05-01-2007, 04:20 PM
"How much of your attention can you bring to this present? And the next? Where have you scattered all your attention? Can you turn it away from all its preconceptions and bring it here? This is the key. Your power lies in your attention. A change can either be a movement that drains your power or a movement that you can draw power from. It can be of chance, or of your making"
"Our thoughts are part of where we scatter our attention, our power. Each one is part of a pattern group. They are made of our beliefs, experiences, feelings, fears, and hopes, all our motivators, all collected into jumbled patterns. In a way they are alive and conscious. Depending on how much power we give them, they throw into our consciousness the thoughts they are made of. In this way they control our minds and feelings. They crowd up the works, leaving little room or time to anything else the mind might do. It is a good thing to take our power back and free up the mind for better tasks. These pattern groups of thoughts don't want to give it up, though. They are afraid they will die. After all, they are doing what they've always done, following instructions we gave them from our thoughts. They're trying to take care of us. Only most of their configurations don't even make much sense, they conflict and cause stress. Every time we rethink one of their component thoughts we give away power to them. To stop the flow of habitual thoughts is to collect lost power and take control of your mind and emotions and actions. It is easier to do this if the patterns realize you accept them as a valid but changing piece of your construction and you mean them no harm. You have no war with yourself. You only wish for them to assist you in some other way. War means somebody loses, and in this, balance is dubious. Balance counsels for equilibrium of advantage and total respect. The patterns now become your mentor and shield instead of your dictator. And you become their healer. To empty one's mind of thoughts at will, you can see, is crucial. It has always been taught all over our world to apprentices of hidden knowledge. The apprentice then can learn how to experience and choose action instead of being trapped in reaction."
Kay Cordell Whitaker - The Reluctant Shaman
"Our thoughts are part of where we scatter our attention, our power. Each one is part of a pattern group. They are made of our beliefs, experiences, feelings, fears, and hopes, all our motivators, all collected into jumbled patterns. In a way they are alive and conscious. Depending on how much power we give them, they throw into our consciousness the thoughts they are made of. In this way they control our minds and feelings. They crowd up the works, leaving little room or time to anything else the mind might do. It is a good thing to take our power back and free up the mind for better tasks. These pattern groups of thoughts don't want to give it up, though. They are afraid they will die. After all, they are doing what they've always done, following instructions we gave them from our thoughts. They're trying to take care of us. Only most of their configurations don't even make much sense, they conflict and cause stress. Every time we rethink one of their component thoughts we give away power to them. To stop the flow of habitual thoughts is to collect lost power and take control of your mind and emotions and actions. It is easier to do this if the patterns realize you accept them as a valid but changing piece of your construction and you mean them no harm. You have no war with yourself. You only wish for them to assist you in some other way. War means somebody loses, and in this, balance is dubious. Balance counsels for equilibrium of advantage and total respect. The patterns now become your mentor and shield instead of your dictator. And you become their healer. To empty one's mind of thoughts at will, you can see, is crucial. It has always been taught all over our world to apprentices of hidden knowledge. The apprentice then can learn how to experience and choose action instead of being trapped in reaction."
Kay Cordell Whitaker - The Reluctant Shaman