====== Awake: It's Your Turn ====== ===== by Angelo Dillulo ===== Overall, this was really good although chapter 13 irritated the piss out of me. There are lots of ideas here that I think are on target and pretty plainly stated. On topics of meditation and philosophy it's often very useful to hear the same thing from multiple sources because small differences in phrasing can make a big difference in understanding. I meditated for three years before encountering the phrase "sit and know that you're sitting" and that phrase set off a light bulb for me. I've listened to Sam Harris say "look for the looker" countless times but in this book Angelo tells you a bit about what you're looking for and that enabled me to break out of the intellectual box I'd put myself in. The only real problem I had with the book was the [[ideas:wooshit]]. Some of that was [[ideas:artifact of language]] and some of it was probably just sloppy word choice but there was another of it that I think Angelo's probably got some lefty ideas about [[ideas:emotions]]. I think he gets emotions almost entirely wrong, despite often saying the right thing. For instance, he says "an emotion doesn’t have a truth value" and then says repeatedly that emotions have "a right to be" and are "valid". Depending on what he means by that I might agree but it's still sloppy lefty shit that puts emotions on a pedestal. Emotions are like thoughts, they're brain noise that you should acknowledge but not take at face value. Angelo actually has a great metaphor where he says you should treat your thoughts as if someone had handed you a piece of paper with the thought written on it. This works great for emotions too. I didn't find anything super enlightening here (😉) but there was plenty of good stuff and some of it might be useful to you. ---- You probably don't care but here's [[note taking process|how these notes happen]]. > The indented bits are from the book. The bits after the indented bits are my comments on the indented bit. ---- ---- ===== Commentary ===== ==== Introduction ==== > you will be free from the need to take reference from any specific belief system to feel fulfilled or find purpose in life. This is something humanity really needs if we're going to survive long term. We spend way to much time killing each other because we believe in different imaginary sky-daddies. It's way past time we grew up and threw off whichever cult our parents indoctrinated us into. ---- ==== Chapter 1. A Word of Caution ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_1|Chapter 1 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_1&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 2. First Steps ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_2|Chapter 2 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_2&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 3. What Is Awakening? ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_3|Chapter 3 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_3&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 4. Paradox ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_4|Chapter 4 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_4&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 5. Attention ==== > developing a habit of noticing Highlighted without comment. To me this is almost everything. We have to pay attention to what's happening in our head so that we can notice the stories and ignore them (when they're not useful). Sati. ---- > you’re always using your attention when you are conscious, but you are not always using your attention //knowingly//. Sit, and know that you're sitting. Know that seeing is happening. PS, his italics, my highlight ---- ---- ==== Chapter 8. Practices and Techniques ==== > When we sit down to meditate, it is quite common that we notice there are a lot of thoughts. If you don’t realize this is normal, you can quickly convince yourself that meditation isn’t your cup of tea, or that it just doesn’t work for you. It helps to remind yourself that those thoughts aren’t caused by the meditation, nor do they indicate an error in the way you’re meditating. You are simply becoming more aware of the thoughts that are already there. It’s as if you are taking the role of the observer instead of becoming entangled in the thought stream as we often do throughout the day. Highlighted without note. It's very true and having Andy from Headspace say that thinking during meditation is perfectly normal was what made it possible for me to develop a regular practice. ---- > Having a neutral relationship with thoughts will bring equanimity to your meditation practice. Highlighted without comment. ---- > In fact, that sense of the “you” that needs to defend itself by creating a persona is produced by the endless parade of self-centered and fear-based thoughts that run automatically through our minds, day in and day out. Highlighted without comment. ---- ---- ==== Chapter 10. Stages of Awakening ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_10|Chapter 10 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_1-&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 11. Mind-Identification ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_11|Chapter 11 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_11&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 12. Thoughts ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_12|Chapter 12 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_12&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 13. Beliefs ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_13|Chapter 13 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_13&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 14. Emotions ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_14|Chapter 14 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_14&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 15. Inquiry ====
Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing—and keeping the unknown always beyond you. -- Georgia O’Keeffe
I highlighted the quote, but I'm not sure I like it now. Obviously then-Dave saw something in that now-Dave doesn't. This is interesting partially because it points out the illusion of continuity. We think we're a constant thing but we're really the result of a bunch of processes happening in our brain. Then me isn't now me isn't future me. Then you isn't now you isn't future you. You are a process that's always in flux. ---- > Keep looking until the looking is all that’s left, Here he's talking about the directive to look for the looker. Sam Harris uses that a lot and it's never landed for me. Angelo says this and then in chapter 16 says "a looking that just keeps on going with no landing on anything solid or specific" that made this much clearer. ---- ==== Chapter 16. Awakening ==== * [[books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_16|Chapter 16 Notes]] {{page>books/awake_its_your_turn/chapter_16&noheader&nofooter}} ---- ==== Chapter 17. Post-Awakening Guidance ==== > Don’t try to recreate your awakening. It will never happen. The past is gone. All you have left of that experience and event is a memory. The truth you realized has never gone anywhere, and it is with you right now. Don’t judge the form that truth arises in. It knows exactly what to show you moment by moment. Highlighted without comment. I assume because it's wooshit. The rest of that paragraph is good, then he ruins good advice with wooshit. ----
God is a comedian playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh. -- Voltaire
Life's a joke, and we're the punchline. ----