wylo .:
You broke it down very nicely here, its something thats been on my mind for several months , the question "Why dont I feel fear here yet im still too afraid to do it?" Thats why I always use a combination of the words 'inhibitions' AND 'fear', as it seems to be becoming increasingly clear for me that they are 2 separate issues.
Itd be great if you shared what kind of stuff you can come up with for point 2.
I remember listening to an audiobook by adyashanti "end of your world", where he talked about regularly sitting down in a cafe with a pen and paper, writing out his beliefs and not leaving till he got to the bottom of whatever beleif he was trying to tackle.
Really like the term inhibition to describe what we are discussing here. Broad enough to include all the unconscious conditioning, but narrow enough to exclude the bodily experience of fear itself.
Some stuff I am trying along with notes on my impressions so far:
1)
Authenticity and Vulnerability. Have a look at this TED talk to see the type of stuff I am talking about here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o - Works best for social inhibitions and shame.
- There is a pain period, where a lot of negative stuff comes forward. I am still in it.
- Helps uncover lots of hidden insecurities and inhibitions
I tend to see authenticity and vulnerability as an independent line of development from enlightenment. It is a means to inter-personal insight, the way enlightenment is a means to intrapersonal insights.
Meaning there are people who experience a great deal more suffering and afflictive emotions than I do, who are far better at this stuff than I am. That sort of realization is quite humbling.
2)
Developing technical skill sets:eg. I backed into my neighbour's car once while, I was learning to drive and since then I have a weird fear of parallel parking. So I just keep doing it till I get getter.
- Works best for impersonal stuff like managing finances, or learning software etc
- Though certain skill-sets like public speaking for instance might help with interpersonal issues as well. I don't think it is
as powerful a tool as authenticity in that regard.
3)
Thought InceptionI figure since thoughts influence actions, why not try to plant the seeds for the sorts of actions I want in my thoughts. Using this as a method to overcome procrastination.
- Feel like my technique here isn't very good. Probably should take a look at some Chaos Magik stuff.
4)
Seeing the Gift.One thing that has become apparent is that I have a tendency to put a very negative or skeptical spin on things. Perhaps because I associate it with authenticity (we are all taught to be kind, and humble, but too often it is just faked on top of the normal affective layer. Whereas cynicism and negativity are usually more real).
- Starts with seeing life in a positive light.
- Then learning to see difficult experiences in the past as a gift that lead to your current place in life.
- Makes them easier to express and overcome.
Overall: I am enjoying this stuff and finding it challenging at the same time. A lot of spiritually enlightened people living lives that are very disconnected from reality, inspite having great insight into the subjective human experience of it. My belief is that this is mostly due to the culture around the pursuit of enlightenment in the east, rather than a direct result of it.
I used of have this subconscious view of enlightenment as some sort of end goal of life. This just seems silly to me now.
The good things about this sort of development is it forces me back down to earth every-time I get too caught up in some esoteric view of reality or some sort of delusion of grandeur (which happens more often than I care to admit).
wylo .:
Its obviously a massively egoic reaction , something set so deep that you have fundamentally told yourself it is completely wrong to do it, even though intellectually you know its ok.
I've often used a "walking on the street naked" hypothesis when discussing this with people. Why is it , that even the most liberated free enlightened beings in the world who have ridden themselves of fear and have minimal reaction to their egoic patterns would most likely not walk down the street naked if asked (leaving the legal issues aside and the argument "they dont have to prove themselves to anyone), even if it was just out of compassion to encourage people that it is real?
I could be wrong, maybe they would.
Jumping off a cliff doesn't prove someone to be enlightened.
There are people who live their give up their normal lives, to live completely naked with no possessions (see
naga sadhu).
I was exposed to these sorts of people growing up, but attributed it to religious insanity not enlightenment (they also claim to have all sorts of magical powers). To be honest I still think only a very few of them are enlightened in terms of being having a permanently lowered level of suffering.
Not to mention streakers, PETA activists, exhibitionists and nudists.
As an aside, nudity isn't a big deal to me (though I do have my share of equally stupid insecurities), but I understand it is socially conditioned to be shameful. That you attach enough shame to it to think of it as a litmus test for enlightenment suggest that this might be an area for you to explore.in terms of overcoming inhibitions.