Report 25

In last week's report I used the term 'empty threats' to describe limitations and perceived obstacles with regard to integrating the knowledge of codependent arising into daily life. I can't say I was ready to expound on what I'd begun to articulate when Stim asked me, so I'd like to try to do that here. :)

Obstacles, cages, chains, and limitations as empty threats is seeing that everything that appears is made up of incalculable number of factors. Seeing that those factors, and the factors those factors are made up of, are not reliable as they at first seem, and that the reliable impression is a matter of a seemingly reliable selves and minds perceiving them, means that I can rest in groundlessness with greater and greater confidence, knowing more and more, reality's nature. 

Speaking practically, in some sense it is factoring in one's ignorance when approaching any and all 'things', because you *know* that if you take a moment to look further into something, it is ultimately not graspable. If it isn't graspable, it begins to feel silly to 'try' to grasp it.

So then developing refinement of concentration approaching everything/everyone is where Immediacy comes into play. Looking/living in a shallow way is a habit, not a necessary, or essential state. 

This morning I thought about groundlessness in the context of what is said about eagles... that mother eagles remove layers of cushioning and comfort from the eaglets, and almost taunt the eaglets with temptations of food and such so that the eaglet will be compelled to learn to rely on its free-flying nature.

In the unfolded image of groundlessness the surrendered and trusting eagle would then be not?

-I'm going to try not to edit this down too much because sometimes I'm hesitant to ask some things openly in workshops or take too much time to clarify things. I've been doing quite a bit of reading and listening to audio books on my own also, with this workshop as the central guide. What I can describe is a sense of seeing limitations, but also seeing 'through them' rather like transparency layers.