I am enjoying the course as well. It is encouraging me to stay steadily with study, inquiry, and practice, instead of intermittently as I had been recently. I am glad that more people are posting, though; it was feeling awfully quiet in here! I really appreciate hearing others’ perspectives and questions, which can prompt new directions in my own inquiry as well.
I have found the transition from attending to non-content layers of mind to “space as non-content or context” to be helpful and interesting. Jack says he may have been reaching too much, but for me, I thought the connection was insightful. Having been focusing on layers of mind as context, it was both easy to change over to space — it felt like the same sort of “movement” of attention to open to it — but also challenging, because I wasn’t clear how “layers” and “space” were actually related.
Was space another layer? That’s how it appeared at first. But then I began to see layers as space as well — different overlapping, sometimes interpenetrating spaces.Â
I had missed the conference call and didn’t pick up on “space in memory†as a line of inquiry for this week till a couple days ago. My inquiry into space in memory yesterday was along the lines of my previous paragraph: first I was looking at how the “sense†of space shows up in a given memory. I noticed the different “contextual†things that seemed to be necessary to give a sense of space – both in terms of the proportional configuration images, and also via subtle feelings or “movements†in my body. Space in that sense was another construct. Then I began to see or experience memory itself as space. I experienced this in different ways: the memory both evoked a particular space and also seemed to evince space in its very arising. Space in that sense allowed for ongoing construction.  Then I began to see or experience memory itself as space. I experienced this in different ways: the image both evoked a particular space and also seemed to evince space in its very arising. Space in that sense allowed for ongoing construction. There was also a sense of a hidden “background” space, as I watched one memory trigger other (long forgotten) ones, and they all lit up together as a kind of constellation, rising out of the un-knowing of my unconscious. I had a science fiction image come to mind: some kind of wormhole or tunnel in space, opening deeper along a particular “line” or timespace trajectory as memories triggered one another.
Best wishes,
Bruce
Hello friends,
I like the way you mention “constellation”. It’s helpful to read your comments and notes as I struggle with the words to explain experiencing the exercises.
I’d hoped to say hello on the call but no matter how I adjust my vonage settings I can’t get rid of the bleeps and fuzz (low bandwidth) on my end.
On to the next exercises and notes :)
Very best,
Erin
Howdy, Brother D,
Thank you. I’m glad it resonated with some of your insights as well. I think “thing-focus” is a helpful way to put it — that’s what was apparent to me as well. Looking for space “in” memory, my first approach essentially was either identifying some discrete components of a scene (gaps, distances, “empty” spots, etc), or else more actively arranging images to create a sense of space. I saw that this “sense of space” depended on things, on my thing-focus within the memory. A construction. Seeing this in the moment (even though I already ‘knew’ this on some level) allowed for a relaxing of that focus and a shift towards maybe subtler, more “encompassing” senses of space. As you say, intellectual assumptions (or habits!) were faced (and challenged!) by experience…
But seeing this movement, even though I have the feeling of moving from a constructed sense of space to a deeper, realer one, I am suspecting that settling there would be a mistake for me…
Best wishes,
B.
Hello friends!
I also listened to the recorded call and enjoyed the space in memory inquiry the last few days. If my phone line isn’t static-y tomorrow, I’ll be on the call.
Good to see you,
Erin
Hey Brother,
I thought this additional entry was great! You helped confirm some of my experience of ‘space as another construct’ or part of what I was calling sub-space or ‘contextual’ space in the “space in memory line of inquiry”…also, the overlapping and interpenetrating spaces.
I was, for some reason, really struck by the realization that looking into space in the memory, (the blanks in recalling the memory) was not actually looking directly into knowing space, as I would normally assume, but a transition space that my ‘thing’ focus had reflexively put together. The intellectual assumptions were faced with actual, direct experience. The insight lit me up like a bulb. :-)
Best wishes,
David