All thoughts, senses, and perception arises in the same place, one’s consciousness. In that way, the visual field is no different than thoughts and so things one thinks of as outside of the body and inside the body are actually the same. This is a foundational concept for mindfulness as taught by Sam Harris.
Links to this note
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In mindfulness, the practice of meditation aims to deconstruct the ego by observing thoughts and trying to notice where they originate. In so doing, the concept of self disappears as just another thought appearing in consciousness because everything arises in consciousness.
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Mindfulness Helps You Feel Less Self-Conscious
Mindfulness helps decrease the feeling of being self-conscious. This makes sense because the practice reveals the illusory self and how everything arises in consciousness. Feeling self-conscious is like any other feeling, an appearance in consciousness which we are already free of.
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Hypochondriacs Have an Increased Risk of Mortality
Worrying about being sick seems to increase your risk of death. A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that people with hypochondriasis (a psychiatric disorder characterized by a pre-occupation about having a serious illness) have an increased risk of death compared to those who do not have hypochondriasis.
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Looking at the Screen Versus Watching the Movie
A metaphor for mindfulness, we can get caught up in the moment and swept up in our emotions and impulses (watching the movie), but if you can step back and recognize that it’s all light and shadow on a screen you can be reminded that everything arises in consciousness (looking at the screen).
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Emotion Is No More a Sensation Than an Ache in Your Knee
Emotion feels like it has extra meaning to us and demands our attention. However, everything arises in consciousness so we can define emotion as an energy. Because we find evidence for whichever mindset we have, doing so strips the extra meaning we assign to emotion. In that way, it’s no more a sensation than an ache in your knee.
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A Strange Loop and the Illusory Self
One of the key points of I Am a Strange Loop is how the “I” develops into consciousness. The constant reinforcement (and self-enforcing) of the “I” gives rise to perception, symbols, meaning, and reality. On the other hand, the key point of mindfulness (at least to me) is recognizing the illusory self.
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Awareness Is Key to Being Present
In mindfulness, calling attention to anything that enters consciousness has the effect of bringing you back to the present moment rather than lost in thought or dwelling on something. Since everything arises in consciousness, this can be practiced any time, not just during focused meditation sessions.