Contentment and meditation

With the topic:

World view (judging)

revenge

"Could you say when and by what means one is satisfied?" asked GP.

"When you achieve your goals. These are in the brain. It evaluates and signals with feelings whether one has achieved goals, is satisfied or dissatisfied, happy or sad,” I replied.

“Moods, such as a bad mood, do not fall from the sky; as a rule, they are dependent on goals that have been achieved or not, which are active within oneself.

So if you know or recognize your goals, you could perceive why you are in the mood you are in.”

"Could one say: 'Know your goals, then you know yourself?'"

I nodded. “Exactly, this helps self-knowledge. The advantage is that the brain uses information from consciousness (better: perception) to control itself: for example, creating new goals, deactivating or reactivating old ones, or modifying the goal in question.

As a rule, of course, there is not only one goal, there are various involved, which differ in value. They are more or less different in each person; these are also based on the respective perception and influence the mood".

--- Worldview (judging) ---

"That also goes well with what we were talking about," said GP: "You can look at the world and say: It should be the way I want it to be. Then people evaluate, try to adapt the world to their goals design.

But you can also look at her in such a way that you say: She is what she is; what happens must happen as it happens. Then you don't judge and just accept it.

In the first case, people are constantly trying to shape the world the way they want it to be, trying to change it through various actions, arguments, and fights.

In the second case, he takes her calmly, leaves her as she is.”

"Yes," I nodded again. “This also controls satisfaction. It is always linked to the respective goals. People who are constantly trying to shape the world according to their goals and cannot accept it as it is are less likely to be satisfied. Perfectionists have it the hardest. Even idealists don’t have it easy.”

"But if you want to live by your values, don't you have to change the world?" asked GP.

“The world or yourself. You are right, of course: I, for example, aim for the middle. Between what I want and what I can or must just accept. If I overdo it to one side or the other, then in the long run it's unhealthy, it doesn't reflect life."

"So it's crucial that you have the right goals in you," reflected GP.

"Or correct them," I added.

"And what are the right goals?"

"Everyone has to decide that for themselves. But it's good to know that you have the opportunity to relax from current midpoints with the sentence: 'What happened had to happen as it happened'. Like anger, for example, whose destructive violence can do a lot of harm.

--- Revenge ---

This also applies in particular to the goal of revenge, which arises, for example, from a violation of the sense of honour and is intended to restore inner contentment. As a rule, however, this becomes a pseudo-satisfaction, because the addressee of the revenge probably also wants to take revenge. You could break this vicious circle by realizing that the past had to happen the way it did, thus saving yourself torment and disharmony.

What happened is often viewed in such a way that one thinks that the other person, the environment, is to blame. Or fate, God, other higher powers would have caused this. Or they would have chosen one for the event themselves. This allows you to completely remove yourself from reality and further fantasies then find plenty of nourishment.

But in the end, it's up to you whether you're satisfied or not: it didn't turn out the way you expected it to – so you had a goal within you – and this triggered your own reactions.”

"That means you should first look within yourself to see whether the wrong goals are acting in you and you could change them."

"Yes. Changing your goals also means trying to influence the change in people and the world, i.e. adapting yourself. Because by adapting yourself, you correct or change your goals and your own view of the world.”

"Three points can be made, then," concluded GP:

• Satisfaction is achieved by fulfilling one's goals.

• Satisfaction is based on the level of his expectations. It follows that you should not aim for impossible-to-achieve goals. This only creates dissatisfaction and possibly even depression.

• Satisfaction (come to peace) can also be achieved if one says to oneself: What happened had to happen as it happened.”

"Meditation can also contribute to satisfaction," GP now remembered. "As far as I know, you do that too."

"Yes," I confirmed, she is focusing on one goal. This weakens others according to the laws of midpoint mechanics.

It is ideal for neutralizing false goals or unfavourable behaviour that has taken root, or for not allowing it to act.

The key is letting go. The essential thing is to perceive the intrusive thoughts and feelings, if they are very strong, but not to respond to them. This gives them neither the space nor the attention they need to develop further.

One could make this clear using the example of falling asleep: thoughts often come to one that one no longer wants to think about. If you go into it, then you are in the center of this respective goal that wants to keep you busy. This is especially the case when fighting against the thoughts. But if you don't do it and return to your goal of falling asleep, then the thoughts lose their value.

This would be a way of defending yourself against intrusive thoughts: do not respond to them and direct your attention or awareness to the center, such as meditation.

Relaxation means that other goals no longer work (other goals than the one you are in at the moment).

The more you practice this, the better it works.

How do you meditate?”

First of all, all methods in this area have the goal of concentrating on something and ignoring all other thoughts and feelings. An essential point is to be aware of the intrusive thoughts and feelings, if they are very strong, but not to respond to them. This does not give them the space or attention they need to continue developing with their midpoints.

My meditation (relaxation) exercise is that as I breathe in I want to get closer and closer to the end of the universe and as I breathe out I want to stay just below this limit that I have just reached. Of course, since the universe is infinite, I can never reach the “end” of the universe. And so I can continue this practice indefinitely.

This also includes not responding to every goal that rises in you - but simply leaving it as it is - so perceive it, but don't respond to it).

And not to check whether it has disappeared, but to consistently continue the meditation practice.

But you can also just concentrate on breathing; To absorb it on the in-breath and stay in it on the out-breath.”

"So it's sort of attention deprivation?"

"Yes. But not in the relationship of repressing something. Because if you strive for this, you are at the center of this thought or feeling, which then shapes you.”

"So," GP recapitulated, "it's only by responding to something - in this case your unwanted thoughts and feelings - that they can make you strong."

"Yes," I confirmed, "the meditation is excellent for attracting attention. Incidentally, without further action, all other midpoints (networks) are devalued.”

"And as I said: Without exception, all relaxation techniques use the withdrawal of attention by turning to something else.

"Meditation is often viewed as something mystical, unearthly," GP added.

"There is a theory that seems very plausible to me," Phil Osof replied, explaining: "The state of meditation is created by brain processes. It begins with the goal of eliminating all thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. So it is very important to stop the incessant chattering of thoughts. Concentrating on this creates lively neuron activity in the attention center of the brain. This signals to slow down the flow of neural information. As a result, an area that is responsible for our orientation in space is increasingly cut off from neuronal impulses. If the area lacks the necessary stimuli, it only remains to create the subjective impression of complete spacelessness, which is interpreted as infinite space and eternity. Another area is responsible for imagining the limitations of our body. The total blackout of signals on this side means the perception of oneself becomes limitless. As the meditation deepens, the boundary between the inner and outer world blurs, and there is a sense of expansion and merging with the environment. By concentrating on one point, the flood of information from which people derive their orientation disappears. As a result, the boundary between the ego and the world also disappears, the feeling of oneness with the world and of limitlessness sets in. In the deepest meditation one has the feeling of becoming one with the universe, of becoming one with something very much greater to dissolve.”

For a very deep meditation, you usually have to practice long and hard.”

"And all this only happens in the brain?"

“Of course, but the meditator actually has the feeling of being one with everything. This state is sought. It is not uncommon to find people who vehemently resist such a materialistic interpretation among those who have already had this experience of 'boundless oneness with everything'. They just can't and don't want to imagine that it's just happening in their brain because it was such an overwhelming experience. Perhaps they fear that they will not be able to experience this again with a similar intensity if they would admit that everything consists only of substances and laws and that there is no metaphysical power behind it.

 "Do you have to believe in mysticism to meditate deeply?"

"No. But of course you can also immerse yourself in mystical fantasies. However, I personally prefer to keep both feet on the ground during meditation.