Metacognition | ||
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Beyond hokum
If you read about Taoism you will find a lot of
hokey stuff that belongs on the 'kook' shelf in the
book store.
Psychics, mythology, 3 legged toads, unicorns,
phoenix and superstition.
Stay clear of that stuff...
Zen & Tao
Zen and Taoism are
earthy, practical, tangible methods designed to help you see
clearly and interact with the world in a productive,
fruitful, powerful manner.
They are challenging.
You will find no pithy, easy 'bullet point' solutions.
These disciplines require you to think deeply and
sincerely.
Taoist thinking methods
The Taoist thinking model is quite straightforward in summation
but incredibly complex in
application and
scope.
There are 3 underlying
insights:
These can
be thought of as being undivided, dynamic balancing and
change.
1. Wu
Wu is about recognising that everything is part of
everything else; linked, joined, connected, in
relationship.
Whilst you are reading this, every other being
on the planet is doing something else, all at the same time, everywhere
(simultaneity).
People often like to think of themselves as being 'special',
but if we are all special, then
surely no one is special.
A more accurate term might be 'unique' or
'individual'.
This insight is about realising we are not quite as separate as we would
like to think. Humanity is interdependent; with each other and with
nature.
Undivided
To gain a real sense of 'wu' we must aim to take ourselves out of the
equation.
Not everything is about us. There is no need to
implicate yourself in every situation.
Wu wei (going with the flow/not forcing) and wu
nien (spontaneous action/not preparing) are about acting/not acting without
referencing our sense of self.
We act without deliberate thinking; our body just moves.
Motorists do this all the time; especially
good ones. Many do not.
Mushin
In order to become skilled with this insight we must
meditate and lose our sense of personal
significance.
We must become lost is what is
taking place. We call this 'being'.
Our awareness must expand so
that we can act without consciously weighing
the pros and cons.
This process does not require daydreaming.
It necessitates immersion in what is happening
right now.
A man of Sung did business
In silk ceremonial hats.
He travelled with a load of hats
To the wild men of the South.
The wild men had shaved heads,
Tattooed bodies.
What did they want
With silk
Ceremonial hats?
Yao had wisely governed
All China.
He had brought the entire world
To a state of rest.
After that, he went to visit
The four Perfect Ones
In the distant mountains
Of Khu Shih.
When he came back
Across the border
Into his own city
His lost gaze
Saw no throne.
(Chuang Tzu)
2. Yin/yang
Often yin/yang is seen as being hot/cold, here/there, this/that.
Which is a correct answer, but not complete.
The insight highlights the fact that balancing occurs continuously and in
all facets of our lives. e.g. we buy groceries which we can eat to live, but we have to pay money
which we must first earn.
There is an exchange; give and take. It happens
in every situation. The interaction is not good/bad, right/wrong. It simply
exists and is unavoidable.
Dynamic balancing
You want more time to do some work or interact with your loved
ones after work so you decide to go to bed an hour late.
This provides the time you sought. In the morning you feel
tired because you didn't
sleep for long enough. This is an exchange.
Was it the right
choice to make?
Perspective
Choices are a matter of perspective. Each decision has pros and cons.
Whatever choice you make is both good and bad.
On the one hand you get the extra time you wanted, but on the other hand
your health and associated mental faculties
are diminished.
Ultimately, it comes down to what you think is important at the time.
You are one who is going to have to live with the outcome.
Harmony
The ideal situation with yin/yang involves blending
with what is happening, shaping your response to the dictates of the
situation and making a choice that allows everyone to
win.
This is clearly not the 'competitive'
solution.
To accomplish this, considerable compassion,
patience, awareness,
sensitivity and attention is
required.
And a willingness to be flexible,
pliable,
adaptive and to learn and
grow from the experience.
3. Bagua
Imagine booking a holiday?
The process might sound straightforward and
simplistic but it isn't.
There are countless variables, possibilities, options, choices and
considerations. There are deals, pitfalls, pros and cons.
Everything is like this.
We like to imagine that life is simplistic and easy but this is not the
truth. Every day we must make choices that have
consequences and unforeseen side effects.
Change
Life is in flux.
We want stability and unchanging fixity in the
hope of security but this is not the
way things work.
Every second of our lives gravity is pulling us
down; and simply standing upright is a muscular
skeletal balancing act.
Most people brace and tense-up in the hope
of gaining the illusion of sustained control.
But it doesn't work. Fighting against the flow causes
pain and suffering.
Perception
Bagua is about altering your state of consciousness; expanding
it hugely.
Perceive things differently.
Recognise our own insignificance is the world, be aware of the vastness of
all that is known and the unimaginable
volume of the unknown (and unknowable).
A common Zen theme is 'not
knowing' - genuinely realising our own incredible
ignorance - and being OK with this.
Not out of apathy or laziness but in humility.
Choiceless awareness
The aim is to instantaneously weigh up the options and make the best choice
from what is available.
Our decisions may not make sense to other people, but are they
allowing
for the same variables and considerations?
Everyone is different and people's motives are not always going to
coincide.
When your choices become harmonious, you find that situations open up and
you see new opportunities that were not previously apparent.
Krishnamurti spoke of 'choiceless awareness':
This journey I am proposing that we take together is not to the moon or even
to the stars. The distance to the stars is much less than the distance
within ourselves. The discovery of ourselves is endless, and it requires
constant inquiry, a perception which is total, an awareness in which there
is no choice.
This journey is really an opening of the door to the individual in his
relationship with the world.
(Krishnamurti)
Question
yourself
Are you familiar with the 'help me up' koan?
It asks whether or not help really is helpful...
Most spiritual traditions have similar questions.
In Christianity they say that a true friend will tell you the truth even if
it upsets you. How come?
Consider: If I refrain from telling you the truth who am I serving?
Your interests or my own? If I am honest with you, you may not like me any more. If I am dishonest,
am I really your friend at all?
See how even the simplest of things is more complex than we realise?
Ask yourself: Does your relationship with other people serve their
interests or protect your own?
Influences
Imagine if someone came into your house right now and told you how to
decorate your residence, what to wear, how to eat, who to interact with...
How receptive would you be?
You'd probably experience a negative
reaction. You'd resist the imposition. After all, you've decorated the
house as you see fit, you wear what suits your own tastes?
Now, think carefully.
Hijack
What role does TV, news, mass media, fashion,
trends, politics, education, marketing and gossip
play in your life?
That's right: they dominate your mind. They control you. They
tell you how and what to do. Who to be. And you just let them.
(You may even believe that it isn't happening).
Where to start?
Begin with yin/yang.
It is quite easy to start to see things from other people's point of view.
Chuang Tzu described this as being
'the pivot' - a condition where you can flip any
belief/thought/idea on its head and see it differently.
Gaining the ability to see things more
expansively will alter your relationship with the world around you.
You will become aware of your own thinking processes and that is
'metacognition'.
Page created
2 August 1994
Last updated
04 May 2023
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