Lecture Notes: Understanding Voluntary and Involuntary Actions

Key Concepts

• Distinction Between Actions
  • Voluntary actions: actions we feel in control of.
  • Involuntary actions: automatic processes that occur without conscious control.
  • The boundary between voluntary and involuntary actions is arbitrary.

Examples of Voluntary vs. Involuntary

• Hand Movement
  • When moving your hand, you feel you decide to open or close it.
  • Question arises: How do you decide? Do you consciously decide to decide?
• Breathing
  • Breathing can be controlled deliberately but also occurs involuntarily.
  • This raises the question of whether it's voluntary or involuntary.

Self and the Body

• Common perception:
  • Activities perceived as self-initiated (like moving) are often not the entirety of self.
  • Many bodily functions (breathing, heartbeats, digestion) are seen as involuntary.
• Unity with the Universe
  • Realization that bodily functions are continuous with the universe.
  • The circulation of blood relates to cosmic processes.
  • Understanding yourself as one with the universe can shift perception of self.

Ego and Consciousness

• The Ego
  • Defined as the focus of conscious attention, similar to radar on a ship.
  • Identifying with the ego can lead to anxiety and a distorted sense of self.
• Harmonious Existence
  • Ceasing to identify solely with the ego reveals the harmony within the organism.
  • Even seemingly discordant processes in the body contribute to overall health.

Higher Level Understanding

• Perception of discord on a micro level can reveal harmony on a macro level.
• Realization that life’s struggles can be seen as part of a harmonious universe.
• Awareness that existence is fundamentally interconnected and harmonious.

Awakening from Illusion

• Self-Realization
  • Feeling fundamental existence rather than a transient or accidental presence in the world.
  • Everyone is the ultimate reality, not in a kingly sense but as the essence of existence.
• Pretending Not to Be
  • The idea that individuals are pretending not to be their true selves, which is interconnected with the fabric of existence.