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Lesson 1: From Page 73 of "The Book Of Flint

5/1/2013

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This teaching is brought to you by... Flintism: New Political Party Based on "The Book Of Flint"

"Long ago he had heard of an old Chinese saying to the effect that any man who could concentrate for as much as three minutes on any given problem could rule the world. The thought had remained in his mind, and he had cultivated the ability to apply all his intelligence to any given situation. To close out everything from his mind but one idea to be considered had taken long practice, but much of his success had been due to that ability to concentrate, to formulate the problem, to bring to it all the information and knowledge he had, and to reach a decision." The Book of Flint Page 73


Training for attaining focus and concentration of Flint...


Prep:

Basic breathing meditation tips

-Inhale and exhale slowly, taking full deep breaths.

-Keep your attention only on your breathing. Be aware of each inhale and exhale.

-If you notice your mind drifting (i.e. if you start thinking about something) then just return your attention back to your breathing. It doesn’t matter if your mind wanders as long you bring your attention back to your breathing as soon as you notice your attention is not solely on your breathing.

-Do this for 5-15 minutes.

This meditation is very simple yet very powerful. Studies have shown that this simple form of meditation increases your brain size in areas such as attention and memory. The following extract is from an article from Time Magazine:

"Everyone around the water cooler knows that meditation reduces stress. But with the aid of advanced brainscanning technology, researchers are beginning to show that meditation directly affects the function and structure of the brain, changing it in ways that appear to increase attention span, sharpen focus and improve memory." from Time Magazine's article "How To Get Smarter One Breath At A Time"

This next meditation technique is more difficult and is considered to be an advanced technique designed to increase your ability to concentrate on a problem for 3 minutes...

This technique is from the ancient yogis(who were in the Himalayas and so thier teachings exist on both sides of the great divide)... it’s called dhyana. It involves focusing your mind on an object or image without distraction. In other words, the goal of this meditation practice is to focus unwaveringly on your chosen object/image. Nothing should be able to distract your mind. An accomplished yogi is expected to be able to hold his/her concentration on an object for several hours at a time. 

To get to a point where you can practice dhyana meditation for even a short while requires mastering the simple breathing meditation first. If you can focus on your breathing – without distraction – for over 5-10 minutes then you are ready to practice dhyana for at least a few minutes a day.

Other Satirical Posts In This Series:

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

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Lesson 3: Know Your Enemy.

1/19/2013

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(Previous Lesson -Lesson 2: From Page 5 of "The Book Of Flint")

{Note that the gambler's ego (through pride & greed)blinds him to obvious realities till it's too late.}

The gambler knew the story of the gunfight at The Crossing, but there was nothing to connect the youngster of that shooting with the immaculate New York financier.

The gambler had recieved his first hint that all was not as he had expected during the early part of the game. Kettleman played shrewdly and with icy control, and the gambler quickly grasped that he himself was being studied with cool calculated interest. As part of his scheme, the gambler delibertaley invited an accusation of cheating whenever a showdown developed between Kettleman and himself, but Kettleman ignored the opportunity, and the gambler grew worried.

Nothing was going as planned, and he began to realize that his opponent knew what he was trying to do, and was deliberately avoiding it. So anxious was he to lead Kettleman into an argument that his mind was not on the game, and suddenly he lost a large pot.

Suddenly, he looked at the table and realized that he himself had been cheated, with coolness and effontery. He had been stripped of more than six thousand dollars with the skill of a professional. His eyes lifted to Kettleman's.

"You have been looking for trouble," Kettleman said quietly. "I am offering it to you."

The gambler was nervous. He touched his toungue to his lips and felt the sweat beading his forehead.

"You are looking for trouble," Kettleman said. "Why?"

There was no one close by. "I am going to kill you," the gambler said.

"If you wish to leave the game, we can divide the pot, and I will forget what you have said."

It was there then - a way out. As a gambler he knew he should take it, but gambling was only a part of his business and he had his pride.

"I cannot I have been paid."

"There are other ways to make a living and you have chosen the wrong one. I am offering you your last chance. Get out."

"I gave my word. I took their money."

Kettleman had seemed almost negligent. "When you are ready, then."

The gambler stepped back quickly, overturning his chair. "If you say I cheat," he said loudly, "you are a liar!" And he grasped his gun.

Everybody saw him grasp the gun, everybody saw him start to draw it, and then he started coughing and there was blood on his shirt, blood dribbling down his chin, and on his face the realization of death.

Kettleman leaned over him. He looked down at the gambler and knew this man was only a step away from the man he was himself. "I didn't want to kill you," he said. "Who hired you?"

"Your wife," the gambler said. "And her father."

Kettleman realized then that he had known something like this would happen. He started to rise but the gambler caught his wrist. "I must know. Who are you?"

Kettleman hesitated. For the first time since that night he spoke of it. "I was the kid at The Crossing.

"God!" The gambler was excited. He started to rise, began to speak, and then he died.

Since death is certain, avoiding the thought of Death, makes you avoid Life itself (as they are two sides of the same coin)...

The following is an extract from this page.

As a global culture we fix ourselves in 'palaces' of what is familiar and secure. We sense there is more to life than trying to gratify our desires and defend ourselves from fear. Yet we don’t know how to get their and this leads to even more activities of distraction.

For Example; We all know that the only certainty in life is death. If we keep the inevitability of death on our minds many things we worry about will no longer matter. Instead we try to avoid that thought at all costs to the point where when we encounter death we are shocked and terrified and say, 'his/her time came early'. There is no such thing. Without the perspective of our death how can we possibly make short or long term decisions that aren’t influenced by drowning ourselves in momentary pleasures?


"Since no one knows the future,
who can tell him what is to come?

No man has power over his spirit to retain it,
so no one has power over the day of his death."

Ecclesiastes 8:7-8:8



Death is always there waiting for you, every day of your life. It is sad, depressing, part of the sorrow of life, but it is not 'early'.

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. - Blackfoot


Since death is certain, avoiding it makes you avoid life itself.


Think about it. How do you know that someone is alive? By the simple fact that he/she is not dead. In other words, death defines life. Without death we would not know what life is. So by avoiding the acceptance of death we become escapists of life itself. Chasing momentary pleasures to cloud our awareness and our fears.

If you are constantly making life to be some perfect image to be attained at some point in the future, you will ALWAYS be chasing that image. If you cannot be content now you will never be content as there will always be something else you 'need' before you can be happy. A bigger car, a bigger house, a plane? This will give a rush of excitement followed by boredom with your new toy and craving for the next one.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy expensive things just that you should be happy first or nothing you get will ever satisfy you. (“Be bountiful and multiply”)

If you jump from one emotion to another, blindly avoiding pain and seeking pleasure with no awareness or separation from your emotions THEN your emotions will control you. You will be a slave to your desire. Anyone who knows your desires can control you.


"All man's efforts are for his mouth,
yet his appetite is never satisfied." 

Ecclesiastes 6:7



Laziness brings on deep sleep,
And the shiftless man goes hungry.

Proverbs 19:15



"The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness."

Ecclesiastes 6:7


Learning to distance yourself from your roles...

According to this book, the first step out:  Become aware of every emotion you have as you experience it. Don't try to stop the emotion but learn to distance yourself from it, pain, sorrow or joy. Keep a part of yourself that is always observing yourself and your emotions.

By these definitions awakening is a process of building and maintaining the discipline of awareness.


The following cartoon, a part of my Bugs Collection on my Instant Stress Management website, can be a helpful illustration of how getting involved in your roles can be kinda like a deep form of self-hypnosis...
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Lesson 2: From Page 5 of "The Book Of Flint"

1/14/2013

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Extract from "the Book Of Flint":


It is given to few people in this world to disappear twice but, as he had succeeded once, the man known as James T. Kettleman was about to make his second attempt.

The country outside was invisible. The windows had steamed over, and the train moved as if through an endless tunnel. To Kettleman it did not matter, for he knew every foot of this roadbed and the surrounding country from descriptions which has come to his desk in New York.

The high plain was broken at intervals with long ridges and outcroppings of lava, and in the mountains there was marketable timber. When he began planning his second dissapearance, Kettleman had gone over all available reports and maps.

They were climbing steadily. Ahead were high mesas, more lava, and occasional ruins. Soon the train would slow for a long, steep grade. When that time came he would step off the train into the darkness.

His destination was familiar only from the description given him fifteen years ago, over a campfire, by a man who had often used the place for a hideout. When he left the train he would return to the oblivion from which he emerged fifteen years earlier.

Then James T. Kettleman would cease to exist.
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In ancient India a concept developed called 'Maya' which means illusion. Since the world is considered impermanent and constantly changing - and you can interpret it in many ways with your mind - it is considered to be an illusion. Thus a common, though ancient, psychological perspective on 'attachment': if you hold on to it as your psychological/mental foundation, you are holding on to something that will dissolve away - eventually - so you are holding on to something which is inherently unstable.

Note: The ancient idea of the world/universe as an 'illusion' has re-emerged in modern physics as the idea of the world and universe as a hologram from string theory (approx 5 minutes into following video)....

Video Interview: Brian Greene: Brian Greene says math is the gateway to reality and calls Stephen a bag of particles governed by the laws of physics. (05:58)

[Also read about the movie Mindwalk for perspectives on physics. Watch it 3 times if possible]

To put it in other words; you are not the person you were a year ago. You know this. You can probably see the ways in which you've changed and grown over the last year. You probably see the world in a different way then you did a year ago (or ten years ago). Since you see the world differently, you have a different image of yourself as well. You define yourself differently than you did 10 years ago. What you are capable of, what you can do, who you are, all these definitions tend to change for every person - given enough time.

The ancient philosophers noticed that as soon as you imagine a event happening to you - or your role in any situation - you first have to place yourself in it (i.e. you have to imagine your role or character) then you decide what to do or how to feel (this all tends to happen very fast for most events). In other words, every time you imagine yourself or a situation that you are in you are, in a sense, recreating yourself.

Scientific American Mind magazine in an interview with the Nobel laureate Neuroscientist Eric Kandel (click here to read article)

Mind: We tend to think of memory as a kind of library that holds a record of events and
facts that can be retrieved as needed. Is this an accurate metaphor?


Kandel: No, memory is not like that at all. Human memory reinvents itself all the time. Every time you remember something, you modify it a little bit, in part dependent on the context in which you recall it. That is because the brain's storage is not as exact as written text. It is always a mixture of many facades of the past event: images, pictures, feelings, words, facts and fiction-a "re-collection" in the true sense.


Modern nuero-science agrees with the Buddhist idea of an impermanent self. As Eric Kandel points out that, "Every time you remember something, you modify it a little bit, in part dependent on the context in which you recall it." In other words you recreate your image of yourself to fit the new situation. If the self was something permanent and real, then your image of yourself would always remain the same. The fact that you can consciously or unconsciously change your image of yourself and react to situations in a new way - or just create a new you - proves that the self is something you make up as part of living in society.

What does this mean?

This means that you are not limited to being any particular 'self' or person. If you feel like you have low self-esteem you can change that self. If you feel like you are not comfortable is social situations, you can change that image too. Any limiting image you have of yourself can be changed as you create your 'self' or how you want to be.
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