When I look at the new books shelf in the library lobby, there is often something there that I want to look at. This time, I found "Aware" by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel. Over the years, he has been a good source for me on the subject of meditation and mind cultivation.
Recently, I learned about Annie Duke. She has a book "Thinking in Bets" and is a champion poker player. Duke worked on a doctorate in language acquisition but became a poker player. I recently learned about the mysteries of language learning by little children. How does a little mind, only a year or so old, learn the grammar, meaning and use of a native language? The more I think about it, the bigger the mystery becomes. It happens every day and yet, how is it done?
Reading "Aware", I learn that he advocates putting my attention on four things:
My senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch and what I am experiencing with each sense
My sensations from inside the body, awareness of my limbs, posture
My thoughts and feelings, subjects and topics on my mind, memories, associations
My relations with other people and how those relations are doing
The whole slate actually has 7 parts, not 4, but these are the main branches
The question arose for me: does thinking about something matter? If I recall my cousin, if I remember what he did, what effect does that have on me? If my cousin is alive and is told of my mental activity, what effect does that knowledge have on him? His awareness of himself, his confidence, his joy? Does it have any effect? These sort of questions are sometimes best answered statistically. Of course, me and my cousin care about our experiences but in general, for most people, what are the effects? What about if I think about my ankle? Does putting my awareness on it change my ankle, me or the relation between my mind and my ankle?
One picture of little kids learning a language while also discovering and developing a mind that sticks in my mind is a little kid pointing at something. It is clear to adults that a bright light or a bird or something has the kid's attention. The kid knows he is aware of the interesting thing. His pointing is the conscious mind aware of its consciousness.
