Rob, one hit folows the next. Your examples make it very easy for me to comprehend and recognize. Instead of covering a vast field of possible topics, for me it feels that every article of yours is a helpful and skilful repetition of the same thing, just from another valuable new angle. Aiming at settling in more and more. Thanks a ton and a bright weekend to you
Thank you very much for this thoughtful response Rob. I realize I put too much emphasis on metaphor, particularly when I can’t seem to get what it’s pointing to. Still, I find some extremely useful, if and when they resonate and there is a clear seeing/understanding. And with your reply I now of course see the pointing: the thoughts (map) being layered on top, being misinterpreted as( being confused for) what is appearing - territory, which is real and present.
The real point isn’t really the map. It’s the difference between what is actually here and the mind’s quick version of it.
For some people, “map and terrain” makes that obvious. For others, it doesn’t, and that’s fine.
A simpler example might be this:
A sound appears. Very quickly it is not just sound, but the neighbour’s dog, an annoyance, something that shouldn’t be happening.
Or a tightening appears in the stomach. Very quickly it is not just sensation, but anxiety, a problem, a sign that something is wrong.
That quick shaping is what I’m pointing to.
And it matters because once that shaping is seen for what it is, it starts to lose its grip. It no longer gets to define what this is. The fear, the irritation, the problem-story may still appear, but they are no longer the truth of the situation.
Not that thought is bad. Just that what thought says is not the same as what is here.
Rob, one hit folows the next. Your examples make it very easy for me to comprehend and recognize. Instead of covering a vast field of possible topics, for me it feels that every article of yours is a helpful and skilful repetition of the same thing, just from another valuable new angle. Aiming at settling in more and more. Thanks a ton and a bright weekend to you
I’m finding this particular metaphor difficult: map vs reality. Not sure why…just can’t quite connect.
Thank you very much for this thoughtful response Rob. I realize I put too much emphasis on metaphor, particularly when I can’t seem to get what it’s pointing to. Still, I find some extremely useful, if and when they resonate and there is a clear seeing/understanding. And with your reply I now of course see the pointing: the thoughts (map) being layered on top, being misinterpreted as( being confused for) what is appearing - territory, which is real and present.
The real point isn’t really the map. It’s the difference between what is actually here and the mind’s quick version of it.
For some people, “map and terrain” makes that obvious. For others, it doesn’t, and that’s fine.
A simpler example might be this:
A sound appears. Very quickly it is not just sound, but the neighbour’s dog, an annoyance, something that shouldn’t be happening.
Or a tightening appears in the stomach. Very quickly it is not just sensation, but anxiety, a problem, a sign that something is wrong.
That quick shaping is what I’m pointing to.
And it matters because once that shaping is seen for what it is, it starts to lose its grip. It no longer gets to define what this is. The fear, the irritation, the problem-story may still appear, but they are no longer the truth of the situation.
Not that thought is bad. Just that what thought says is not the same as what is here.