Conversations For Transformation: Essays Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

Conversations For Transformation

Essays By Laurence Platt

Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

And More




Puzzle Solved, Mind Unraveled

Coombsville Appellation, Napa Valley, California, USA

April 22, 2013



This essay, Puzzle Solved, Mind Unraveled, is the ninth in the complete group of Experiences Of A Friend (click here for the open group Experiences Of A Friend II):
  1. Stepping Back
  2. At Home As Self
  3. Empty Windows
  4. Futile Like A Freedom
  5. Shut Up And Do What You're Doing
  6. Werner As Intention
  7. Who He Is For Himself
  8. Source Quote
  9. Puzzle Solved, Mind Unraveled
  10. Eye To Eye
  11. Mystical Connection II
  12. Relentless
  13. Being Around Werner
  14. Being Always In Action: A Possibility
  15. Shaken Up And Teary
  16. On Being Sad
  17. The Complete Presentation
  18. Force Of Nature
  19. Everyone's In Love With Everyone
  20. I'm Old School
  21. Werner At The Speed Of Choice
  22. I Get Who You Are From What They Do
  23. The Significance - Not What Happened
  24. You Know I Love You - And I Know You Love Me
  25. Speaking To People's Relationship With Werner
  26. A Master At Being (And Having People Be)
  27. Werner As Source
  28. A Man Who's All There
  29. My Heart And You
  30. Mind Control
  31. Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again
  32. Unwavering
  33. The Leadership Course III: Pillar Of The Community
  34. American Genius
  35. Legacy II
so far, in that order.

It was written at the same time as


"So transform me" I challenged him - skeptically, cynically.

"Behold the machine" he trained me - groundedly, twinklingly.

"You are A*Mazing!"  I acknowledged him - spellboundedly, attentively.



Eruditely Terse



His, in its terseness, is the fastest access to transformation I've ever come across. It may indeed be the fastest access to transformation there is  - and if not the  fastest then certaintly one of  the fastest. But I'm only saying that to leave the possibility generously open for others. In truth, I've not come across any others' terser or faster or more effective.

I spoke with a Buddhist monk from the Dalai Lama's Gyudmed monastery near the village of Hunsur in South India who was touring the United States. He came to visit the Napa Valley in California where I live. We spoke about paths to enlightenment. He told me some of his fellow monks are put on what he called a "fast path" to enlightenment  by the Dalai Lama. This means they'll become enlightened after only  three reincarnated lifetimes. I invited him to consider the possibility of his path to enlightenment which takes only three days.

His focus isn't merely on how to get along better in life, how to win more, how to acquire more - although if anything like that happens along the way, I doubt anyone would complain too much. No, his focus is prior to  all that. His focus is on causing a contextual shift. By that I don't mean he'll explain  a contextual shift to you. Neither do I mean he'll sell you how a contextual shift might be useful for your survival. Rather by that I mean being in the conversation with him is  a contextual shift. When I'm in a conversation with him, what shifts is my experience / realization / revelation  of who's the source of my life - in other words, what shifts is my experience of what's (which is to say who's)  the context  for my life.

There's something pivotal I get from him, which isn't easy to get - and if it were  easy to get, the whole world would have gotten it by now. It's that transformation isn't to be confused with change  or with any of the various colors, flavors, and varieties change comes in. Transformation is a particular experience, a particular experience to which you could assign any descriptor, any name you like. But without the contextual shift which goeswith  authentic transformation (as Alan Watts may have said), it's not transformation - whatever name it goes by. Conversely if anything labeled "transformation" is unaccompanied by a contextual shift, then it isn't transformation ie it's inaccurately named.

<aside>

In spite of our best intentions to the contrary, even our most accurate renditions of language are in danger of being reduced to jargon. Given its new found popularity in the media today (and from there, in general usage), the word "transformation" itself could soon be on the endangered species list.

But that's a subject for another conversation on another occasion.

<un-aside>


Unflinchingly Free



Interesting things emerge around him in the conversation which is a contextual shift. Sacred icons are laid bare. Sacred cows are turned out to pasture. Erstwhile ivory towers are rendered accessible to all.

What's revealed is the machinery of the mind. A machine is a machine is a machine. A machine trying not to be a machine is the ultimate machine. A machine trying to quiet the machine is the ultimate machine. A machine trying to reprogram  or avoid the domination of the machine is the ultimate machine.

What's revealed is the nature of ego. Ego is ego is ego. Ego trying not to be ego is ultimate ego. Ego trying to suppress ego is ultimate ego. Ego trying to reprogram or avoid the domination of ego is ultimate ego.

The conversation with him has the machinery be the machinery. The conversation with him has ego be ego. No trying not to be. No quieting. No reprogramming. No suppressing. No avoiding. And no understanding  either.

Listen: who would have ever thought understanding  living Life is the biggest culprit, the biggest distraction, the biggest impediment to living Life?  Oh! You say you do  understand? Well ... so what?!

In this way the puzzle is solved, the mind is unraveled. To be sure, his isn't conventional yoga. It may not be deemed to be conventional wisdom  either. But then again, even with all our conventional yoga, even with all our conventional wisdom, all we've succeeded in doing is getting the world into the tenuous shape it's in today.



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