So a little bit of context for this, I’ve found the idea of mind as a three-fold capacity very useful for a lot of things. This is focused on the aspect of mind “experience.” So to dabble a little in experience, I would like to define “dimension” as an element of experience.

Now that that is out of the way. The elements of experience or dimensions are defined by the other two aspects of mind, will/intention and knowledge. A single experience can have infinite possible dimensions, and by knowing the ones you would like to include in an experience you can knowingly will them into your experience.

An example: I recently went to a music festival where I planned to consume a variety of psychedelic substances. So my intention was to have a psychedelic dimension to my experience. (Goal achieved lol.) What I didn’t realize is that my dimension of music festival sort of mixed with my dimension of psychedelia and it turned out that everyone I met was also having a psychedelic experience.

This wasn’t a bad thing. I’ve never been lost in the woods with a bunch of other people all out of their minds on psychedelics but it was enjoyable. Anyways the second night of camping was interesting. It started to downpour right after it got dark, and we were mostly in the woods, so dark was really dark. Once the rain started visual-acuity was reduced to a matter of feet and it was my first time ever being at this location. A friend I was walking with when the rain started, has anxiety and started to get worried we were lost and would never get back to certainty (our campsite.)

So the way this ties in is that I just felt the need to wander. With the framework of dimensions being elements of experience, The dimensions I was participating in were: dark, wet, raining, music, group, and walking. All the people (more dimensions) that we passed were new dimensions coming and going. Even the scenery was a dimension that was coming and going. My friend was really freaked out because he was so uncertain of if we would ever make it back to something familiar and everyone he asked for directions had no idea where we were or where they were going. People would literally just point and say go that way. Ha, without reference to anything after a few steps, “That way” almost became a joke to me.

I decided that we would find our campsite after I had had my fill of wandering and wanted to find a towel to dry off with. We eventually found a campsite marked 237. That’s my number and the same friend I was with used to take it for granted. He believed I was just looking for the number like people do when they get a new car and everyone else seems to have that car. Except we had been wandering through uncertainty for over an hour in the rain, and just found 237. My friend almost fell down crying when he saw it.

TL;DR - Let go of expectations sometimes and just wander. Your will and knowledge will guide you if you’re lost. But wandering is a fun and interesting way to pass time.

PS - get lost in the woods sometime. It’s healthy!

  • @syncretikOPM
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    11 year ago

    I think the primary benefit of wandering is learning to “be comfortable being uncomfortable”. Which, in other words, is to find enough self-generated stability and confidence to not need to seek ‘external’ stability or familiarity. Because ultimately, my goal (and perhaps ‘our’ goal) is to abandon much of that which is currently familiar, comfortable, and stabilizing. Wandering is practice. It chips away at that sense that the familiar and the comfortable is necessary for the continuation of favorable experiences.

    Originally commented by u/Utthana on 2016-06-16 12:52:08 (d4b3tza)