Essential Zen

Well, it's been a quiet week at Lake Woebegone. Actually, it has been a quiet couple of months here, 19 March being the last entry. Perhaps its time to see if we can't get things going here, since other forums have gotten boring with New Age fluff, love, light, kindness and politeness.

I've long been of the opinion the most important thing we are engaged in as humans is drama. Yesterday, in chat, I was introduced to Erving Goffman, a noted sociologist, author of "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life". It seems I have encountered a kindred soul, or at least one who shares my opinion. Of interest then, is applying this notion to the whole business of spiritual evolution, enlightenment, etc.

Some quotes from Wikipedia:

...society is not homogeneous. We must act differently in different settings. The context we have to judge is not society at large, but the specific context. Goffman suggests that life is a sort of theater, but we also need a parking lot and a cloak room: there is a wider context lying beyond the face-to-face symbolic interaction. "Throughout Presentation of Self, Goffman seems to perceive the individual as nothing more than a cog responsible for the maintenance of the social world by playing his or her part. In fact, he refers to the self as a 'peg' upon which 'something of a collaborative manufacture will be hung for a time.

He [Goffman] believed that when an individual comes in contact with other people, that individual will attempt to control or guide the impression that others might make of him by changing or fixing his or her setting, appearance and manner. At the same time, the person that the individual is interacting with is trying to form and obtain information about the individual.[10] Goffman also believed that all participants in social interactions are engaged in certain practices to avoid being embarrassed or embarrassing others. This led to Goffman’s dramaturgical analysis. Goffman saw a connection between the kinds of acts that people put on in their daily life and theatrical performances. In social interaction, like in theatrical performance there is a front region where the “actors” (individuals) are on stage in front of the audiences. This is where positive aspect of the idea of self and desired impressions are highlighted. There is a back region or stage which can also be considered as a hidden or private place where the individual can be themselves and get rid of their role or identity in society.

What does this mean in terms of what folk present on forums? What is the impact then of determining whether someone is enlightened or not? Perhaps all that is required is to act enlightened, assuming of course, we have determined somehow what that act is comprised of.

Adding to this, it's immediately apparent when confronted with a New Age guru, and if he's Indian, he has a beard, looks and talks like Puppetji - nice act. The white man version requires a pony tail and a softly moderated voice, evoking peace and love and kindness, but no sex.

Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8D_mvmNYQ

Don Juan, by contrast, I'm fairly certain, looked most often like a rumpled old Indian herbalist. One time he dressed, in a good brown suit and tie, and Castaneda said he was scared to death by him. Julian, of course, could appear any way he wanted.

"What is the impact then of determining whether someone is enlightened or not? "

Look within, you will find the enlightened one, if you find him without...kill it.

This idea of Enlightenment shouldn't be the point. Know yourself, accept what you find, be consistent in furthering your discoveries and independent of other’s approval.

Somehow this ties in with enlightenment, I think. In a way, you can say each mask for various occasions is still us, just various guises. No one else can put on the same face...similar, perhaps, because we have lots of stereotypes to show us how to dress, how to groom, how to act, and so on. (Makes me think of Mafiosi learning how to be like Mafiosi by watching "The Godfather")

The acts are merely aspects of ourselves, perhaps pieces of our totality. Consider that don Juan wore many, from dressing and acting like a female for a year, to appearing as an Indian herb gatherer, then an elegant upper class gentleman in a fancy brown suit, and so on...a favorite being the senile old man in the teaching of no pity - shape changing, maybe, in the modern sense?

And what of enlightenment? The thought occurred to me on this trip that to seek enlightenment, one first must make the judgement don Juan talked about, determining that one's spirit is off balance. But is it really? Perhaps its a matter of false judgment. Perhaps its a matter of believing some bullshit from childhood. Maybe enlightenment really is getting off your own ass (stopping the criticism), accepting all you find, and as I thought once, achieving genuine contentment.

Enlightenment is for everyone an idea, until it is experienced. Achieving genuine contentment is like digging through the belly of a mountain... Experientially accessible with each fist full of dirt.

I agree Zam that enlightenment is not the goal, how can the goal be what we already are? And as Gonzo said "...getting off your own ass (stopping the criticism), accepting all you find..." or finding that you are already enlightened, just scraping the bullshit filter hard enough to see it.