ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

 

 A student went to consult with his Zen master to write him a wise concept… The master wrote: "Attention." The student asked "is that all?" The teacher wrote: "Attention," "Attention." 

 

The disciple, a little irritated, said that he did not see anything wise in that word. The teacher silently wrote: "Attention", "Attention", "Attention". The frustrated student asked again what he had meant by the word “Attention”. The teacher replied: "Attention" means "Attention." 

 

We, as that student, would like to know what his teacher meant, but in Zen Buddhism, teaching is done through koans, phrases like: When can we go shopping? “The cypress is in the patio”; that apparently do not make sense and, whose answer cannot be reached through rational reasoning. Because the goal is to deconstruct the mind, so that it uses another cognitive procedure, be it through intuition, prayer, meditation, contemplation, simple silence or dreams, to find an answer.

 

William James (in his classic The Varieties of Religious Experience) explains that the “faculty of attention is the ability to re-undertake a scattered and vagrant attention, which more often than not is the root of judgment, character and willpower." And he adds, "that an education aimed at the perfection of this faculty would be the education of excellence." I must confess that lately, I am more lethargic than what I am aware of. 

The physician and researcher on the mind, Richard J. Davidson went on a spiritual retreat in India; There he received a kind of electric shock or, inspiration, that this education of excellence was meditation. (Meditation as a cure, Chapter 7, Daniel Coleman and Richard J. Davidson. Mondadori Libri Sp A, Milano 2019).  

I must admit that this concept of Attention, attention, attention comes in handy because lately I am dispersed. Bombarded by media, my thinking wanders from terrorism, to political problems. Corruption, violence, alternative truths that circulate on the internet, the Covid-19 pandemic, my personal problems and, the disconcerting measures of governments that claim to work for the people, but the truth (in most of the countries) is that they look more to their interests of political and economic power than to the health of the people. 

 

Many of the human problems come from not paying attention to what happens to us personally. We do not do introspection. We are blind looking at what we want to see, but not what we must see and discern.

 

Einstein said: "Intellectuals solve problems, sages avoid them." 

 

 With the pandemic we must avoid problems, and be focused on our wise and spiritual being. Do not allow ourselves to be destabilized by problems, because crises are not a single problem, but an accumulation of small problems that can alter our peace of mind, produce fear and in some panic. But, as has been observed since ancient times, "crisis" means a moment of change. 

 

Decades ago, scientists have observed that increasing populations require more food, more houses, and more minerals for the production of sophisticated products. Relevant changes are required to avoid water and air pollution; save species of animals that disappear every day; jungles and forests that are razed to dedicate them to agriculture and livestock; which in turn pushes wild animals and their viruses to prowl urban centers. We know that political solutions abound, but wise and permanent ones are lacking. But there are exceptions. 

One place where the virus was permanently eradicated, after changing paradigms, is Easter Island (Chile), located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, without many defenses and thousands of miles from continental land. The first contagion came from a traveler on a flight. 

It soon spread, but in mid-April the transmission was cut off. Now they have zero cases. The president of the island's council of elders’ Pedro Edmunds Paoa, explained that, when the first infected arrived on the island in March 2020, they had few elements, a population of more than 7,000 people, which receives 100,000 tourists a year. His decision was to close the island. Part of the population considered that it would ruin the local economy, which depends on tourism. To avoid a revolt,

 

          

He found something that would unite people to defeat the enemy that was the virus. The solution was to apply the sacred word Tapu (which the English translated as “taboo”, and in Spanish “tabú”). Within the Polynesian Tapu culture represents a sacred order to protect health, life and the elderly. It is part of their ancient wisdom. It is a form of discipline rooted in Polynesian culture that has to do with restrictions, but also with respect.

 

Once the virus had been defeated, with the population tired of the confinement and without work, he understood that he had to look for another concept, a word-force, so as not to return to the previous state. They had to change and not depend on tourism or provisions from Chile. At this stage he used the word "umanga"; which refers to the self-sustainability that they possessed before the arrival of the Europeans. They had to go back to their ancestral culture for new solutions. They had to change the economic paradigm, go from dependency to self-sustainability. And that’s what they did. Projects, led by women, were created to produce food and employ 500 people, and others followed. 

The paradigm shift, based on ancestral spiritual values, not only meant defeating the virus but also overcoming the apathy and dependence of Chile and tourists. Paoa argues that the virus and the crisis can be a blessing. As a leader for almost 30 years, he is grateful for the pandemic, as it allowed him to establish a plan for sustainability and respect for nature. He said: "Until March 2020, we had a mask covering our eyes, and we couldn't see." This example from Easter Island allows us to have hope. We can meditate being attentive and discerning what paradigm shift to make, to transform the pandemic into a blessing. This confirms what has been expressed through centuries by spiritual thinkers. Take away the masks of false beliefs covering our eyes, and think with fresh ideas bringing new paradigms. 

 

 

©Pietro Grieco

 See article by Mark Johanson, 

1) http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20201026-the-origin-of-the-word-taboo

See also

2) Spiritual Plan in Times of Crisis 

 3)Sintonía con el Ser, p. 331/4, Edit. Caligrama, Barcelona, 2019). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QUARANTINED LIFE

Many people ask themselves: How do I maintain my security? When does this quarantine end, and what is the point for me? Some biologists and historians believe that life scientifically has no meaning, as it is the result of blind processes of evolution, or of chance and necessity. Physicist Max Planck does not hold the same idea, and psychologists hold that finding meaning in individual experience can produce positive effects on life and death.

This was what Dr. Viktor E. Frankl discovered by observing life in the Nazi concentration camps. In the midst of the horror he was able to discover that the search for meaning in life is what gives humanity value. In his work "The Man in Search of Meaning" he says: "The prisoner who lost faith in the future — in his future — was condemned. With the loss of faith in the future, it also lost its spiritual support; abandoned and decayed he became a subject of physical and mental annihilation” (Editorial Herder, Barcelona, ​​p.76). The meaning of life is not found in inert matter or in biological processes, but in something intangible that is the spiritual support of being. Max Planck, author of quantum theory, (Nobel Prize 1914) said that the universe did not resemble a machine, but a mind that was the matrix of all things. A mind is not a machine of chance but a fluid structure capable of giving coherence, unity and coordination.

Dr. Frankl presents cases that demonstrate the link between future loss of faith and the ultimate consequences. He mentions Case “F”, the head of his barracks, a well-known musician and librettist, who one day confided a strange dream to him. A voice told him to ask what he wanted to know and all his questions would be answered. His question was: When would the war end? But he reiterated: "For me!" In other words, he wanted to know when they would be released and their sufferings would end. He had the dream in February 1945, and told him in early March; Dr. Frankl asked him what answer the voice gave him. "F" said to him: "March thirty." When he had the dream he was full of hope, convinced that his dream was not wrong. On March 29, the news coming from the end of the war was not encouraging, at night he fell ill with a very high fever, the next day, on the 30th, he fell into a state of delirium, lost consciousness, and the day 31 passed away. The appearance was that he died of typhus.

Dr. Frankl explains the relationship between a person's mood and their values ​​and hopes, or how the lack of both affects the immune capacity of the body. He knew that if a loss of hope and courage occurs, it can lead to death. In the case of his friend it was the loss of faith in the future and his will to live. He had a paralysis of faith in the future, which made his body sick and his dreams come true. He also noted that the death rate between Christmas 1944 and the New Year increased dramatically. His explanation of the abnormality was not due to worsening working conditions, food ration, climate change, or the outbreak of new epidemics, but rather in the hope of most prisoners that they would be released.

For Christmas; when this hopeful event did not occur, they lost their value and discouragement overcame them.

 

Frankl quotes Nietzsche: "Whoever has something to live for is able to bear any how." This well-known phrase leads us to ask what is my something to live for that gives meaning to my life? For the answer, Frankl inverts the question, since the search has a focus from the human ego. For this reason, he maintains that "it does not really matter that we do not expect anything from life, but rather that life expects something from us." This means that life has a meaning, a consciousness and a cosmological mind, which, as Max Plank said, is the matrix of all things. We can stop asking about the meaning of life; and think as beings whom life continually and unceasingly interrogates. The answer should not be one of words but of righteous conduct and action. Life with an ethical sense. Ultimately, living means taking responsibility for finding the right answers to the problems you pose.

Each of us must define what that something is that gives us hope to live, makes us travel to the future and overcome any obstacle. But also looking back to what we have lived and has made us what we are, because this gave meaning to the joys we had and no one will be able to tear them from our memory, and those, however small, gave meaning to our life, even the sufferings and frustrations also gave it. Sense that we capitalize because they taught us something. Even in the face of death, for those in a prison camp, it made sense to face it with dignity.

Whoever thinks that a few months of quarantine is a lot, think about the years that Anne Frank spent hidden with constant danger over her life. Quarantine gives us an opportunity to reconsider whether we should make changes for our well-being. Remember, Anne Frank, who spent two years and a month hiding with her family in Amsterdam behind a library during the Nazi occupation, however was able to write: "Think of all the beauty around you and be happy."

Many times we do not perceive the beneficial effect of an ethical and generous thought that, according to Dr. Frankl, blessed even his enemies and jailers. He says that after being released, he learned from another prisoner doctor like himself that the Director of the Camp had sent many times to buy medicines for the sick in a near town, and paid significant sums out of his pocket. After liberation, what did the Jews do about this SS commander? Well, three young Hungarian Jews hid him in the Bavarian forests. Later they appeared before the North American officials eager to capture this chief. They would tell them where he was if they promised that they would not harm him. The American officer hesitated, but accepted, made the promise and kept it.

Therefore, it is important to maintain something ethical to live for, something compassionate, especially during times of emergency, war or pandemic: preserve hope. There were many cruel guards, but it was not the case with that commander, who was reinstated in a similar role: to take care of collecting clothes from neighboring villages, and to distribute them among the released prisoners. He also had something to live for that enabled him to be redeemed.

Governments can be wrong, and make mistakes, but we can have compassion, because it is very human to be wrong.

Quarantine gives us the opportunity to meditate and look at the beautiful things that surround us and not be weak, but strong. An honest thinker is always free.

Only those who are slaves to their desires or egocentric thoughts are imprisoned.

Let us be free to get out of quarantine, with love for ourselves and all humanity of which we are part as one body.

Blessings, Pietro

July/2020©Pietro Grieco

OVERCOMING FEARS AND CONTAGIONS

         "Fear kills more than the virus" said the news headline. The program had the presence of specialists, writers, and experienced journalists. Any unknown situation, product of a virus, bacteria or disaster affects the psychological state of individuals.

A friend told me: "The thought of being cooped up on a cruise, with people infected with a virus, and me raises the temperature to 120°F.”  Fear is an important aspect of the human psyche; its function is alert us of danger, with the immediate response to run or tackle the problem. However excessive fear can paralyze or  sicken people. Governments can take numerous health measures but cannot prohibit fear.

Fear is a unique feeling, some people fear snakes, spiders others. Some individuals fear air travel, others travel in a lift. Fear prevents right thinking, and giving the right answers to problems.

 So it is no wonder that FD Roosevelt, the President of the United States, in his opening speech (1933) said, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. What Roosevelt meant was that acts performed under fear only worsen the situation. If there is a rumor that we will lack water, all citizens will be at the supermarket; thus water will run out soon, the same with oil, cotton, toilet paper, a remedy, or notes in banks. If we have no control, fear worsens the situation.

Each individual faces situations with external dangers and internal dangers. Fear is an internal aspect that we can control preventing it from terrorizing us. Dominating our inner emotions, harmonious decisions can be made successfully avoiding danger or violence. Years ago with my wife, we visited the island of Chiloe, in Chile, it was very nice. We went for a walk and we were followed by the B&B owner’s dog. It was an Irish setter. He wanted to show us his skills and entered into a property and brought a duck. We took it from his mouth and returned to the garden where he had "hunted" it. Later it went into another house and brought a chicken, again I thanked him, took from his mouth [to] the poor animal and returned to the house, and as soon as we could with my wife we ​​went for a walk along the beach. There, the setter looked around and found some small branches and brought them to me, but never gave them easily; his idea was that I had to fight for them!

Suddenly, at one point five stray dogs appeared, and surrounded the setter barking at him aggressively. The animal looked at us, sat down and waited looking at the sea undeterred. We were about five meters, and calmly waited to see whether we should intervene. Those dogs were of a size slightly larger than the setter. After several minutes one of the dogs stopped barking. Then I clapped my hands and shouted at them: “Stop, it is enough, out!” They looked at us, stopped barking and wagging their tails went away. It was a teaching experience of calm producing calm. After a few deep breaths, we continued our walk accompanied by our new peaceful friend.

Any virus or bacteria to harm must find a gateway. We cannot be careless or unconscious with an attitude of apprehension, ignorance, or fear. We know that when the human body faces an intruder it is prepared to isolate and remove any foreign aggressive element, and doesn’t matter whether it's a virus or bacteria that enters through the skin, nostrils, or mouth. After reading Alexis Carrel it always amazed me how the defense team immediately works: the police, the fire fighters, and intelligence services of the body that detect and neutralize the intruder if it is harmful.

If humanity has managed to live for millions of years, it was because it developed a system of immune protection. This system produces cells in different parts of the body that defend and attack intruder elements. In addition, all entry points have guards. Nose mucus traps particles and germs, the earwax does something similar, and saliva possesses compounds to eliminate many of the elements entering into the mouth. And if they pass into the stomach, gastric juices are a powerful shredder. Even the tears contain substances that cleanse and protect the eyes. The human body is a wonder! We must care for it and strengthen it.

 

Individuals should be responsible for their own health, and know what is healthy. If we damage or weaken our immune system with toxic substances such as alcohol, drugs, snuff, opioids, stimulants, etc., this creates a sense of unnecessary damage, which makes us feel weak at a time of danger. This is evident with tongue piercings, navel or other piercings, and tattoos (white of the eye, with the risk of becoming blind), or sex toys use done without considering the consequences. Desires for pleasure often end from bad to very bad, like death by asphyxiation. They all start as a mental contagion. We must therefore be vigilant and not be subject to manias or examples from films. In each case the instructions of the responsible health authorities must be followed.

The effect of a virus, depending on the individual's immune system, may be zero, or cause some discomfort. The flu virus produces slight temperature rise in one, in another fever, and in others severe disease. The worst situation must be avoided: when contagion spreads a virus to become pandemic. It does this through a psychosis of fear and ignorance. In any contagion case, it is a major mental element that can strengthen or weaken the immune system.

Spirituality instructs us to keep calm, serene and send messages

of power and love to the body through prayer and meditation. If we send messages of fear, nervousness, or uncontrolled fright, this will not help the immune system of our body. There is also no possibility of overcoming the spread, if individuals are declared defeated before becoming ill. Sickness comes from the Latin: infirmitas , which means not stand firm. One study found that many of those killed by a virus were already suffering from a disease. So they were not firm. 

Do not be afraid. We keep our mind firmly based on the power of the spirit. Life gave us a spirit of love, power and self-control. Let's [us] use this power! 

Clothed in the power of the spirit nothing can harm us. To do this we can use meditation and prayer to strengthen our spiritual essence, and make our shield invulnerable. Exaggerated mass media bark news like dogs, which doesn’t help. We must be serene, because calm produces calm. Regular meditation strengthens our mind and immune system. So we have to cultivate it. Loving ourselves means taking care of ourselves.

Once, in the middle of viral crises I had to go to the hospital to see the eye doctor. The advice was: do not go; as it is said, hospitals are the main centers of infection and spread of virus. After thinking I realized that not going was a symptom of fear, and should go without fear. I had to face and overcome my doubts and fears. I meditated and I affirmed my spiritual identity. When I felt strong, I was confident that everything was fine. I was treated by an experienced doctor. I was grateful to see her doing her work dedicatedly, serving large numbers of patients without rest. I recommended her to be careful. She smiled, and told me: “That’s what I have been doing for over thirty-five years.”

We meditate on the good and the good will bless us, [to] those around us and the entire community. Anything that inspires in us security: masks, gloves or a cash reserve is useful. However the protection of the shield of the spirit is available in the middle of the sea, the top of a mountain or in outer space.

Spiritualized consciousness rejects any virus, because the spirit is not subject to contagions or illness.

As the doctor told me, we can practice the smile meditation. Breathe a few seconds and exhale in few seconds with a smile. This remedy is free, and those [that used it have been wonderful in its results] who have used it have found wonderful results. And you will smile a lot! Life is always powerful and sustains us.

Loving ourselves means taking care of ourselves.

 Blessings and strong health for everyone!

© Pietro Grieco/2020