I was reading an AtR blog post(1) about total exertion when something clicked for me.
Walking on the street, you look at the traffic and maneuver your way to reach your destination, the traffic and people walking are as much an inseparable part of the activity which you call 'your walking', each moment of walking is doing together action with all conditions.
Reading the phrase "your walking", made me realize that the reason total exertion hasn't been apparent is because of lingering attribution of activities as personal. There is nothing in this activity that draws a line between the movement of my feet and the pavement under them. Or between other bodies walking and this body walking in sync so they don't bump into each other. The whole thing is the walking, no way to separate any part of it from the rest.
I used to get stuck contemplating this, blocking beliefs would come up like: "There are many activities going on right now, and they are separate and distinct. My walking, your walking, bird chirping". Nope! There is just this activity, and it is all! We call it our walking and try to draw lines of separation around our activities, but in experience it is all there. None of it is personal or separate.
I've noticed at this phase in my practice, I get glimpses of how particular beliefs are shaping my experience in real time. This used to be something I would contemplate to understand where the cognitive distortions are, but now it shows up as an intuition and letting go happening on its own.
Just a quick sharing of some of my thoughts here in case it helps someone
(1) Blog Post: http://www.awakeningtoreality.com/.../what-is-total...
25You, Yin Ling, Mr. TJ and 22 others
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- Noah StarbuckThanks for sharing this. I think I can relate.
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- Jayson MPaulAuthorYin Ling This reminds me of something I read a long time ago before I really understood what all this awakening stuff was about. The quote loosely was "Just this moment, never again"2
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- Tan Jui HorngAdminReality is like a big semi-dried blob of glue. You can't pick at any part without the whole blob coming along5
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- Tony TaylorJayson MPaul. Thanks for sharing all your insights. You definitely have and continue to help me.
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- Cheng ChenYup.
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- Sudden AwakeningsYes, I totally relate to this. Sometimes I get lost in the Buddhist jargon of certain descriptions used in AtR, but when someone puts it into natural everyday language like this it makes perfect sense. Before reading this post I would not have said I experience total exertion, but now it’s obvious that I am. The blog post made me think I had to look for some exalted mystical state, but it’s really just so ordinary.
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- 16h