The Horse

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Yes, all of the analysis that I’ve done is fun, good, and thoughtful/ thought-provoking. It doesn’t lead directly to any result but it sets the stage for understanding better what is/ could be.

 It is the result of personae that are primarily influenced by the intellectual source and this is where the idea of a bridge comes in. There has to be a way of getting from the thoughtful analysis to the desired result. So far the path has been mostly circuitous. A little analysis, a little planning, a little articulation of what may be dreams, and then some listed tasks that are accomplished because they are listed and reminders are posted. There are few things that get listed that don’t get done, and those that aren’t finished will be in due time. The time or two that personae of primarily the emotional source got involved, the accomplishment of even the larger goal was seemingly effortless.

There is no direct link between analysis and task. This is an important statement because one may think that there is a linear progression from one to the other. It doesn’t happen that way, the analysis establishes the environment for thinking of what is desired and then from that what to do. Not everything done, of course, comes out of this process; there are some things that crop up and with which we must deal.

There are dangers, one danger is to get so detailed in the planning that there is no time to spare to be spontaneous. Then there is another, the danger of not having s.t. listed to remind one of what to do; there is a tendency to idle by doing s.t. that is totally unproductive like Sudoku, reverie, or TV. Not that these are inherently bad but they have a tendency to create their own inertia, i.e. once started they seem to take much more time than one would otherwise chose to spend.

Having good habits and becoming their slave is a way to always be focused on a desired state of being. By conforming to habitual behavior and/or thinking one complies with a predetermined wish/desire. One habit that is paramount for this one is reciting a series of Daily Admonitions/ Affirmations.

There are more than 30 and, in addition, statements of “how to” for each of the 18 endeavors; that is a total litany of more than 50 statements that is recited habitually daily in the car as I drive out of the neighborhood to wherever or at home when I’m in for the day. So I am constantly reminded of how I want to be and what I want to do. One may ask on what level am I focusing my attention in all of this. And the answer would be primarily in the Intellectual and this is what has to be changed/modified to include the emotional.

The aforementioned bridge is to get quickly and effortlessly from the thought to the action and it spans the gap between the intellectual and the emotional. Unless and until the emotional influences of personae are engaged, he will always be standing by, stroking his chin and analyzing what is/ is not happening. While this may be fun for him, lifetime is passing, lifetime during which only action and participation lead to development and fulfillment. In our crystal rider and horse analogy, the reaction of a horse to the rider's cue is emotional (a real horse thinks please don’t punish me) as he tries his best to figure out just what it is wanted.

It is correcting previous errors in this schooling that allows an effective bridge between the intellectual and emotional influences; emotional influences that may have become warped through what are thought to be bad experiences. Retraining the emotional parts of the personae to accept what has happened without judging it as good or bad is a key to forming a positive response.

 Then at some magic moment the reaction may become naturally positive and action taken to achieve a desired end w/o even thinking about. Aside: language is such a phenomenon- we study, practice, stumble and make mistakes until one day voila, we are there in a conversation, thinking in French, or whatever. The emotional influence overcomes previous experiences of feeling inadequate and confidence takes over; one “feels” good about usng his new language. It is the same for many other skills; one day you realize you are doing it and not even thinking about it.

So here I sit on a beautiful Sunday afternoon analyzing and writing it out when if I knew what to do I’d be out there doing it. And I know what to do because I spend time thinking about it. What I am doing here is an attempt to better understand how it works so it can be applied more effectively and effectively. Perhaps get to the point where writing it out is not all that important any more.

 I’d say that the vast majority of people don’t go to the same extremes as I to figure out what to do. They don’t keep a log, they don’t do a list of things to accomplish, and they lose track of what they wanted to accomplish and wake up one day without it because they forgot to do whatever to get it.

So I will continue to pursue my goals as I have been since Houston, and after that fateful day in Knoxville, and continue to get what I want, eventually. The big difference is adding emotional content to the mix. Another hurdle that will have to be crossed is objections from those around me to me getting whatever. Since they don’t share the same goals and remain stubborn in trying to deny me my way, it is a problem to solve.