lorenzop wrote: ↑Thu Jan 20, 2022 5:22 pm
I don't know if this applies to this thread, but I was watching a video of a woman who claims to have studied Anthroposophy and Steiner, speaking of an exercise she does where she schedules a meeting with herself in the future, beginning with something simple such as, I will touch my ear lobe tomorow at 4PM. [[ In the long lapse of time, in your future, you may have scheduled a meeting with yourself today so pay attention. ]]
The interviewer was Rick Archer in his Buddha At The Gas Pump series, and he does a decent job of asking questions and being non-judgemental. I was was smitten by the 'spiritual endeavor' presented. BATGP link
Thank you, Lorenzo. Prima facie, it seems like an eccentric notion to have "scheduled a meeting with yourself" from the future. But then again, it is merely an extension of a phenomenon that is already present in ordinary experience. After all, at the moment that we perform any action that is oriented towards a given end, the latter does not yet exist at the time at which the initiative must be called forth in order to perform it. Hence we are always demonstrating a future time preference. In other words, it is clear that our future self—either by direct or by representational agency—is continually present to us in all of our decisions. The notion of "delayed gratification," which is essential to bring any kind of order into the soul life/astral body, is already operating on the same premise as something like the above exercise. To me, the distinction seems one of degree or magnitude, but not of kind. Does this seem right?
Well stated, Cardenio. It is really a transcendent experience for me when the shackles of "linear time" are cast off, however briefly, to understand temporal phenomena. It is another one of those things which are easy for idealists or spiritualists to deny existence, but still allow it to pratically influence every fundamental concept they attribute to reality. If we simply allow what we know intellectually to become more concrete and lived experience, we will perceive daily the sorts of things you do above. All of these details of daily life we felt were "random", "trivial", etc. will suddenly find a new life in our constellation of holistic knowledge, enriching its meaning. That is the image of 'time travel' in its concrete spiritual sense. You are definitely correct to tie it in with sacrifice (delayed gratification), which was really the discovery of 'the future' by our ancient spiritual ancestors.
"Most people would sooner regard themselves as a piece of lava in the moon than as an 'I'"
You are definitely correct to tie it in with sacrifice (delayed gratification), which was really the discovery of 'the future' by our ancient spiritual ancestors.
This is the task: to transform our abstract concept of "the future," conceived linearly as a series of states, into the concrete experience of the future as something like "fruition of present potentialities." The future seems to be the plane of willing.
Blind byþ bam eagum se þe breostum ne starat.
“Blind in both eyes, who sees not from the heart.”
Cardenio wrote: ↑Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:57 pm
The development does present a sort of paradox since, on the one hand, everyone must undertake the project himself and no one can do it in his place. But on the other hand, it is apparent that the community and exchange of ideas around such development serve as an immense source of guidance and inspiration and moreover, anything that anyone accomplishes is also a victory won on behalf of mankind. Perhaps, by degrees, it may become possible to convey what has seemed beyond our ability to grasp it. After all, if I already understood this, all one would have had to do it wink and I could have easily correlated the expression to an intelligible experience. So thank you for what you have offered, both here and hitherto and please never for a moment believe it is not profoundly valued and appreciated.
Thank you for the kind words, Cardenio. I must say that your feedback is also deeply appreciated. The way that your quest has brought you to the question of Time is very important to me. Once we spoke with Ashvin and I mentioned that the understanding of what Time is was the most transformative experience for me and remains as a central core ever after. Ashvin shared that it was the same for him. Now from the way you express I believe that you also feel the centrality of Time. Things are grasped in their depth when we don't simply think about them (thus continually split from thinking through the hysteresis process) but when thinking itself becomes the perceived objective Time flow of being. This is very important feedback for me because it really shows that the Topic is indeed Central and it's worth to keep elaborating on it.
