On Awareness-Proactivty and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity....

[Ajay0]

Teachings of the Masters on Awareness-Proactivty and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity....


Act. Do not react.

--Sri Ravi Shankar



Sin is never in action. It is always in reaction.

-- Swami Chinmayananda



Virtuous ( proactive) action increases intelligence, while sinful ( reactive ) acts decreases intelligence.

--Vidura Neeti ( Mahabharatha )



If you want to progress in your life and grow, act not to react.

--Harbhajan Yogi Bhajan




Respond. Do not react.

--Osho



Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it.

--Swami Chidanand Saraswati



Be proactive. Do not be reactive.

--Stephen Covey ( Author of 7 habits of highly effective people )




Habitually we react to external stimuli, that is we are generally overwhelmed by retaliatory emotional forces within us demanding appropriate action. But surely this cannot be called 'action' , it is in fact ' re-action' . Discipline of the reasoning mind controls the reactive forces and results in appropriate 'action' rather than 're-action', one should endeavour to establish control and avoid retaliatory behaviour.

--Acharya Mahaprajna



Quality of life depends on what happens in the space between stimulus and response.

-- Stephen Covey



Because of the space between stimulus and response, people have the power of choice; therefore,leaders are neither born nor made — meaning environmentally trained and nurtured. They are self-made through chosen responses, and if they choose based on principles and develop increasingly greater discipline, their freedom to choose increases.

-- Stephen Covey



Reaction is unconscious. You do not know exactly that you are being manipulated. You are not aware that you are behaving like a slave, not like a master. Action out of consciousness is response.

-- Osho



You can act in two ways -- one is reaction, another is response.

Reaction comes out of your past conditionings; it is mechanical.

Response comes out of your presence, awareness, consciousness; it is non-mechanical.

The ability to respond is one of the greatest principles of growth. You are not following any order, any commandment; you are simply following your awareness. You are functioning like a mirror, reflecting the situation and responding to it -- not out of your memory from past experiences of similar situations, not repeating your reactions, but acting fresh, new, in this very moment. Neither the situation is old, nor your response -- both are new.

-- Osho



One who is obsessed with worldly pursuits, one who is body-oriented, cannot really go into this. We need to develop a distance from our mind and not give in to impulsiveness. Those who react are the ones who are living mindlessly. So in a way, we can say that living mindfully is being in meditation.

-- Anandmurti Gurumaa




So action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow. Most of our thoughts are the result of the past, of time. A mind that is not built on the past, that has totally understood this whole process of reaction, can act every minute totally, completely, wholly.

— J. Krishnamurti



Action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow.

— J. Krishnamurti

[Ajay0]

Hi All,

Quoted above are a list of teachings of various masters which I compiled myself for a better understanding and contemplation of the message of proactivity and reactivity around a decade back.

Through study and analysis of the master's teachings, I had come to the understanding that it is proactive action which is what is known as virtue or correct action while reactive action is what is known as sin or bad karma.

While proactivity is what stems from a state of awareness or mindfulness , reactivity on the other hand stems from the ego.

Living in the present moment reveals awareness, while living in the past or future unconsciously due to strong desires or craving/aversions (resulting in incessant, involuntary thinking or emoting) is what generates the ego.

The state of awareness generates peace and joy, while the unnatural state of the ego generates pain and sorrow.


This is why the Buddha had said thus ," Mindfulness is the true virtue."

And why Eckhart Tolle had stated thus. " Evil is an extreme manifestation of human unconsciousness."



Writing this in my notebook and constant study and contemplation of these teachings from time to time helped me to become a more self-aware, proactive and less reactive person. This understanding brought a deep sense of calmness, peace, contentment and well-being in my life.

The study of the works of spiritual masters helped me a lot in increasing my self-knowledge and hope the reading of the above mentioned teachings will do the same for you or help in bringing perspective on the nature of the mind.

I have deep gratitude to the Buddha, Bodhidharma, Padmasambhava,Suzuki, Dilgo Khyentse , Metta Zetty and other Buddhist masters all over the world for their insights and wisdom, which helped me a lot in increasing my self-knowledge and hope the reading of the above mentioned teachings will do the same for you or help in bringing perspective on the nature of the mind.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Ajay0

[Nungali]

Like it , but some teach it with a lot of blah blah, others in simple terms  .  Its simple if we look at the four elemental bodies ; 2 is water and is receptive and reactive  ( the emotions and other related  forms ;  'feelings' , dreams, empathies ) .  3 is air and is active and responsive ( the mind and intellect / reasoning ability , etc . )  - move to ( higher) mind and respond to a situation , if you find yourself being 'emotive' and a reaction is happening  ( of course this requires preliminary work in able to detect and divert a 'reaction'    ) - there is always the good old  " count to 10 first "  ( or the reverse if one needs deep consideration, we might first wait to see how we 'feel' about it , or 'sleep on it '  ie, run it though the unconscious ) .

 

Higher mind or  'higher air'  relates to mercury  and this is a further balance /  'response' , in that it can regulate  all three other elements  ; especially where  fire / water  conflicts occur  ( typically Mars and Venus archetypes; within our selves as  masculine and feminine archetypes -  or 2 individuals in relationship  with a Mars / Venus  dynamic 

 

 

                      AIR / Mercury                                        Responsive

                        (Androgynous)

                       

 

FIRE / Mars     < ------------ >     WATER / Venus           Reactive

(Masculine )                              (Feminine )

 

               

                             EARTH                                             Responsive

              ( Environment / Persona )

 

 

 

[Bindi]

24 minutes ago, Nungali said:

Like it , but some teach it with a lot of blah blah, others in simple terms  .  Its simple if we look at the four elemental bodies ; 2 is water and is receptive and reactive  ( the emotions and other related  forms ;  'feelings' , dreams, empathies ) .  3 is air and is active and responsive ( the mind and intellect / reasoning ability , etc . )  - move to ( higher) mind and respond to a situation ,

 

I fully agree with 2 and 3 characterised as water/emotion and air/mind,  but how can someone move to ‘higher’ mind by choice, considering ‘higher’ mind is what is sought, not generally what is already available? 

 

24 minutes ago, Nungali said:

 

if you find yourself being 'emotive' and a reaction is happening  ( of course this requires preliminary work in able to detect and divert a 'reaction'    ) - there is always the good old  " count to 10 first "  ( or the reverse if one needs deep consideration, we might first wait to see how we 'feel' about it , or 'sleep on it '  ie, run it though the unconscious ) .

 

Higher mind or  'higher air'  relates to mercury  and this is a further balance /  'response' , in that it can regulate  all three other elements  ; especially where  fire / water  conflicts occur  ( typically Mars and Venus archetypes; within our selves as  masculine and feminine archetypes -  or 2 individuals in relationship  with a Mars / Venus  dynamic 

 

 

                      AIR / Mercury                                        Responsive

                        (Androgynous)

                       

 

FIRE / Mars     < ------------ >     WATER / Venus           Reactive

(Masculine )                              (Feminine )

 

               

                             EARTH                                             Responsive

              ( Environment / Persona )

 

 

 

 

[Nungali]

40 minutes ago, Bindi said:

 

I fully agree with 2 and 3 characterised as water/emotion and air/mind,  but how can someone move to ‘higher’ mind by choice, considering ‘higher’ mind is what is sought, not generally what is already available? 

 

 

 

In simple terms ; one can choose to develop the mind ; to strengthen and balance it  ( and of course to develop the emotions by strength and balance ) .   When one is more familiar and  aware  of one's   mind and emotions , for example we may recognise 'triggers' or auras (  medical meaning ) - indications of 'impending unbalance ' .  Proper training gives a variety of techniques to deal with this ; it may be an indication ( flush, for example , a feeling of rising anger or fear , etc ) so technique  is used ( slow the breath , breath deeper ,  send ' energy' , awareness  / consciousness to hara , LDT , etc . ) 

 

'Higher mind / air '   is eventually 'cultivated' , then one tends to operate more from there than lower mind .

 

In the elemental hierarchy 'Mind'  / 'Air' needs to take its rightful place as the energies ( in higher form )  proceed  through the psyche ; Fire, Water, Air, Earth .....  can be seen as ;  Inspiration ( say for an idea ) , Feeling - how do we feel about it , is it 'worthwhile'   or , classically ; 'is my heart in it ' ?  Intellect  - is it feasible  , how can I do it , the 'mental plan ' . Earth - 'doing it ' , manifestation .   In many the spirit/fire/ individual plane is obscured , ignored, suppressed, etc .  Emotional plane is unbalanced, unstable , influential . So Mind fills the gap , thinking it should be running the psyche  - a very typical view in the modern west ! 

 

Thats all fine when the energies are of a higher form, but if lower forms and conflict arises between fire and water , Masculine and Feminine  , Mars and Venus  then   one needs to 'rise above'  and the 'Mind regulated and inspired by Mercury' needs to move to the apex and regulate , respond , solve , etc

 

Its all about being a Magician ;

 

 

.... Look dudes !  Its all here in the Blavatsky book ..... don't go out to the club  tonight , sit here , smoke some hash and let me read to you...     because that's just what I do !  ..... alright ?   ;

 

( seriously , if you listen , it IS all about this ! )  ;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by Nungali

[freeform]

8 hours ago, Nungali said:

Like it , but some teach it with a lot of blah blah, others in simple terms

Others (like some of the quoted) teach it but can’t do it… or at least lose their capacity to achieve it.

 

The mind will subvert even the clearest teachings… and next thing you know you’re high as a kite in one of your 365 Rolls Royces 

philosophy without transformation is always subject to entropy  

Edited March 19, 2022 by freeform

[Nungali]

" Don't  exaggerate !

 

 

 

It was 364 Rolls Royces .  "

[freeform]

I really like many aspects of Osho - if he just continued to cultivate instead of jumping into the teaching trap before he’s fully cooked - maybe things would have turned out better for us all.

 

 

[steve]

Wild Country is a compelling documentary about Osho’s community in Oregon. Really eye-opening. Like the time his followers poisoned a salad bar with E.coli as a trial run for larger scale bio-weapon attacks to gain political power in the region. It’s available on Netflix.

[Nungali]

A friend  of mine was working in their kitchen .  He got sucked into their group, believed he had become enlightened  and then it all went very badly downhill from there . Worked like a slave for them. Eventually he told me how someone came into the kitchen minutes before service and instructed them to throw all the food out,  wash all the utensils and start cooking the meal all over again .  That got him suspicious . 

 

It appears they had a 'break out'  from their medical lab  ( yes, Rajneeshpuran had a medical lab { an investigation also revealed experimentation at Rajneeshpuram with poisons, chemicals and bacteria which had been carried out during 1984 and 1985 }
.....  but they didnt make the salmonella -  they bought some from a 'medical supply ' company   ) into the kitchens .    OR they where going to test it on their members first , but someone didnt like that idea .

 

  He came back here, pretty freaked out but continued being 'Orange'  and got another job in one of their kitchens !  in Sydney ... but their 'enlightened hierarchy '  put him at the bottom and treated him like shit . Then he got more pissed so .... wait for it .... went to HQ in Poona  to  do the 'enlightenment vacation '  .

 

According to him , Osho found out about 'their'  plans  via his pilot who informed his collection of passengers (  ' them'  - the ones taking over the group ) that he was going to reveal to Osho , also a passenger , what had been going on ' If you try to stop me physically this plane will crash .'  

 

After that, Osho himself  ;   "  ....  said that he had received information from commune residents that Sheela and her team had committed a number of serious crimes.^] Calling them a "gang of fascists", he said they had tried to poison his doctor and Rajneesh's female companion, as well as the Jefferson County district attorney and the water system in The Dalles. He said that he believed they had poisoned a county commissioner and Judge William Hulse, and that they may have been responsible for the salmonellosis outbreak in The Dalles.He invited state and federal law enforcement officials to the Ranch to investigate.^"

 

 

--  

The Rajneeshees committed the most significant crimes of their kind in the history of the United States ... The largest single incident of fraudulent marriages, the most massive scheme of wiretapping and bugging, and the largest mass poisoning.

—Oregon Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer

 

 

[freeform]

1 hour ago, steve said:

poisoned a salad bar with E.coli

 

1 hour ago, steve said:

bio-weapon attacks to gain political power

 

16 minutes ago, Nungali said:

Rajneeshpuran had a medical lab { an investigation also revealed experimentation at Rajneeshpuram with poisons, chemicals and bacteria which had been carried out during 1984 and 1985

I didn’t know all this stuff - but not surprised 😅

 

I’ve met plenty of ex sanyasins and heard plenty of messed up things… not poisonings though!

 

When you believe you’re enlightened… and the epitome of enlightened righteousness surely petty things like morals and ethical behaviour shouldn't stand in your way 

 

Pretty familiar story.

 

Oh but he’s so charming though! 

[Ajay0]

Quote

Guruji, please comment on this: Act, don’t react.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is very simple. When you react, what happens? You regret afterwards. Reaction happens through an emotional upsurge. When someone says something you don’t like, your emotions swell up. Anything you do in an emotionally disturbed state, you repent afterward. When emotions are on peak, the intellect goes in background. Your actions are from the intellect and your reactions are from emotions.

 

Emotions when properly employed can bring happiness and creativity in life, while improperly employed through lack of discrimination or discretion can result in reactions leading to regressive conflict, strife and loss .

Through Awareness, one goes beyond the realm of conditioned likes and dislikes, attain better self-mastery, and cultivate a progressive positive attitude in all situations and circumstances in life.

[Lairg]

Reactions are possible on all the planes of human operation:  physical, emotional, mental, heart

 

I find it interesting to see TV reporters ask people:  what is your reaction?   Do the reporters do not know they should be responding rather than reacting?

[Nungali]

Thank goodness some have Emergency Response  teams  ... and not  'emergency reaction teams ' ;

 

 

 

[Ajay0]

11 hours ago, Lairg said:

Reactions are possible on all the planes of human operation:  physical, emotional, mental, heart

 

I find it interesting to see TV reporters ask people:  what is your reaction?   Do the reporters do not know they should be responding rather than reacting?

 

 

 Eliciting an emotional or emotive reaction is better for tv ratings, than a boring, clinical response.

 

The roman emperors similarly tried to hide the deficiencies in their rule and administration by catering to the emotional

cravings of the roman masses for blood and gore, through the colloseum with its gladiators and state enemies like foreigner pows and christians forced to fight lions and beasts.

 

WWF, even though clearly staged, still is hugely popular amongst the masses seeking emotional sensation through its violence, primitive machismo attributes and foul language.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by Ajay0