active draft. a technical sketch. general, before special —alignment, before distraction

a quick sketch of the space

Elements: arising, framing, assessment, simulation, continuation.

arising, framing, and assessment, are introduced in ‘matters for attention’ ( https://mastodon.online/@causalmechanics/110040131729114979 )

Consider an arriving thought as the phenomenological experience of the receive end of an asynchronous synchronisation queue; whereby, while some unconscious operations of mind can run asynchronously over knowledge, others require fragments of knowledge to be marshalled for exclusive access, and synchronous evaluation, with embodied state ^[ An arriving thought is effectively a minimal set-of-concerns, framed by: presently loaded contexts (the rules and constituents of); sensory feeds (if appropriate); and simultaneously presentable embodied state ].

note, this is before reading: Madhupindika Sutta: The Ball of Honey (accesstoinsight.org)

The intuition, is that mental proliferation describes in ’experience first’ language, the circumstances of ‘continuations’, described below, on unpleasant or unwanted topics

arriving thoughts frame a topic

  1. Any arriving topic (and respective concerns) can be dismissed or engaged
    1. Dismissed topics are typically re-queued at a later occasion
    2. Engaged topics invoke embodied state
  2. Topics may be
    1. New and unassessed: engaging with an unassessed topic may the invoke the emotional state of associated concerns
    2. Previously assessed: engaging with a previously assessed topics will re-invoke any associated emotional state
  3. The degree of framing varies
    1. Framing includes relevant associated circumstances
      1. Relative to self
      2. Or respective: to topic, situation, etc
  4. Continuation
    1. A continuation is a re-presentation of a topical graph, caused by our directing focus of attention on different nodes or aspects of the graph (or to respective characteristics: range, conditionality, threshold, tolerance, scope, etc), as we navigate, shape, or extend the graph (by introducing additional concerns)
    2. Crucially, upon continuation, significance may be re-invoked, to correctly reflect the new set of concerns, as embodied state
    3. Continuations chain to form simulations ^[ If that state happens to be unpleasant, and the topic does not appear to have any helpful variation or exit, this will feel like suffering ] ^[ Noting that alternative contexts can be emotionless, simulated at higher speed, and batch save operations, or operate over significantly more complex graphs. Shifting from gamma operation on emotionless context to default context too quickly can cause much suffering ]
  5. Assessment concludes (when the question is answered): when the topic is held statically in mind for a short period, and the present embodied state is set as the assessed measure of significance, of the final set of concerns
    1. Held, means no further navigation, modification, or extension of the topic

why?

  1. Deferred opportunistic learning
    1. Where learning refers to conscious, exclusive, synchronous learning (not unconscious pattern accrual)
  2. When a threat is imminent, this type of learning distracts from immediate environmental concerns, and might get you killed: so the same contextually framed unconsciously accrued patterns of stimuli which arrive ‘in the wild’ can be re-presented for consideration at a more convenient (safer) time ^[ Like git ‘stashed changes’ ]
  3. When we are safe, matters for attention are queued ^[ ~Next highest significance within loaded contexts, above some threshold ], we receive arriving thoughts, and we have the opportunity to re-live and re-assess matters
  4. Further, this decoupling of stimuli and accrued pattern from present circumstances allows for checks and adjustments to be made to any representations
    1. Form and consistency (legality within contextual constraints)
    2. To optimise, etc
    3. And to increase the variance under which any patterns may match stimuli or behaviour, which increases the range of real-world-circumstances for which we have an account
  5. Note: contexts are unloaded during sleep to allow various offline optimisation and maintenance routines
    1. Unresolved matters within any context are commonly re-presented prior to unloading
    2. Offline operations includes the same re-evaluation mechanism in different modes:
      1. Light and autonomous, unconscious; for pruning and alignment within existing constraints, etc
      2. Deep simulation across complex situations, and accordingly larger fragments; which requires exclusive access to full architecture of conscious operation for longer running simulations, which require or benefit from disassociation with local environment. Aka dreams

so what about suffering?

  1. Unnecessary suffering is unskilful, redundant continuation
  2. To stop any matter being queued for attention, iteratively attenuate it’s measure of significance until it no longer appears
    1. Remembering that ~next highest significance within loaded contexts will re-present
    2. One-shot ‘mute’ is difficult without training
    3. Neutralising (embodied-meh) is an option, but unskilful use can lead to unwanted memory loss, and other cascades
    4. Recommended assessment is metta: metta is embodied contentment, directed towards an object. Equivalent to ’no action required’ (distinct from ’not interesting’ by embodied-meh)
  3. Specifically, to stop continuation: lock onto the topic and embodied state (if distressing, this is an almost literal ‘face your fear’), and direct your emotional response towards the contentment of metta
    1. Remember, even partial direction towards metta lessens intensity, and is a success; the next presentation will be accordingly less intense, so easier to handle
  4. This ability, to notice and recognise a thought arriving, being presented, and-or being engaged in continuation, is improved by meditation practice
    1. Note: there is no permanent ‘fix’ to prevent all uncomfortable or distressing topics, even quietened topics may re-present and distress again if some new variation requires assessment

remember

  1. The objective is to learn that you are not trapped by this mechanism, at which point despair need not apply, and all distress can be contextualised, and managed at an appropriate time
  2. You do not need to personally identify with these topics, circumstances or situations. You are being asked a question, to learn: the mechanism does not understand contextually, these suggestions are just symbolic variants until contextually framed and evaluated
  3. However distressing, this mechanism is a marvel. Accept it, appreciate it, love it. Deferred opportunistic learning drives autonomous intelligence
  4. If the topic is distressing, you do not need to engage: smile, thank your mind for working as intended, and assuredly direct your appreciation to the mechanism (system not the signal), and assert from that place, that you are contented that the topic as presented requires no action

 

 

additional definitions

two ‘first hit’ definitions from the web

What is mental proliferation? Conceptual proliferation can be described as the automatic and spontaneous mental process that takes place in the background of our mind when we receive a sense perception through any one of the six sense doors during our normal daily life.9 Mar 2018 link

What does proliferation mean in Buddhism? The Buddhist philosophical term used for describing the state of ordinary mentation is prapañca in Sanskrit. It literally means ‘fabrication,’ usually translated as ‘conceptual proliferation’ or ‘conceptual elaboration’ {see Samyutta Nikāya, IV, 72} link

post reading

note, this was written before reading: Madhupindika Sutta: The Ball of Honey (accesstoinsight.org)

reminder: the intuition, was that mental proliferation describes (in ’experience first’ language), the circumstances of ‘continuations’ on unpleasant or unwanted topics

The ball of honey seems more focused on the waypoints, baseline stages of meditation practice (once integrated into life), over the mechanism of triage or moment-to-moment arriving thoughts, like I had presumed (and in fairness, is more concretely suggested in the above two random definitions).

However the peculiarity of phrasing: delineates a delineation, is suggestive of continuation. Whereby a thought to delineate and isolate a concept, then continues with that concept isolated and focused upon.

Will read more passages…

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