July 9 2012: Post 545 (2012 Day 191)
July 9, 2012
Daily Comment
How controlling can a person be?
In the past, I have tried to be a very controlling person on many occasions. For the most part, this failed to produce the results I desired. As a result, at least partially, I think that these days I am a bit easier-going.
Now, I question how much control of things external to ourselves we can ever really have.
It is difficult to control one's internal processes, one's self, one's thoughts. The reason for this is that so much of our thought processing, our mental control, occurs below our level of awareness (think sub- or un-conscious processes, like those that control our heartbeat and breathing).
Touching your right index finger to your nose takes one conscious thought, and hundreds, maybe thousands, of unconscious muscular and nervous commands to succeed. If we had to be conscious of every command necessary for movement, motion would never happen.
Since we can't even consciously control even simple internal acts, how do we presume to control anything external, over which we do not have direct control? The answer is, we can't. The best we can do is try to influence externals, and it is difficult-to-impossible to depend on our influence being sufficient to bring about a different result than what would happen without our effort.
Better: Pay attention to (control?) your responses and relationship to those externals that affect you. This amounts to the sage advice to "Go with the flow." You may not be able to decide what thing is going to happen, but you can determine your response.
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Food and Diet Section
Today's Weight: 204.8 lbs
Yesterday's Weight: 203.6 lbs
Day Net Loss/Gain: + 1.2 lbs
 |
| Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011. |
Diet Comment:
I'm a little surprised at the weight gain today - not at all what I expected. Or, maybe I could have expected it, given that the weighing took place about 6 hours after a rather high-calorie snack, with not enough sleep and a little less than optimum hydration.
Today I skipped breakfast because I had to go for fasting blood work for a regular checkup in a week or so
.
Today I skipped breakfast because I had to go for fasting blood work for a regular checkup in a week or so
.
Food Log
Breakfast
Skipped.
Skipped.
Lunch
 |
| Roasted turkey breast, Spring Mix greens, red cabbage, chia seeds and balsamic vinaigrette. |
Snack
A cocoa-kale protein shake (almond milk, whey protein (24g protein), kale, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, stevia-inulin blend).
Dinner
 |
| Broccoli with lentil-tomato curry soup and a turkey burger with guacamole. |
Snack
Second Nature Wholesome Medley (dark chocolate chunks, roasted and salted peanuts, almonds and cashews, tart red cherries and dried cranberries).
Liquid Intake
Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!
posted by Reverend Ken at
1:05 AM
10 Comments:
Okay- so I think I have to work this saturday to make up for my sick days. I think we should be thiking about August because I am feeling incredibly stressed about a combination of work related things and catching up with my paperwork. Would that work for you? Love you
do i determine a response or do i just respond? - andy
Joan,
At your convenience.
Andy, both. Neither. Not an 'or' question, I think. You can prepare yourself to respond appropriately, or in some cases, delay acting until you have considered your response.
Love you guys,
Ken
hi andy
how do you prepare a response? i never know to what circumstance life will demand my response from moment to moment. i haven't the gift of foresight. if i delay my response, then when i do respond it to a memory or a ghost. i think that depending on being present in the flow of the changes allows for my appropriate response simoultaneous and spontaneus.a response generated from and informed by the unconscious,the subconscious,the conscious and- ifit exists any higher consciousness i don't see cosciousness divide like that. i see consciousness as one continuum..the key to "prepare" is to be attending in the present with all of your presence to be able to respond -andy
Andy,
Prepared responses, as opposed to spontaneous responses, can take different forms. You can definitely practice a response for expected stimuli. This is the reason musicians rehearse, even when they are expected to improvise. Or, think about how you 'prepare' for a social event - you might want to find out who will be there, or get more relevant information about the theme of the event, if there is one, so you can participate better.
You can also prepare yourself to handle things spontaneously, in a manner more in accord with your beliefs about right action. That's one of the benefits of meditation and exercise. These are not preparations for a specific event or situation, but they influence your behavior in positive ways (hopefully).
Your 'response' to an event can be simply observing and thinking about the event. This will put some 'time' distance between your first response (internal process) and your decision to act (or not) with regards to external stimulus (external process).
And we do, constantly, train ourselves to deal with unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances. You can train yourself to remain calm in emergency situations, to have muscle strength for situations that demand them, and to solve problems that arise that require critical thinking skills, for instance.
can you teach me to remain calm in emergency situations, when i'm unable to maintain any state of mind in time ." my world", both inner and outer, seems to be always in motion,nothing maintaining a static state or fixed relationships, nothing staying the same. but i find that i can be calm (in the here and now) and respond.
how do you know when you've sufficient muscle strength for all or any situations that demand muscle strenghth. what if your heart only works at 30% effectiveness and your legs don't work due to PAD? What if your critical thinking skills are weak? i think i can only respond from what i am,since everything other is a figment of my imagination.
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