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Shedding bias

“Reflect on what you see. Remember, though, that to reflect is not to rush to determine the rights and wrongs or merits and demerits of what and whom you are observing. Try to consciously refrain from value judgments—don’t rush to conclusions. What’s important is not arriving at clear conclusions but retaining the specifics of a certain situation." Haruki Murakami Covid gifted us a time and space to reflect. It forced us to spend time with ourselves and in doing so, made us aware of who we really are. And what can be a more beautiful and useful gift than that? It was as if I was standing in the center of many mirrors kept at different distances and angles from me and being forced to observe, really observe what was reflected in those mirrors. And as you take these multiple views of self, a whole picture emerges that is smaller, more fragile, more ordinary than you thought before. Here's one of the realisations. The realisation that I suffer from a habit of quick bias. The

Two kinds of awarenesses

 1. The worried squirrel The attention to threats. worried of being persecuted. worried of being blamed. Shifty eyes, danger may come from anywhere. Back bent, ready to apologize, back out. One foot on the back-foot. Ready to run away. Nervous energy. choppy noisy mind. unfocused. mind grabbing at potentialities. reality is out of focus. Attentive, not to present moment, but to future uncertainty. Attentive to one's bonded labour, not to freedom of thought and action. And since, one is not attentive to present moment, one is likely to make mistakes, not respond appropriately, overreact.  2.The shell  The awareness of one's own shell. Aware of shell's place in its surrounding. The attention to one's own shell. Calm mind. Not presupposing anything - neither danger nor pleasure. Back straight, anchored in Here. Not backing out, nor running ahead. Both feet firmly in the here and now.  Calm energy. Clarity of mind that sees what is, not what can be or should be. Ready to fr

Signal and noise

We live in a fog.  The daily Sisyphean chore is to  try and clear that fog. If you can watch your breath, that is enough.