12 - Anticipating, Selecting, and Recognizing
Some behaviors become habitual, like always talking to yourself about things.
* When reading this book for the first time, it is best to read from the beginning without skipping forward. Otherwise, the intended meaning of some words might not be obvious.
Anticipating, Selecting, and Recognizing
ANTICIPATING: “Anticipating” refers to awareness of an idea, however vague it may be, that something specific may or may not happen.
SELECTING: “Selecting” refers to awareness of a judgement (or preference) that something represented in an anticipation or idea should or should not happen. We select what is judged desirable and reject what is judged undesirable. It is the same in all forms of judgement, in that a judgement asserts an attachment to (or avoidance of) a particular experience, anticipation, or idea.
RECOGNIZING: “Recognizing” refers in this case to consciously expressing acknowledgement of a particular selection or other judgement, either silently to oneself or aloud.
You anticipate or select certain food, and you might or might not recognize doing so. Do you often chat with yourself or with others about the way you recognize things?
Recognizing refers to conscious and usually wordy acknowledgement of events and judgements. Recognition is more than simple awareness of something. The focus moves away from the thing being recognized—an anticipation, a selection, an expectation, a likelihood, a possibility, and so forth—to focus on and re‑present the significance of it instead.
Anticipating, selecting, and recognizing all unfold naturally according to universal factors.
Re-cognition is a way of saying to oneself, “There is so and so,” “I want this,” or “Watch out for such and such.” Recognition seems unavoidable, especially in moments of surprise, confusion, or doubt. But recognizing is not really necessary.
Re-cognition re-presents the original more as a judgement than as a selection or anticipation.
The progress from possibility to idea, to anticipation, to selection, and to recognition can happen very quickly, just like seeing a tree. If you look carefully, you can watch it happen.
Anticipation and selection do not need to be represented in recognition.
Ideas about what may or may not happen do not need to be represented in anticipation or selection.
What may or may not happen does not need to be represented in ideas.
Awareness is real, while anticipation, selection, recognition, and ideas have no reality of their own.
Representation occurs naturally, but certain tendencies, representations, and actions can become habitual, just like the habit of talking to oneself about things.
It is not difficult to dissect these habits if you are patient and attentive.
Can you see a stop sign on the road and not silently say the word, “Stop”? Can you notice a familiar face without saying anything to yourself in recognition of that face? Can you anticipate a problem without inwardly discussing it with yourself? Of course you can.
Awareness does not need recognition, but it happens. Allow it, notice it, and let it go.
Anticipation, selection, recognition, and ideation are habits of unreality; notice what they are, what they do, and what they do not do.
Questions Children Ask
Lucy (age 8) asks Tom (age 12) and Jan (age 10) a few serious questions.
L: Can God create a rock so big He can’t move it?
T: It’s just a bad question. It’s like asking, “Can I think of something that I can’t think of?” Questions like that are stupid. We shouldn’t question God like this.
J: One day God wants a rock that’s too big to move, so He creates it and He can’t move it. The next day God creates all the strength He needs to move it. It’s a question that teaches you think.
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L: If God is always good, why does he allow people and animals to suffer and die?
T: God knows best, and He can do whatever He wants. We should never doubt what God does.
J: When we die, maybe we really just wake up and suddenly look back at all this, and we see it wasn’t bad at all; we just didn’t understand what was going on. If we don’t know what is going on, then it feels really bad. Maybe one day we’ll understand; we’ll remember everything and how it all felt, and we’ll feel so good about having been a part of it all. And all the animals will be there too; and we’ll all wonder at how we were so wrong back then.
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L: If God knows everything and He can see the future and everything, why does He make people go to hell forever?
T: God knows what’s best. God knows what’s right and what’s wrong, and God just won’t tolerate disobedience. God told us to obey or else. God warned us, and we need to obey.
J: Some people live a horrible life, like they think they are living in hell. Then they wake up and remember every bit of it; but now they aren’t there any more, now they’re here looking back. Back then they thought they were in hell, and that can never be changed. But now they are here and they are happy because now they understand why it had to be like that. It’s hard to explain.
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L: If God is very wise, knows what is right, and always tells the truth, then why did He tell Abraham to kill his own son and then change His mind like that?
T: God wants obedience to God’s law, and God does not have to explain why. God was testing Abraham to see if Abraham would obey. God can change His mind whenever He wants to.
J: I remember that story, but I don’t think I understand it. Maybe Abraham didn’t think about life the way God thought he should and God was just trying to teach him. Maybe God was telling Abraham that he had to give up everything he has before he can understand life the way God wants him to.
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L: If I never heard of the Bible before and just found out about it, why should I believe it?
T: We have to believe the Bible because the Bible tells us so. I mean, what if we don’t believe it and we’re wrong, then we would go to hell forever, and that’s too risky.
J: Watch out for trying hard to believe something just because you think you should or because someone tells you to. Trust what you already understand, either because you can see for yourself it’s true or because it just makes the best sense to you. Whenever you believe something, think about why you believe it and whether it makes sense to you to believe it the way you do.
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How is this story related to recognition, selection, and anticipation?
Read this story again, this time without adding your own recognition, selection, or anticipation.
Remember The Flowering of a Wonderful Law and The Magician’s Trick.