Bodhi, "The Need of the Hour"

PARANOID ABOUT PREDATORS

There is a creative writing technique that involves producing stories that link seven words picked at random from a dictionary.  The last word becomes the title of the piece and the first three words must all be used in the first paragraph. Try for less than 250 words in total.

The procedure fascinates me. Plausible fictions can be quickly cobbled together from a small number of randomly selected elements. How is this possible? Why is this possible?

The mind is trying to ‘make sense’ of the various ‘bits’ of ‘mental stuff’ that are available. New stuff is continuously arriving through the sense doors and being categorised as ‘similar’ to stuff in the ‘memory’. Past knowledge of cause and effect relationships (whether ‘right’ or ‘wrong’) can then be used to guide responses to the external stimuli.

Consider what might be going through the mind of a Thompson’s Gazelle. “What is that smell? Why have the birds stopped singing? What is that spotty thing moving slowly through the long grass?” There are the makings of a nothing-but formula –

smell + sound + sight = cheetah = death = panic response = enhanced ability to run away

But we can dig deeper into this thought experiment and create a more subtle set of links and of cause and effect chains.

We need a lot of coding and decoding to move information from here to there. Physical inputs from the sense doors move along the sensory neurones to ‘appropriate parts’ of the brain where they are ‘conceptualised’, and ‘judged’ (pleasant, neutral, unpleasant). And they are then passed on to the parts of the brain that deal with responses in physiology (hormones), psychology (thoughts and emotions) and movement (muscles and bones).

The system evolved rather than having been designed from scratch. ‘Redundancy’ is to be expected. Traces of the main stimulus/ response chains will diffuse to other areas of the brain where they contribute to the brain’s ever-changing, integrated ‘world view’.

We can imagine what the Gazelle might be feeling and thinking. Panic attack, red alert, cheetah (or is it?) in the long grass to the south. Head north at warp speed – shut down other life support systems so that all energy can be used for running.

But it might be a trap. Keep a look out for other cheetahs waiting in the north. Keep yourself between the cheetah and the young calves. Be prepared to counterattack if need be. Consider if there might be other dangers – unleash the paranoia. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Making sense of the world involves combining sensory inputs with memories. From the past and the present we create all manner of imagined futures with incredible speed. The human brain and its language ability are fine tuned story telling instruments. They have served us well over the ancestral years. Perhaps it is time to rethink restlessness, anxiety, stress, depression, neurosis and paranoia. In these changing times real sanity rests with those who are abnormal in a creative sort of way. 

ACTIVITY: Drag out a dictionary and write a seven word story.
WARNING :You will be stunned by what your brain produces.

Sounds True

Sounds True A lot of good stuff

my booklets available for download

story of story

BBC World Service - “A short history of story”

(Noah Richler) (programme 1 and 2)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00ldy9q

IPlayer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00ldy9q

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00lf0gh

Podcast

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/docarchive/docarchive_20111105-1900a.mp3

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/docarchive/docarchive_20111111-1525a.mp3

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Part 1.

Noah Richler traces the development of storytelling from the earliest creation myths through to today's online gaming and the recording of our personal lives by way of social media.

In the first programme he shows how creation myths and cautionary tales were created to explain humans' place in the world, and how we should conduct ourselves in it.

And when groups came into contact with each other, myths and epics were invented which showed how they might deal with the threats and danger that sprang from conflict.

The arrival of the novel he argues came at a time when society felt less threatened and so could explore the highways and byways of living our lives.

Among those taking part in the series are Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, anthropologist Hugh Brody, Canadian poet Robert Bringhurst and artificial intelligence expert David Ferrucci.

Part 2

Noah Richler traces the development of storytelling from the earliest creation myths through to today's online gaming and the recording of our personal lives by way of social media.

The second programme looks at how creation myths and epics in the 21st Century continue to be part of our experience of storytelling, and that through computer games and social media people assume different identities – hero, villain, warrior, and peacemaker.

The series ends with the thought that perhaps we humans are the servant of the story, the vessel through which story lives, and it's the survival of 'story' that is paramount.

When You Prepare Food

When you prepare food, do not see with ordinary eyes and do not think with ordinary mind.

Take up a blade of grass and construct a treasure king's land; enter into a particle of dust and turn the great dharma wheel. Do not arouse disdainful mind when you prepare a broth of wild grasses; do not arouse joyful mind when you prepare a fine cream soup.

Where there is no discrimination, how can there be distaste? Thus, do not be careless even when you work with poor materials, and sustain your efforts even when you have excellent materials.

Never change your attitude according to the materials. If you do, it is like varying your truth when speaking with different people; then you are not a practitioner of the way.
   

– Zen Master Dogen, "Instructions for the Tenzo"
Tricycle Daily Dharma October 25, 2011
http://www.tricycle.com/-food/instructions-tenzo

magnificent moaners

In the old days those who were prone to anxiety, stress and depression were less likely to get eaten by lions than were the cheery, rose-tinted optimists. So the morose had more children and morosity mushroomed. Paranoia is in our genes for a reason.

So, let us put our hands together for the mutterings of the moaning morose. They are the bright hopes for the future. Or, if that seems over the top, then let us at least give them credit for being critical of and resistant to the status quo. As R D Laing (more or less) noted, in an insane world the truly sane are labelled as nutters.

Free Shopping for Elders

George G Clark, 12 October 2011

There is a small supermarket 325 footsteps east of my front door.  Every day a cornucopia of goods is delivered by the invisible hand of commerce and a series of large trucks. The goods are attractively arranged on the shelves where I go hunting and gathering for the bits and pieces of plants and animals that I need to survive. Then I use a plastic card to connect to a computer that links to the data clouds of cyberspace to arrange the magical movement of funds from my bank account to that of the supermarket.

But the computer does many clever things apart from shifting cash. For example it keeps track of stock and lets ‘HQ’ know how much of what needs to be delivered in the next few days and therefore how many bananas to buy from Belize.

The computer also keeps track of what you have bought in the past and provides you with customised recommendations for items that match your profile. This can be seen as either (a) very useful or helpful or (b) as unwelcome interference in what occupies your attention. This raises the issues of advertising and the manufacture of desire! If you don’t know it exists you won’t buy it. Beware of fads and fashions!

In the old days families would grow most of their food in their own gardens. These days most gardens are landscaped with low maintenance, lifeless gravel; and with cement and tarmac to give parking space for the family car(s). The subsistence economy is now well gone as is the freedom from the need for money.  We are all now wage slaves in the cash economy.

We need food. We need money to buy food. We need a job to earn the money. Many modern jobs are boring, repetitive and do not pay well. The workers grunt for peanuts and the managers and shareholders slurp the profits. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

I am now entering the post-work stage of life. I was always careful with money and now have savings and a modest pension. And - I am not a dedicated follower of fads and fashions. So - I no longer have to work for shopping money. I have unlocked the chains of wage slavery. I am FREE FROM all of that.

But what am I FREE FOR?

To wholeheartedly breathe, eat, pee and poop?

I am a fleeting item in the global ecosystem. Commerce conspires to bring Belizean bananas to a small supermarket. 650 footsteps there and back. Peel it, pop it in my mouth, extract the goodness. The remains are in the faeces that are flushed into the sewerage system that runs past my front door and leads to the North Sea and thus back across the Atlantic in the Gulf Stream to Belize.

Round and round and round in the circle game.

[Joni Mitchell]

bandw

What is it?

From Bothy CC B&W

Attending to Attention

George G Clark, 18 September 2011

Cerebral stuff includes conscious, semi-conscious and unconscious thoughts, feelings and emotions. It is logistically impossible to capture it all and this begs some tough questions - (a) which bits are, or are not, featured in your attention centre?; (b) what are the decision rules that govern the choice?; (c) what is the action agency?; and (d) is the system open to change and, if so, by whom and how?

We are not wired for 24/7 busyness. We need time out for sleep and for waking stillness. We can then process our inputs by reacting and responding to them in a considered and appropriate way. Your vital brain is forever churning the cerebral stuff, linking new bits to old, and creating story fragments with feeling tones ranging through pleasant and neutral to unpleasant.

BUT those who were neutral to signals from nearby lions were soon dead. The same fate awaits those who challenge the hierarchy and the groupthink. It is better to overreact by being hyper vigilant. Nervousness and paranoia are useful for survival in nature and will therefore have been cemented in place by evolution.

BUT there is often division of labour amongst ‘social’ animals. Hamadryas baboons appoint particular individuals as vigilant watchmen and the rest of the troupe can therefore drop their guard. Some individuals can thus be at ease and focus attention on other, important things (eg screenwriting for popular soap operas).

BUT then consider the ‘gated’ compounds for the human haves (them) when they live close to the dangerous have-nots (us). Then consider ‘who guards against the compound guards’? – evolved paranoia wins again! They are out to get us. The price of authenticity and freedom is to pay attention to, and thus have some control over, the cerebral stuff that passes through your attention centre.

Socrates reckoned that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living.’ But he was a boring old fart who lived in ancient times. Is it not better to be a conscientious, capitalist consumer and a fanatical follower of frivolous fads and ephemeral fashions? What sort of cerebral stuff tends to occupy your attention centre? Do you feel a need for change? Are you paranoid enough to survive in modern civilisation?

Hegemony doesn’t seem to rule - OK

Peace begins with a smile

Peace begins with a smile

Suffering is not enough

“Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. To suffer is not enough. We must also be in touch with the wonders of life. They are within us and all around us, everywhere, any time.

“If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others … If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace … If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it.”

(Thich Nhat Hahn (1987) Being Peace)

Maslow 2.0: A New and Improved Recipe for Happiness - Hans Villarica - Life - The Atlantic

Maslow 2.0: A New and Improved Recipe for Happiness - Hans Villarica - Life - The Atlantic

Righteous Mind

Jonathan Haidt has a new book out “The Righteous Mind - Why good people are divided by politics and religion”. http://www.righteousmind.com/ This could be hugely influential

Oxytocin: could the 'trust hormone' rebond our troubled world? | Science | The Observer

Oxytocin: could the 'trust hormone' rebond our troubled world? | Science | The Observer

brushwork

brushwork

What is there to be scared of?

What defines Western Buddhism?

The defining characteristic of the emerging Western Buddhism is a basic pragmatism, rather than an adherence to some philosophical system or sectarian viewpoint. What most characterizes the One Dharma of the West is an allegiance to a very simple question: What works? What works to free the mind from suffering? What works to accomplish the heart of compassion? What works to awaken us from the dream states of our ignorance?

- Joseph Goldstein, "One Dharma"
http://www.tricycle.com/feature/one-dharma

No Exits

Monastic life isn’t tough because you have to work hard all day long. It isn’t tough because you don’t have any time for yourself. It isn’t tough because there is no time to practice. It’s tough because there are no exits and you come up so close to yourself.”

—“No Place to Hide” by Pema Chödrön

Community Media - Interactive World: If the World were a Global Village ...

Community Media - Interactive World: If the World were a Global Village ...

milgram's should

Cutting Ties: The Fruits of Solitude | Tricycle

Cutting Ties: The Fruits of Solitude | Tricycle

Cutting Ties: The Fruits of Solitude - Pema Chödrön walks us through Shantideva's prescription for solitude, verse by verse.

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - All in the Mind, 21/06/2011

BBC - BBC Radio 4 Programmes - All in the Mind, 21/06/2011

Buddhism In America: What Is The Future?

Buddhism In America: What Is The Future?

the brain - a user's manual

As thinking beings we are how the Universe is becoming conscious of its(our)self.

So don’t waste your brain by driving it like a crawling sportscar forever in first gear.

Where can we find a user’s manual for the brain?

concept cobbling

I no longer have ‘lessons’ ready to deliver. These days I prefer dialogue. It is not as if there is a truth out there - it is a matter of individual brains (existences) cobbling together a few stray inputs from genes, culture and serendipity. (Clark)