#6060
Rich Paxson
Participant

Thanks Sheelah for the very apt description of love – “giving the other your complete and undivided attention!” I once heard love described as “reciprocity of empathy;” which dovetails, I think, with practices leading to “complete and undivided attention.”

I watched “The Social Other” video yesterday. The notion that ‘the social other’ is the condition precedent for the very existence of individual awareness has captured my attention. Accepting this idea as true kind-of turns everything upside down for me. The individual, perceiving, conceptualizing, egocentric agent in charge of mediating ‘reality’ disappears, and in its place comes … what? Something, but I wouldn’t even venture a guess right now. I feel the need to get my ‘complete and undivided attention’ back to the text.

I bought John Main’s ‘Word Into Silence.’ Although I’m finding his writing compelling, I have yet to open up again into contemplative prayer.