Expanding the Paradigm of our Perceptions, "Senses", and "Philosophy"

   This article is in response to  Deb🐝 Lange, Brand Ambassador @beBee brilliant and thought provoking article titled, "Complexity, Stress, Patterns, and Multi-Sensory Awareness", "Do we have as many senses as colours?".

  https://www.bebee.com/producer/@deb-lange/complexity-stress-patterns-multi-sensory-awareness 

   I have not read your new book yet Deb, "Trust Your Senses", but I am looking forward to it.

   Let's take a step back and start with a few assumptions/beliefs/opinions/hypothesis that we can agree on as "common ground".

   - We are multi-sensory beings, the very nature of the particular senses making most mutually exclusive of others due to different "frequencies"/positions on our "perceiving/learning spectrum", (e.g. trying to identify what the colour purple smells like).

   

   “The ultimate truth is like the flavour of an apple which you can’t see with the eye or hear with the ear. The only way to experience it is to put the teachings into practice. Once you taste it, you are no longer in any doubt about its flavour and you do not have to ask anyone else. The problem is solved.”

                                                                                                                     - Ajahn Chah -

    - Modern Western Man is handicapped in his perceptions/interpretations/"senses" of our multiple facets due to his singular  reliance on his ego/intellect to try and understand our whole/complete beings.

   - Advanced technology is catering more and more to our ego/intellect creating a crutch and causing us to become even further removed from the other, greater and deeper aspects of ourselves disabling us from utilizing or even detecting those senses .

    - I think that you're spot on Deb with your question, (and with your other related questions), 

   " Could some of the modern day plethora of illnesses be from being out of balance and over using our “cognitive”  abilities to the detriment of our sensory capacities where we sense well-being and ill health?"       

     I would say "Yes, we are absolutely unbalanced".        

     What prompts me to arrive at these conclusions?           

     "Philosophy"

      What is "Philosophy"?

    It is the intellect's contrivance of trying, desperately, to rationalize/assess/recognize and classify the unfathomable/irrational/impossible aspects of ourselves; but here's the crux; they are ONLY  unfathomable/irrational/impossible aspects to our intellects! They are perfectly normal/rational/possible relating to the rest of our beings. Entertain the concept that our intellects are actually a very small part of our total beings, and strive to get your intellect to embrace this concept. Understand that no matter how hard we try we will not be able to reconcile the more nebulous aspects of ourselves with our intellects or in the terms and parameters of our intellects, they are mutually exclusive of each other. Entertaining this concept is the first "baby step" towards expanding one's paradigm that allows us to realize the "Totality of our beings". These aspects have to be considered as "senses" as they are our awareness that is perceiving and interpreting facets of the universe around us even though they are in bands of the spectrum that are removed beyond the capabilities of our intellects.

   These sentiments are not new, nor original, dating back thousands of years through many different cultures and "philosophies"/belief systems, from Buddhism, (of many varieties), Taoism, Sufi, Hindu, Shamanism, (which encompasses native American beliefs, Toltec concepts, etc.), and many others that ALL share common threads and similar concepts. Modern Man has lost these concepts/beliefs hence has lost his true connections to the world around him. He has fortified himself on "The island of the Tonal" and turned his back on, forgotten about, "The ocean of the Nagual".

   What does that mean?

   One of the common grounds of all of these belief systems is that the "Totality of our beings" includes the "First Attention" and the "Second Attention", the "Earthly" and the "Divine", "Social Self" and "Cosmic Self", The "Conscious and the Super Conscious", "The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable", "The Tonal" and "The Nagual", (and many more titles but all referring to the same thing). While any of these systems of beliefs can be used I will reference Carlos Castaneda's "Teachings of Don Juan", (we would classify Don Juan Matus as a Shaman but he considered himself as a Toltec "Man of Knowledge" and a "seer"), his presentation is contemporary and "modern". He refers to these 2 aspects of ourselves as "The Tonal" and "The Nagual", here is a reasonable explanation;

   http://www.ramaquotes.com/html/castaneda_tonal_nagual.html

   But understand that the Nagual really can't be described by our Tonal, (which is our reason and intellect), it can be alluded to poorly at best, it can only be experienced. The point is that it's there and coaching is needed for our reason/intellect to accept it, and more importantly coaching our reason/intellect to accept that it will never understand or comprehend it, (not the easiest task to accomplish, LMAO!).  This is why one's personal paradigm needs to be expanded in order accommodate these concepts/perspectives.

 

    Obviously these concepts can be discussed at great length, and in great detail, (I will list some suggested reading shortly), but let's get back to the point. The classical perception of our "5 senses" are easy to grasp as they are directly connected to our reason/intellect; they are sensing stimuli that can be readily classified, quantified, and measured by our reason/intellect. More importantly they can be agreed upon by everyone's "Tonal"; it is direct communication from one "Tonal" to the next. The further away that we move from the reason/intellect the more nebulous and ambiguous our perceptions become hence far more difficult to describe, let alone communicate to another "Tonal". 

   How many more senses do we have?

   No one can answer that. Don Juan asserts that we are magical beings and once we "unfold our wings of perception" there are no boundaries.

   

   How can we access these senses?

   As with any other endeavor in our life; study, hard work, discipline, exercise. While this could be discussed at great length as well I will mention 2 fundamental aspects that are virtually universal throughout any belief/"philosophy"/perspective on the subject. I would suggest further reading...

   1- Meditation

   The point is to stop the "internal dialogue", this is the first step towards heightened awareness, the doorway to "The second attention". This exercise is universal throughout any belief system. Did you notice the Mandala that I posted at the beginning of this article? It is a Buddhist meditation tool. Here's a link to a 3 minute video. "5 monks, 5 days, 1 sand Mandala". Imagine the discipline and concentration needed of spending 5 days meticulously producing this incredible sand Mandala, that's what meditation is. It engages, distracts and shrinks the Tonal allowing the Nagual to come forth, in a harmonious fashion.

   https://vimeo.com/92333174

 

   2 - Energy

    Personal energy is a key factor in attaining higher levels of perceptions, rigorous exercising, Martial Arts, Yoga all help as well as behavioral guidelines. One that I will mention here that is fairly common is Celibacy, and I bring this up as it is an opportunity for an insight into Don Juan's perspectives. When Carlos asked Don Juan why he had to be celibate, if it was for moral reasons, Don Juan replied,

   "There is no morality attached to it at all, morality is a construct of the Tonal, we are talking about the Nagual, there is no place there for "morality" or any other aspect of the Tonal. This is simply a strategic maneuver to conserve your energy, you need every bit of it that you have to make any journeys into the second attention." 

   Another important aspect of personal energy that is universal throughout any belief system; our ego is the largest draw of our energy and is one of the greatest battles of our life. Modern Man's ego has entrapped and enslaved his Tonal. We are far better off without it, and being without it saves an incredible amount of energy, (I battle my ego daily and sometimes I actually get the better of it, :-) )

   Regarding your questions Deb about human development and evolution leading up to your question;

   " Whilst we have been developing our cognitive abilities with our sense of thinking in words, language and thought, what have we overlooked?"

   I would have to say that the question is not, "What have we overlooked?"

   My question would be, "What have we forgotten? What have we lost?"

   At what cost have we developed our cognitive abilities with our sense of thinking in words, language and thought?

    It is important to note that our Tonal is an integral aspect of ourselves, a key ingredient in our fundamental make up that needs to be respected, nurtured and groomed, like all of our other aspects. Our heavy attention on our Tonals while disregarding the Nagual is the "unbalance" that we feel in our life, we "sense" it. It is our ego that is to blame for this, it is petty, self serving, and fearful; fearful of the unknown.

   We have a heritage and a long history as perceivers and "seers"...

    Ultimately this is my "Tonal" trying to describe the indescribable to your "Tonal"; Don Juan refers to it as "Silent Knowledge", for good reason.

   Getting back to the point, the first step is to expand one's paradigm, one's perspective as to the nature of the world around us, we are perceiving beings with abilities beyond our 5 senses. Whether one takes it as spiritual, religious, fanatical, philosophy, whatever; these are all constructs of our Tonals to try and rationalize the unknown, which is out there and we are connected to it through "senses" beyond the capacity of our reason/intellect. Recognize it, accept it and embrace it.

    It's the age old conundrum of;

   "How do you describe color to a blind man?"

                

                    Suggested reading

 Topics;                                           Authors;

   

Buddhism                                     Carlos Castaneda

Taoism                            Frederick Lenz, (American Buddhism)

Toltecism                                         Carl Jung

                                                      Ken Eagle Feather 

                                                      Don Miguel Ruiz

                                                      Victor Sanchez

   These are just a very few examples of the vast amount of writings/information that is available. Hopefully you may find something that will appeal to "the personal bent of your nature".

    Here's a few posts that I've written illustrating some of these more nebulous aspects of ourselves, perspectives and "senses" of the magical universe around us;

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@randall-burns/a-stranger-in-a-strange-land

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@randall-burns/the-truffle-incident

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@randall-burns/tales-from-paradise-pt-4

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@randall-burns/stress-the-dynamics-in-a-professional-kitchen

https://www.bebee.com/producer/@randall-burns/zen-and-the-art-of-bomber-cleaning

   In closing I would like to leave you with a quote from Don Juan;

   “All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. ... Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.

   For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length--and there I travel looking, looking breathlessly.”

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