2022-10-11 Conditioned Consciousness (2 of 5) Tension and Peacemp3

3:46AM Oct 13, 2022

Speakers:

Gil Fronsdal

Keywords:

tension

fear

peace

danger

consciousness

fearlessness

hold

peacefulness

peaceful

clarity

sense

tense

awareness

chronic

problem

calm

safe

mind

released

attention

So the shape, form, sense image. Feeling we have for what consciousness might be what the Ag of the combined aggregate totality of awareness might be for us, is related to different attitudes, states of mind activities that we have. And two of which have a big impact on on it is tension on one hand, and peace, peacefulness and the other. These also exist on a spectrum and a range where it doesn't have to be all one or all another. But oftentimes, one is present with the other. And the advantage of that of seeing that discovering that is that we could tap into the peace, the peacefulness, in order to be present for the tension. And so if the tension predominates, we can break out of the enchantment, the ular, the strong, maybe attach attachment to, to tension, by, by remembering, there's also peace here, and knowing it peacefully, a little bit sets us free from it. If there is a lot of peace, then, and it's easy to kind of not notice any tension, it's actually helpful to then from that peaceful place to see if you can find where that tension still remains. Because if they're subtle, maybe very slight tension, that still remains, if that's held also under this peaceful gaze of attention, then that also has a chance to dissolve and be released. And so that that piece can grow more and more, at some point with the greater the piece that we have, rather than focusing on the piece, sometimes it's helpful to notice, in the cracks of it all are in the somewhere in the subtle places, there's still tension, and kind of began kind of working those edges. And so that piece can can just spread and grow more and more. And then. So, and often tension is part and parcel of life, it comes and goes, if it comes and goes, it's fine. But the issue is when we hold on to the tension, it's not just simply we're driving and someone suddenly appears into our lane in front of us, and we tense up in order to quickly kind of break the car back up or do something to be safe. That kind of tension is a completely biologically important and but when the when we're driving is safe again, to be able to let it all go. It's when we don't let go, we hold on to it, that that becomes a problem. And there's many kinds of causes for being tense. You know, we can, we can, but to hold on to the tension for attention become chronic and tight. There's a fewer reasons, there has a lot to do with what goes on in our minds, that there can be a strong desire for something strong aversion to something. And what I'd like to emphasize today, there can be fear. And, and fear is one of the one one very powerful condition for becoming tense. And some people have chronic tension that goes on for a lifetime, because of some, some fear that was kind of inflicted upon them that they experience that they remained afraid and some part of their psyche, and that tension always is there bracing ourselves against life for something. And when there is tension, especially a tension of fear, or if we have a sense of being conscious or consciousness itself, that it tends to be shriveled and be contracted, a tension pulls in. And so big something comes tight. yesterday's discussion about agitation tends to fragment the consciousness, make it all kind of rough and jagged. But tension tends to shrink it. And sometimes the world shrinks through a very particular concern that we have, maybe the particular thing we're afraid of or upset with or that we want and, and that's shrinking over attention to that one concern

If you kind of open up and look at that sense of the mind that's aware that way, it just feels like it's tight and narrow. When the mind is not preoccupied or caught or holding on to anything, that's when awareness can become broad and spacious, calm, peaceful. And a peaceful awareness is one that has been released. And because attention that localized it in one place has been released, it can feel as if awareness or consciousness now begins to spread out, it gets released and opened up. Whereas calm, the difference being peace and calm, at least for me, and for everyone, it's gonna be different. I think some people the two are synonyms, but calm for me as a settling things relax and settle. It's almost like, the weight of calm helps you to settle into the pull of gravity. Whereas peace comes from release. And so and it becomes things, things can open up and become wide and spread. Or to use a slightly different idea. That calm is a settling of the mud, in water. And the and peace is the clarity that's left in that water. And to be you know, swimming underwater and have clarity. And just kind of sense of that. You can see so far, it's quite lovely. And I've so I've swum in water, which was you couldn't see for more than a foot in front of you. And it's a whole different feeling, very different feeling. When I was a kid, I used to like to go in places where there were waves. And the water was relatively clear, and very clear, but it was waves coming into the rocky shore. And I'd love to go dive underwater, maybe about five or six feet, and hold my breath, turn out, turn around on my back and look up at the waves and the turmoil above. And it felt so peaceful than below, because everything was so quiet down there and peaceful and the contrast was so wonderful. So fear. The, what's fascinating about fear, and humbling and upsetting and irritating and, but also maybe hopefully beneficial, is that fear is its own danger. If fear is fear of danger. Fear Itself is a danger. When it's chronic, when it helps with conditions us to see the world, the way it's not to see danger at every corner in every location, to always be looking out for what's the problems are in the danger is where that becomes a fixation fixated view. And we live only from that danger, everything becomes something that's that's dangerous. And it's way it does. Because the fear is its own danger. And, and so it's kind of self fulfilling, if it's chronic, that the yes, we've we're in trouble. Because of the tension, the contraction, the, the the lens that we see through with the lens of fear. And so to be so then, if fear is related to tension, fearlessness is related to peace. And so peace is not just some kind of bland state. But it's a powerful, wonderful place through which we can be fearless. And, and we have nothing to fear. And of course, you know, the car pulls in front of us in the freeway having some fears appropriate, Nick helps us become safe. So it isn't like we want to get rid of all fear. But there's this way in which discover the value of peacefulness and fearlessness that it does protect us. Because now we become safe from ourselves. So fear is a danger to ourselves. And fearlessness is how we become safe from ourselves. We're we're not going to cause harm to ourselves. We're not going to contract and hold attention. And which can cause you know, all kinds of chronic physical and mental and emotional problems for people to be chronically tense and held.

And so having something like meditation, made even something like Exercise and other things that we do, that allow us to relax deeply, to calm deeply, to start experiencing a kind of states of peace, where tensions begin to dissolve, where we're not living in tension, and we have an experience of being safe for ourselves. And the heart of fearlessness, is to have that kind of safety, you become safe for yourself. And that sense of an absence of fear. qi changes the nature of consciousness of how we feel we're aware, it's so easy to be aware, with such a strong filter of fear and tension, that that just seems like that's the nature of certainly of consciousness, it's the truth, but more powerfully, is that consciousness of awareness, attention, that is colored by fear, then sees fear in the world. And we don't become necessarily objective, clear seer of what's actually out there. Because it has sense, everything becomes dangerous, because everything is then now seen through that framework of fear. If everything is seen through the framework of fearlessness, then a fearlessness where we're not we're safe for ourselves, then we have a much better place to track, the inner wisdom, the inner clarity, the perceptions, the hunches, the, the reactions we have, that we need to be in touch with, in order to be wise about what's out there. Of course, there's dangers out there, some are more subtle than others, but there's probably less danger out in the world than you can ever imagine. And so, if you, you know, have the wisdom, fearless wisdom, wisdom to ascertain really know and connect deep inside of yourself with all the different sources of intelligence that operate, then you can probably tune in to the difference between what is really a danger, and what is projected danger not really there. The kind of projected danger that often of self often enough is self fulfilling, it is sometimes creates the very problem that we're trying to avoid. So so for the next 24 hours, if you'd like you might study how it is for you the range from tension to peace. And when when you're tense, where's the peace? When you're peaceful? Where's the tension? And may that kind of clarity in the in the, in the range of who you are and how you are? May that clarity help you to be less caught stuck in the tension of more fluid and more, more in touch with the piece that's in our hearts. So thank you