With “action” I mean any present activity (or momentary part thereof). This includes, in my understanding, also the initiation of any action, the act of willing, of “deciding” to take action. By whatever name I want to call it: there is always something happening right now.

So if there is any choice (and I believe that denying the possibility of choice might be a waste of choice, while I agree that our common understanding of “choice” or “free will” is an illusion), it can be made only now.

Ah, it’s difficult for me to explain. You just made me aware of the enormous variety of possible interpretations for words that I foolishly deemed “easily and clearly understandable” (in other words: my own confusion :-)).

Posting to my blog: I thought the dates in the headlines were obvious enough … my retreat in Puregg was two months ago. :-)

I’ve long understood — on an intellectual level — that the present is the point at which “change” happens. Now I realize I had completely missed the point.

As for “action” … I don’t know what you mean by the word. It would seem to bring in time (duration). Perhaps you were referring to the initiation of the action, not the action itself.

You also mentioned “decision”. Right now I’m puzzled about the concept of “choice”. I have no answer, though my intellect insists that “free will” is an illusion and ultimate causes are unknowable.

My intellect has been wrong on occasion.

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By the way, Heimdall, with so little electricity available there, how are you posting to your blog?

Speaking as a male living in Canada, I’ll say this…

When I tell people I meditate, they seem lost for words. It’s seen as rather … odd. Unconventional, you might say. In addition, it’s often seen as an indication that one has problems — something Western males are not keen to admit.

Meditation is also seen as “too passive”. We Western males are told we have to go out and SEIZE what we want. It’s the subtlety of the brute. Yet society continually feeds us images of what a “real man” should be, and if we males buy into that we might conclude that meditation is too “girly”.

Maybe males in the West HUNT, while women GATHER. :)