I often say that one must have an internal tyrant, if one is not to be the hapless tool of an external tyrant. The function of the internal tyrant is to exercise will to discourage that which is worst in oneself, while cultivating that which is best, precisely by forcing oneself to make those small, difficult decisions that promise some degree of pain or discomfort, but which on the other side will bring one closer to a desired goal - whether that be finding a mate, improving one's body, or sharpening one's mind.
On the other hand, there is also much to be said for letting oneself go, removing external constraints and simply flowing.
An analogy with dancing. One often hesitates on the edge of the dance floor, worried about looking silly, or being rejected. The internal tyrant is required to push one onto the dance floor. But, once there, if the tyrant remains in control, one's movements will be stiff and awkward - one will not actually be able to dance. Only by disengaging the inner tyrant and letting one's body flow can one really engage in the dance.
Good analogy. The problem with these things is that you can only talk metaphorically, because each case and each life path is so different. And strangely, these apparently contradictory approaches (inner tyrant vs. inner zen monk) must be combined - in a sense, it's really bad to tell yourself "you should be doing this, not doing that, etc.", yet it can also generate the necessary energy for change. It is *very* nuanced. Kind of like working hard to heroically going with the flow, effortlessly, or something.
Metaphor isn't really a limitation. It's the basic language of thought. Even supposedly well-defined, mathematically based principles of physics are basically metaphors taking the form of 'this thing we see is like this model'. There's really no escaping it, because the process of thought itself proceeds invariably from drawing analogies between concepts and percepts.
The great non-dual Sage Sri Ramana Maharshi once pointed out that we only have two real choices, namely to identify with the body or not. Pointing out that the moment you identify with the body you immediately begin to dramatize a pre-patterned existence in accordance with your current cultural indoctrination/brain-washing, your personal birthing experience, your early childhood experiences and subsequent growing up, and all of your past karmas too (which have a very powerful influence on everything that you are and do.
Your body is a karmic entity/pattern.
The question remains where do you begin and end as every dimension of your being is totally enmeshed with the entire cosmic display as it arises on a moment to moment basis.
It should be understood that the karmas or habit patterns of every individual are effective at every level: physical, emotional, mental, unconscious, subconscious, waking, dreaming, and sleeping. And those karmas extend beyond the individual body-mind to include others, objects, and environments at every level, visible (or gross) and invisible (or subtle), known and unknown - past, present and future.
I often say that one must have an internal tyrant, if one is not to be the hapless tool of an external tyrant. The function of the internal tyrant is to exercise will to discourage that which is worst in oneself, while cultivating that which is best, precisely by forcing oneself to make those small, difficult decisions that promise some degree of pain or discomfort, but which on the other side will bring one closer to a desired goal - whether that be finding a mate, improving one's body, or sharpening one's mind.
On the other hand, there is also much to be said for letting oneself go, removing external constraints and simply flowing.
An analogy with dancing. One often hesitates on the edge of the dance floor, worried about looking silly, or being rejected. The internal tyrant is required to push one onto the dance floor. But, once there, if the tyrant remains in control, one's movements will be stiff and awkward - one will not actually be able to dance. Only by disengaging the inner tyrant and letting one's body flow can one really engage in the dance.
Good analogy. The problem with these things is that you can only talk metaphorically, because each case and each life path is so different. And strangely, these apparently contradictory approaches (inner tyrant vs. inner zen monk) must be combined - in a sense, it's really bad to tell yourself "you should be doing this, not doing that, etc.", yet it can also generate the necessary energy for change. It is *very* nuanced. Kind of like working hard to heroically going with the flow, effortlessly, or something.
Metaphor isn't really a limitation. It's the basic language of thought. Even supposedly well-defined, mathematically based principles of physics are basically metaphors taking the form of 'this thing we see is like this model'. There's really no escaping it, because the process of thought itself proceeds invariably from drawing analogies between concepts and percepts.
The great non-dual Sage Sri Ramana Maharshi once pointed out that we only have two real choices, namely to identify with the body or not. Pointing out that the moment you identify with the body you immediately begin to dramatize a pre-patterned existence in accordance with your current cultural indoctrination/brain-washing, your personal birthing experience, your early childhood experiences and subsequent growing up, and all of your past karmas too (which have a very powerful influence on everything that you are and do.
Your body is a karmic entity/pattern.
The question remains where do you begin and end as every dimension of your being is totally enmeshed with the entire cosmic display as it arises on a moment to moment basis.
It should be understood that the karmas or habit patterns of every individual are effective at every level: physical, emotional, mental, unconscious, subconscious, waking, dreaming, and sleeping. And those karmas extend beyond the individual body-mind to include others, objects, and environments at every level, visible (or gross) and invisible (or subtle), known and unknown - past, present and future.