Motus Mentis

3 Comments

1. BV says

   Question: Would you say that to be conscious of something = to be aware of something?

   Posted May 13, 2024 at 12:55 pm | Permalink
2. Malcolm says

   Bill, I have amended my wording to say “to live more consciously” rather than “to be conscious”.

   I don’t know if that affects your question (which I will think about and reply to later today), but it more clearly says what I meant.

   Posted May 13, 2024 at 2:24 pm | Permalink
3. Malcolm says

   In common usage, “conscious” and “aware” are used pretty interchangeably, so it’s a fine discrimination that needs making here.

   What would we make of, say, the situation in which, on a long drive when we’ve been lost in thought or having a conversation with a passenger, we realize that we’ve covered many miles, and dealt competently with what all the other cars around us have been doing — but all completely automatically, without recalling any of it? Clearly we were aware of what was going on around us — but were we really conscious of it? It’s only when something suddenly happens that requires our attention that the situation changes. When that happens, our attention is called by the senses.

   What I’m talking about when I say “reversing the arrow” is a state of conscious presence in which we call on the senses, which requires controlling the attention — rather than the external world just yanking our attention around as it pleases, while we simply react.

   I know that you have practiced mindfulness exercises for a very long time, so I’m sure you know what I’m getting at.

   Posted May 13, 2024 at 6:14 pm | Permalink