The Happen of the Nature of States

Care, Power, and Intrinsic Satisfaction

States

Whatever is happening, there is a state: an ever-shifting nebulous pattern of sensation and affordances (action possibilities, whether cognized or tacit).

Most spiritual and therapeutic approaches contain general directionalities toward preferred states, as do cultures, whether tacitly or explicitly. 

For example,

• having a purpose preferred to purposelessness

• kindness preferred to being mean

• getting things done preferred to being non-productive

• transcendental bliss preferred to having ruminative thoughts

• being loving preferred to being full of rage

Each of the states above is not something precise. They are general families of sensations and affordances. Even thoughts can be discovered as a sensory experience. Even purposelessness has a topology of affordances, even though it may be notable for the indistinctness of this topology — just as a smudge has a shape, albeit blurry and indistinct.

The Nature of States

What is it to realize the nature of states? It is the tacit gnosis that whatever is happening, the experience is a transient state, not “the way things really are”. In this recognition of all experiences as transient states, states arise, pulse nebulously around a general region, transform into other states, and dissolve. The acceptance and allowing of every state yields satisfaction with whatever state is experienced, the satisfaction of feeling no necessity or compulsion to change state (and no necessity or compulsion to not change state). 

Since every state is equally satisfactory, insofar as states can be self-reflexive, referring to other possible states (“I wish I was experiencing another state”), states that include the desire to change state are equally satisfactory, and may or may not lead to actions that lead to change of state. “Why change state?” and “Why not change state?”, as tacit dispositions, have equal and homogenous weight.

“Acceptance” and “allowing” refer to the via negative letting go of disacceptance and disallowing. There can also be the relaxing of attempts to let go. The depth of relaxation, and relaxation about failures to relax in an imagined way, are the cultivation of a field in which a sudden “pop” bringing the complete relaxation of the existential clench of disacceptance and disallowing occurs.

This experience is the recognition of the nature of states: their transience, their intrinsic satisfaction, the lack of inherent necessity or compulsion to either change or maintain state.

Power and Care after Recognition of the Nature of States

Above it was noted that cultures, and spiritual and therapeutic approaches, contain general directionalities of preferred states. They also aim to give affordances to change states in the preferred direction. This involves caring about that direction, and power to effect change in that direction.

Like a vector, having direction and magnitude, we can look at affordances on the axes of care and power: where there is an action possibility there is the direction of care; power is the magnitude of the potency of the action if actually enacted. For example, I can’t have specific care for someone I have never met or learned about; I can care for their neighborhood or their demographic, but not for them, specifically. I have the power to lend my neighbor a cup of sugar, but not a ton of gold.

If all states are recognized as equally satisfactory, what role do power and care play? These expand the possibilities of the way states may transform. There is no ultimate reason to increase power and care, but a vast quantity of our actions may be placed under this category. The main reason increasing power and care may be interesting is that most of us find ourselves enculturated or with a disposition to do so; it is a very common disposition in the world. If we find ourselves to be someone who naturally and authentically doesn’t care about much, then most apparent life problems are pre-solved, as they do not arise as problems in the first place (to be noted, many of those who claim “to not care about anything” do not demonstrate this as their actuality).

Allowing and accepting all states has the tendency to increase the scope of care, because more and more possibilities are recognized as legitimate possibilities. If care is there, the desire to have more power to affect what we care about is oft a consequence.

Before recognizing the nature of states, we may seek power and care in order to bring about preferred states. After recognizing the nature of states, we may find ourselves searchless, increasing our scope of care and our power as an enjoyment, with no felt compulsion to employ our power, but neither with an avoidance of employing our power.

The Happen of the Nature of States

Recognition of the nature of states cannot be progressive towards a final goal, because there is nowhere to go.

Expansion of care and power cannot be progressive towards a final goal, because there is everywhere to go.

Recognizing the nature of states, our scope of care ever increasing, our power ever magnifying, what happens is always intrinsically satisfying, what we do is simply what seems to be right for the moment and context.

As contexts are infinite, this cannot be further specified.

Thanks to reviewer Max S