Re: [BardonPraxis] Re: first mental exercises

["Rawn Clark" <rawnclark@...>]

Dear David,

>> "A certain skill" is ambiguous. The way I read it was that, at the
minimum, the *habit* of paying attention all of the time must be
established even if the attention is not always perfectly focused.
That's at odds with your statement that it's not required to do it all
the time. I thought that was the point of the exercise, though, to make
a habit of paying attention all of the time. Could you clarify? <<

For the average student, achieving a constant (all the time)
self-awareness and focus upon the present moment is not possible within
the time constraints of Step One alone. This can take months and/or
years to achieve and really requires extensive character transformation
in addition to "developing the habit".

What is required in *Step One* with this exercise is that you learn the
*ability* to keep yourself focused in the present moment. This goes
hand in hand with the aspect of introspection in which you are
monitoring your immediate behaviour throughout the day in search of
items for your Soul Mirror lists. It also prepares you for the Step Two
work of character transformation which requires an even sharper and more
consistent self-awareness.

Eventually it becomes second nature to *always* be aware of yourself, of
your inner motivations and external actions, and to keep yourself
focused in the present moment, but that is not the *Step One* goal of
this exercise.

My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
23 Apr 2005
rawnclark@...
rawn@...
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