Will is the power of consciousness concentrating.
Michael A. Singer
Though there are many forces at play in the movement of your arm up and down...there is one power beneath all that which is determining that motion. This power is not talked about in science because it it isn't biophysical. That power however determines everything. That power is will.
Michael A. Singer eloquently defines and describes will in the below linked podcast. It is certainly worth a listen.
Will is what happens when we take the high, elevating power of consciousness/awareness/attention and focus it on something. That something could be as expansive as the night sky or as narrow and small as the scratch on our car, a scratch we just happened to notice as we are staring up at the night sky. When we look up at the stars in the sky our conscious lens is wide and we are taking in the vastness of the universe. We are probably not thinking too much of "me and my story" in those moments, or if we are, we are realizing how small and puny this "me and my story" is in the big scheme of things. When eyes drift down enough to notice the scratch on our prized possession, however, consciousness may automatically switch from a wide angle lens to a zoom one. The rest of the universe is blurred out while we stare at "me and my story" once again getting lost in it. We went from the focus of spaciousness, to the very concentrated focus of me...filled with thoughts, feelings , and the censored information we are taking in through our five senses. Hmm! We are using our will to narrow our awareness. What we see and experience in this narrowed view is so addictive. It becomes, once again, who we think we are. We become the car owner with a bunch of feelings and thoughts about this scratch and the unfairness of it. When we get lost in the "me and my story" we forget the spaciousness that is still around us, and we forget the aware being that was once observing that spaciousness, and who is now focused in on this tiny scratch. Same being, same scene, different focus.
The thing is, we have a choice. We, as this wise being (whether we know we are that or not), can use our will to focus on the spaciousness or on the scratch. It seems like we do not have a choice. It seems like we were pulled against our will into the drama of life but that is just because we have somehow trained the mind to habitually focus down and get lost in these small things. It has become a habit. Will created the habit and will can break the habit. We have the will to choose what we focus on.
This may require some practice. Patanjali came up with three steps that can help us to use this will to focus on Self ( the spacious awareness) rather than on self ( "me and my story"). These limbs of Raja yoga include Pratyahara ( learning to eliminate distractions and what the senses take in); dharna ( learning to focus on a single thing other than this "me or my story" ), and dhyana ( meditating on the Self...on that conscious awareness that we are.) It is a practice but a very worthwhile one.
All is well.
Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( January 23, 2024) Consciousness and the Power of Will. https://tou.org/talks/
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